I Painted JK Rowling (for the cover of a magazine) | Video Essay
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- Опубліковано 26 лип 2024
- I pained JK Rowling for the cover of Politico Europe... I can explain! And I will! In approximately about 25 minutes.
As I said in the video, everything here is the opinion of myself only. I don't speak for the magazine or anyone working there! They were all great to work with to make the cover a reality.
A special thank you to my patrons over on patreon, I couldnt keep making videos without ya'll. If you want to support me you can do so at / catgraffam
Music is by Ella Guro, you can find their music over at ellaguro.bandcamp.com
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
2:43 Backstory
7:46 Character Exposition
15:33 The Process
24:17 The End - Розваги
I think you did a perfect job. The portrait itself is immediately identifiable. The maelstrom of darkness swirling around her is like a tsunami wave. She sneers with pride, but cannot meet the gaze of those she hurts. She sees her bright star fading away, and looks inward, while trying to keep her head high, unwilling to apologize, though slowly it dawns on her how wrong she is. I am quite amazed at this painting. It brought you no joy, but I hope it will give you satisfaction that your ability to communicate is on rock-steady ground.
I am so sorry that the trans community has been made to go through this recent danger and hurt. When I first started going around on UA-cam about three years ago, I was floored at how much trans content was here, and how open and free so many of the young people seemed to be about it. I am hoping this reactionary phase will be brief. In some way your success made it too easy to turn on you and make you scapegoats. It became convenient for the very hateful people who arose with Trump to desperately try to cover up their social crimes with desperate diversion tactics. But believe me, they ARE desperate, because they KNOW they are SO WRONG, and will eventually pay the political price. That price will be, the generation coming of age will reject all of their horribleness, and vote for a new age of humane values and policies.
This portrait is magnificent! That sneery look of hers. And the black cloud. Well done! I don't suppose Munch had that much of a laugh when painting The Scream either.
i like the blob of black paint on her forehead. it looks like it's still running, the darkness encroaching bit by bit.
The portrait is brilliant.
Your testimony about your childhood is powerful on its own. My daughter left the country because she saw no future here, despite her family being fully in her corner. I grieve, but I know it is her life and her call. I carry a great deal of anger at the christian, narrow, racist, misogynist culture all around me. I want to burn it all down. Your story of handling this gig is extremely helpful in guiding me to not deny, but not indulge, this anger. What matters is survival and flourishing for marginalized people.
I’m so sorry that you went though that as a kid. I’m doing my best to raise two kids who would never treat anyone like that. I truly hope for a better world.
Love your channel immediately, more people need to find it right away, I am sharing it with three right now.
The video was great, informative and funny. The painting was amazing.
Powerful essay.
This is so good and I never knew about the background of the artist behind the painting. Reminds me a lot of what I hope is behind the King Charles painting. It's shit that this carefully muted consideration is how you have to express such justified anger, but you did a fantastic job with it.
so grateful for you sharing your big brain here with us! that portrait made my blood run cold. 5 days turnaround is totally wild though! what on earth were they thinking?
Hey! I don’t know how I got here. I’m a boring straight cis dude who doesn’t know a fuckin thing about art. But I do find your videos very insightful and well-thought out, and I appreciate you sharing your perspective so much. Also, your art rocks.
Hi Cat. The painting is a success by any and all standards! I rather expected to hear Francis Bacon mentioned, and the expectation was rewarded.
The joke herself.. great painting. I think you did it justice 👍❤️
J.K. Bowling? KKK Rowling? You are killing me ;D Not to undermine the importance of everything else you said, just wanted to express the glee I felt when hearing these sick burns :P
thanks for sharing your process
Yo your initial suicide almost-attempt was the same as mine! Staring out a window, wondering whether the fall would kill me, not willing to do it if I would survive. I was sixteen instead of twelve, but I chose to live that night. I'm sorry the abuse continued after that, but I'm proud of you for choosing to live, too. We're alive and we're gonna make it everyone else's problem >:)
wait, fuck, JKR has only been transphobic since 2019? It feels like it's been centuries
It's a great portrait, I love it! As in, I love it as a criticism of her transphobia... don't get ut twisted, Joanne
This video was very interesting and enjoyable to watch :) The black paint kinda makes Rowling look like a death eater. (If u haven’t read the Harry Potter series, they are the villains. When they fly, they are often surrounded by thick black smoke.) Idk if that was intentional, but I like it!
