People may know that Dennis Chow has done illustrations for Nike, Vice, The Walrus, Mishka NYC, and more. They might also be aware that he created an album cover for Toronto dance-punk duo Death From Above 1979. But few realize that he used to design websites for porn companies.
It was in those dark, “bullshit” years that GlamNation was born. Up to that point, the Brooklyn-based, Toronto-raised artist hadn’t produced any actual artwork for five years. Despite a desire to become an illustrator, Chow pursued graphic design to pay the bills.
From a cursory glance at GlamNation, it’s plain to see that Chow holds a special place for all things animated. “I’m an ‘80’s kid,” he said at the vernissage, “but I loved the villains more than the heroes.”
At first, the images adorning the spare, white walls of the Emporium Art Gallery seem like child’s play. Upon closer inspection, however, sly and subversive references to Saturday morning cartoons and animated intermissions at matinee double features well up to the surface.
In a piece called “Lil Timmy,” a green, fanged, horned, and three-eyed bear-like creature with bubblegum pink whiskers bears a Satanist inverted star and cross. The image’s bold colours and its subject’s sickly cuteness recalls the childhood sheen of shows like Popples and Hanna-Barbera cartoons.
On a more serious front, Chow is re-affirming the animation medium as a serious art form. “I’m really into Terrytoons these days,” he said. “It’s one of the more traditional animation houses and its glory days were from about the ‘20s to the ‘40s. One of the most famous people to work at Terrytoons was Ralph Bakshi, who eventually did Fritz the Cat.”
To create his GlamNation images, Chow extensively researched the process of making an animation cel and reproduced the technique for his own work. “Cel” is short for celluloid, a class of compounds used to produce transparent sheets for drawing on. Due to its high flammability and vulnerability to decomposition, celluloid was largely replaced by acetate in the late 20th century.
The exhibition also doubles as a mash-up of the things that have inspired Chow over the years, including heavy metal, comic books, horror films, pulp fiction, and teenage subcultures. Even before putting pen to paper, his cast of misfits, baddies and anti-heroes had been swirling inside his head for a long time.
“I have a name for every character,” he admitted. What’s next? Now that Chow’s brainchildren are out of the box, the illustrator plans to concentrate on more of his own work. Whether it’s moving into 3-D animation, building a GlamNation environment, or mentoring local kids with their own art, this artist isn’t discounting anything.
Dennis Chow’s GlamNation runs through tomorrow at the Emporium Art Gallery, 3035 St. Antoine West, Studio #74. Public hours vary on an exhibition by exhibition basis. For more information, visit GlamNation’s home page or the Emporium Art Gallery’s website.
