Brown Couch 2

I have only the vaguest memory of the story that this drawing illustrated. I think it was about an ambitious young man trying to get ahead by making his body available to "The Great Man" (for some strange reason I believe that there was a classical music association). I purposely made the younger guy a sort of washed-up version of the Tom of Finland/Etienne type, someone who naturally assumed that his big member and handsome face would always serve him in every endeavor. The older gent is skittish and awkward, having never anticipated an experience with someone of this caliber. It's all subtext. The original fiction (like 95% of the tales sent my way) had no nuance, no character to the characters described and I often took it upon myself to create biographical personas to give their activities some psychological interest.

I often title drawings by a distinctive piece of furniture or some other background feature rather than the participants or action being illustrated. I never gave it much thought until I had to start writing these things [Michael, Your Webmaster thanks you]. I think subconsciously that I was considering the "main event" not to have been a successful occurrence. Oh sure, the guys got off on the act but whatever deeper motives they had in being involved was unlikely to be satisfied. Such was the case with the pair in the drawing. Their interlude is transient and in the general scope of things, pointless. Although they had a good time, neither was actually enriched by the experience. The couch, however, continues serving a valid purpose once any errant spills are wiped away.

— Michael Kirwan

Brown Couch 2 — 2002 — 6¾" x 10¾"