It's also a great because the montsers, just like transphobia, suck the joy out of everything.
Yes, it does feel like she is being surrounded by dementors.
i absolutely loved this piece, and i felt like your intent was immediately readable. thank you so much for the insight into your thoughts and process!
Hearing how hard this was to do for you- I want to say seeing how normal she looks is more scary. When I see her its more scary. sending you healing engerying. Cause this was a dark thing to paint. That poor kid inside of you. I'm glad its over. You're a talent artist tho.
Grow up
i feel like the piece gets itself across pretty darn well, honestly, and does fulfill that need to make something visually striking without being too over the top. i'd say it's self-explanatory but i know people lack just... a general understanding of how to look at art sometimes.
i think you should be proud of your work, and i hope you are!
Hey Cat! Thanks so much for sharing your story! I know it’s helping someone out there right now! Thank you for giving us another brilliant video! Much love!!!!!!
To sum up my feelings about the subjective context of the piece - this piece is a very measured response, and a response you should be proud of. Oh the more material side, I love your shape languages and efficient blocks of color. Great work!
It's a great painting, love your talk about it. It's so rare to get such an in depth explanation about a piece from the painter themselves. I was just curious, did the people at Politico say anything, words of praise maybe?
I hope not to offend you but you look just like Harry Porter's female version. 🤓
Your brush strokes tell it all. She appears to be slowly being tainted by her own poison, which is becoming apparent to the viewer yet remains hidden from Rowling. You did a beautiful job subtly conveying your feelings but leaving the interpretation open-ended. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Cat - I'm sending all of my love and support to you as you grapple with the world's hostility towards trans people, especially trans women. Your painting is powerful and I feel like you communicated what you intended to. Your choice to paint her as she appears, rather than as a caricature, also reminds the viewer that hate can and does come from palatable places. Evil lurks under the veneer of civility and, in your words, performative liberalism. Now that the painting is complete, I hope that you will have time for some self care. You're an incredible artist and woman who deserves to love herself and to receive love from others.
He's a terrible artist and he certainly isn't a woman. The fact that TRA's believe that defending the right for women and girls to have spaces free from males is somehow 'evil' is genuinely mind boggling. Knowing that men, no matter how they identify, have no place in women's spaces is far from evil.
the piece is wonderfully conveyed! i can feel the weight of it through the screen, despite jk being painted subtlety in a standard portrait, how “normal” she looks is even more chilling. the abstract black brush strokes engulfing her expresses so much of the deep seeded hate she has spread, it feels like evil black sludge. also i can only imagine how grueling it must have been to spend hours staring and painting her face while she stares back🙃
I'm going to note that her right-wing ideology has been beyond hating trans people for a long time. She literally has antisemitism and pro-slavery rhetoric in her books. Transphobia is what she's pushing the most and profiting from the most, but it's sad that the mistreatment towards other minorities has been overlooked for so long.
i'm so sorry for what you've been through, it hurts me so deeply that there are countless people out there who have the same experience. it's even worse that people are trying to take away support systems and undo any progress that has been made to make life safer for one of the most vulnerable groups of people. i wouldn't have objected to seeing her as an actual monster but the way you did it was amazing. i love the way the paint drips down & swirls around her, it looks like it's about to take over the canvas at any moment
Your artworks are so beautiful! I think this one is stunning and conveys what you intended perfectly. Thank you for sharing your process and thoughts, sending you much love 💙💕🤍💕💙
There is power in seeing the dignity in even the most hateful oppressors;, so said Thich Nhat Hanh.
It's an excellent work and I'm glad you got to do it. :-)
I'm happy that you didn't betray yourself and your art with this piece, thanks for sharing, i really enjoy the way you approach and explain your concepts :)
oh shiiiiiit, I saw the cover earlier today and I'm just finding out you did it!!! Congrats Cat!!! It's a very good cover.
Politico's CEO has enforced a pro-Isra*l policy among its staff, so I've been avoiding them. That said, thank you for walking us through your piece, your thoughts about it, and the background behind it.
@LifeofBeauty K damn news on this that? sounds based as fuck props to them for doing something good at least! bye bye Christians!
Cat Graffam the goat. You are maybe the best youtuber at taking a subject and yourself seriously without being smug or pompous, every video feels like something I'm not seeing anyone else even attempt. Thanks for another extremely thoughtful piece, your stuff continues to be a big inspiration.
I really like the painting.I thought that not only did you capture her really well (since she is CONSTANTLY wearing that exact same facial expression. At least in all of the photos and video footage I've seen of her. It will always amaze me how such hateful people can just wear a still, subtle smile as if to portray a false sense of calm all the time. That's Joanne)
Not only that - but, I feel like the darkness works in two different ways. I know you intended it as darkness which was coming *at* her to swallow her up (and it certainly does work well that way). But, when I first saw it - I also thought it really worked as Joanne calmly smiling at her audience, all the while unleashing darkness which could consume and swallow *us* up (like she's a villain in one of her own stories casting a dark spell onto those around her).
I just think it's really good. I recently had a dispute with someone in an art facebook group - someone shared a painting of Mother Theresa (not a flattering one - it was very stylized, and did a great job of conveying her own hidden anger), and time and time again...people jumped the boat and commented "She was evil! She doesn't deserve a nice picture!" I kept trying to explain to them that the expressionist artist who produced the work (whoever they may have been, the work was found for sale unsigned) clearly agreed with them. It's hard to describe without being able to show the photo in these YT comments - but, it was certainly not a 'nice' painting by any means, at least it certainly wasn't a pleasant depiction of the woman. They made her look angry and fiery eyed.
Some people don't understand artists don't just paint people we like - it can be just as important to paint people we don't like and want to criticise. And, I think you did that well (though I understand completely it must've been draining having to focus on such a horrible subject for so long)
You are SO freaking talented and strong. This video was inspiring!! thank you.
How is self pitying drivel from a man who doesn't like it when women defend their boundaries 'inspiring'?
@@n48_art No seethe here, just pointing out that self pitying whinging from a man who thinks he's entitled to access female spaces isn't inspiring.
Your artistic decisions were very well calculated. Less is more, and the concept is sound. Love your content and hope your career continues its well-earned success!
i think the piece is striking the exact tone you were going for and its masterfully done. love hearing your thoughts and process as always !
Love the painting so much! So glad you got to do it!! ✨
I think this art for the cover is very powerful and very important. Amazing job!
The cover is breathtaking. Thank you for sharing! Your thoughts are always well thought-out and I love hearing them
Amazing painting, and really interesting video. Thank you so much for making both.
You absolutely nailed it. This painting is so well done and so well thought out. The movement, the drip over the eye, the subtle smears, everything. Perfection. Thank you for being you and thank you for being here.
genius painting
Your cover is incredible!! I understood your intentions as soon as I saw it
I'm a follower on Insta- I'm glad to say that your explanation fits exactly what I thought it was trying to express. This "blank look" portrait of her, enveloped by darkness. Hatred feels like that and it's definitely a vortex. It takes action to escape it. And when you confuse hatred for good, you have no hope. I had no idea your work was "analog," that's awesome! Also, I get what you mean by feeling mentally drained having to do a portrait of someone. I made a Mitch McConnell illustration - may his name be blotted out - and having to look at pictures of that man was *difficult.* Congrats on the well-done work.
You are amazing Cat, and this portrait was a perfect portrayal of this woman being engulfed by evil. Well done. Thank you for being you, and for your support of other trans people. You are a wonderful role model.
Engulfed by evil? For knowing that delusional men, such as the 'artist' aren't women, and that women and girls are entitled to male free spaces? Get a grip of yourself.
You're a joke. Ironically, your response to the painting demonstrates your intractable and bigoted nature and demonstrates that people like you are being engulfed by misogynistic evil. You should be ashamed of yourself. No paseran!
The cover is stunning and captures everything you speak about. You’re amazing.
Hello! I watched your video yesterday and your level-headed breakdown of your artistic process really stuck with me. I’m impressed by the way you went about it- you thought about it from all angles and executed this piece with great consideration to how JK has affected the trans community- your community- and managed to create something striking and in my opinion, effective. And you were just given 5 days! Incredible!
I hope you know that what you did is incredible. Thank you for sharing this, because all things considered you were given a (from where I’m standing) a nearly impossible task and you *nailed* it. I think it’s really cool that the darkness approaching JK’s likeness looks a little like the death eaters from the HP series. Literally a darkness of her own making. Genius.
Something I find haunting about your account is that you had to stare at JK, this representation of hatred, for hours. You literally stared hatred in the face, in order to get the work done. That’s bleak, and I don’t think I would’ve had the stomach for it.
Not many artists are given tasks like this. And you nailed it.
This was so well made and interesting. Thanks for sharing
I love it. I love you. Keep going!
I'm rather glad you didn't go for warping her too much. Not just for how you explained the way equivalence of "ugliness" and evilness is used against the marginalised - cis women included - and isn't really a criticism of the hatred. But also, that banality, a pleasant normal portrait in the centre of a consuming darkness... it conjures feelings of frustration at what could have been without that darkness. Not only for trans rights, but for the rights that get pulled into darkness alongside it - the causes she ignores in favour of the darkness too.
Men who demand access to women's spaces aren't 'marginalised' ffs.
@@karlj4942 Why aren't you this concerned about cis gender-non-conforming women being subjected to the transmisoginy meant to keep an infinitely smaller group out of said "safe spaces". Or that cis men security is used to "keep these spaces safe"... Adult cis men are "checking for cisness" in many places now, even among children. Grown cis men demanding women and girls strip for just needing to pee...
How is that worse than a trans woman you will never notice coming in, closing the stall, and sitting down for a pee, before washing her hands and leaving again...?
@@karlj4942They always have to be the victims 🙄
I think you handled the piece wonderfully, the flat, sanitized, clinical-magazine-like quality of Rowling's portrait (you probably even referenced a magazine or some other bland media coverage image of her) contrasting with the swirling black shroud of darkness swallowing her image is a proper abstraction of not only her character but her current position as a public figure, with her inner circle of collaborators trying to maintain that "normal well adjusted celebrity" image to her in order to continue profiting off of her IPs, while she's continuously being engulfed by this unrecognizable murk of hatred that is slowly but surely taking over her entire identity; and I got all of this message before even getting to the part of the video where you elaborate on the visual metaphor of the painting. Bravo.
As always, great job producing an amazing piece of work and I believe that you've sent the message across well. I love your art, your videos and really admire you as a professional artist. Fuck people who want to put you and the trans community down, keep going cat!
I like it
I love your art 💙
I wonder if I should actually take some time to read Rowling's tweets with good faith, or if I should just make her the villain so trans people can galvanize against a common enemy? Hmm...
@ms honey Only in the fevered dreams of delusional TRA's.
Yeah, I took the same approach and very quickly went "oh. Wow... they really are that bad."
@@mxmagpie7037 The only people I see with regards to Rowling and trans issues is other people talking about Rowlings tweets, but I've never seen them for myself. People talking about Rowlings tweets must be her secret marketing team because they sure know how to keep her in the news.
@@mxmagpie7037 They really aren't though, are they.
Also... That voice. Pmsllll
What’s your voice sound like, doll? Care to share with the class?
That art piece is beautiful to be honest - it has been executed masterfully and the message gets across perfectly and effectively and stands out, even with/thanks to such a simple and striking composition.
it is a lovely work of art
i realise this diverges somewhat from the explanation you gave in this artist's statement, and is also a kind of superficial observation, but i find it really cool how the black reads to me like an abstraction of the "dementors" from the harry potter franchise.
like, she wrote about these prison guard monsters who serve a carceral regime by sucking out the joy and maybe even the souls from people to keep them in line. it feels like a fitting reference - whether intended or not - to how reactionary politics regulates both her and the people she goes on to harm in its name.
This was not a video about a negative thing, for me. You invited us through the process of creating and submitting for publication, in five fucking days, this extremely important cover art for this article about JKR and her terftastic horrendous irresponsible shit. There is tremendous value to hear your story and your thinking behind your choices of how to portray this public figure. Then when you talked about the artists who personally inspire you (I felt pleased that I had thought of Bacon just before you mentioned him. He is one of the most extraordinary painters ever and you described why so succinctly.) and about your own process and then the process of painting the portrait. You are addessing a difficult subject as well as the difficult reality that the process of producing art isn't flowers and bubble gum. So, difficult subject matter, but the video is not negative, it's positive and it's real. Thank you.
I love your brand of humour lmao
Sorry that you have experienced such awful transphobia. I think, however, you are barking up the wrong tree. What affected you and your community in a truly negative was, and still is, the radical trans activists absolute misogyny. Nothing I have seen JKR post has been transphobic. She champions hard earned Women’s rights. Despite my asking many trans over the last two years exactly what rights you want that don’t already have, not one answer.
Meanwhile JK rowling is living in a beautiful house in Scotland with her loving family and has a new book coming out later this year. That's reality xx
Meanwhile nobody cares xx
@@grief_hammer the penised people care... look at the hissy fit in this video lol
yup, hatred and bigotry has no consequences for the rich and powerful like JK
@ms honey “triggered”???? 🤣🤣 no better word describes this video
@ms honey you’re so right imagine being so triggered by jk Rowling that you paint a picture of her which represents how triggered she makes u, then u make a 25 minute video about how your precious feelings are hurt🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣transformers like the he-she chick-boy in this video are so pathetic. No wonder transphobia Is rising exponentially 😏
You call yourself a feminist, while attacking a woman who is standing up for women, and LGB people, while being a straight man (also has a wife), wow.
The modern trans ldeoIogy is nothing more than an insidious, and fairly cleverly concealed, attack on women and our sex based rights and protections.
It’s really revealing that you would leave the T out of LGBT and refer to Cat (a woman) as a straight man. Interesting
I'm a gay man and thank you for understanding the T has nothing to do with the LGB and is actually harmful to us.
@@colinlaurel1363 That's cos so-called transwomen are men.
Her work will always outlive your attempt at art - (which needs a whole narrative to explain it ) - yeah very creative!
More artists need to come watch this and learn something about nuance & subtlety.
its a striking painting with a lot of meaning behind it. I will never understand what makes a person so angry and hateful toward another person besides fear and just plan bigotry.I still need to read the article, but at the same time I dont want to just end up feeling really angry towards a person who doesnt deserve a second thought.
It's superb. To portray the subject in a way that satirised would only have diminished the impact.
I'm a libertarian. If you want to pretend to be a woman, it's none of my business.
So don't make it my business by trying to force me to participate in your fantasy.
That’s a man pretending to be a woman.
Yes.
not a very good painting.
wrong
@@grief_hammer
it's my opinion i don't care what you or anyone else's opinion on my opinion.... opinions are not facts if they were maybe you can say it's wrong or right but this is how I feel .
@@samankucher5117 This articulates a child's understanding of what opinions are. For example you say you don't care what anyone thinks, but if that were true why reply to me or post your comment in the first place.
@@grief_hammer
I reply because it's a part of my culture to reply to some even if they were strangers even if they were a enemies it matters not to me. it's way of being polite in my culture I thought every culture has a version of it even Americans but after reading your comment it doesn't seem to be the case .
do you have another question? I'll reply to the by doing my best or the best of my English.
@@samankucher5117 I'm not an American.
The question is why do you publicly post a criticism if you truly do not care what anyone thinks?
JK is a legend and you're a dude.
Women won't submit!
Teaming up with militant patriarchs against a scapegoat has never worked out well for women in the past, but I'm sure this time will be different, right?
@ms honey she represents me
@@nunyabidnis3815 exactly trans identifying males are the patriarchy and destroying women's rights. Good attempt at mansplaining though
@@AlL-hs4lj So, all the terfs siding with right wing demagogues is... what exactly?
@@nunyabidnis3815 it's your lack of reading.
There are 3 distinct positions
You need to heal from your traumas that made you sad, frustrated, self hating.
You need to get out of the darkness, I know multiple people who used to identify as transgender or nonbinary who later detransitioned after figuring things out, you can be so much more, you need to resolve your internal problems.
0,5%
JK Rowling is just like Dumbledore in Order Of The Phoenix, trying to get the truth out and being attacked by a corrupt government and media and mindless Woke-Zombies, and just like in OFTP, truth will out and Dumbledore will be celebrated as a hero.
Lmfao
Vile painting, vile behaviour, and ridiculous, scurrilous, slanderous accusations against JKR.
But guess what?
She's extremely popular, happy, hugely successful, healthy, intelligent, and a millionaire so she's unlikely to be bothered by the beliefs of misogynists.
Being a rich person does not make you moral or good. Interesting how all Rowlings sycophants always mention how popular she is.
I’ve hated her since she started her shite during the Scottish independence referendum and called our independence party nazis. SHE is the one who slings slanderous accusations. She’s a fucking vile woman.
You refuse to engage in any analysis of JK Rowling’s views and solely wish to condemn. Wow, just incredible lol. This won’t make you happy
Self pitying whinging typical of TiM's who don't like it when women defend their boundaries. It's a crap painting too mate.
You made a powerful picture and my heart aches for you as a child however, saying horrible things, even in a nice way, is still saying horrible things about someone. That is never a way to win people to your cause. To me, it has the same effect as screaming obscenities in their faces, they go even harder the other way.
There frankly isn't anything nice left to say about Rowling. She actively uses her massive wealth and influence to promote literal genocide* of a historically incredibly marginalized group of people.
That's a monster. She's a monster.
(*taking away care, criminalization, and stoking constant violence are mechanisms of genocide to "remove a specific group from society")
Very powerful artwork, kinda eerye even. You can feel her being consumed by hate and Evil
Cos JK Rowling knows that delusional men aren't women? So much hate, so evil. #TWAM
Very nice... The cover... Not Trans phonia
It is not in me to be cruel to some stranger on the internet, good work with your art even if you're subject matter is wrong. Like most progressives you speak through emotional rhetoric and it does you a disservice. The day you can formulate an actual reply to Rowling's work that is cognitively sound is the day people might actually listen to you. At the moment though it convinces no one of your beliefs and merely serves as a reminder as to why people don't agree.
great peace, I think you should call it "Misogyny"
I agree! logical culmination of terf's beliefs is misogyny. "women deserve more (but only women like me)" which is funnily excludes much more women than includes.
@@sweetmorgan3545yes it excludes men. Seethe
Dependent on how I ask and get a very different opinions on how offensive stuff is that J. K. Rowling is saying even though some trans people agree with her. For myself I find many trans inclusive language sounding like misogynistic language.
Trans inclusive language overwhelmingly helps trans men (people who menstruate, those able to get pregnant, etc.) in reproductive health.
"Trans inclusive" langauge is arguably overwhelmingly feminist even FOR cis women! As it doesn't reduce "womanhood" to the sole ability to give birth, something many cis women are sadly unable to do despite their wishes, or who choose to not do so.
And yes trans women are women, society exerts the same pressures upon them as to cis women. That is what matters. Biologically there is even little setting the two groups apart (humans as a species possess little dimorphism to begin with, and especially after HRT), with the exception of the ability to give birth, but again, not all cis women are capable of this to begin with AND reducing womanhood to the ability to become pregnant is literally the language fundamentalist authoritarian cis men use...
@@NIRDIAN1 you've properly drank the Kool Aid haven't you. Fucking hell.
Because language is open to interpretation and very much affected by our perseption of the person speaking. Even more so over text and in the fog of social media.
You are a man, that's not transphobia, it's a fact. You are an adult human male.
Actually she was born intersex so she wasn’t born male or female! If u watched the video you’d know that but Yk. You just wanna be transphobic