Episode 611 - Eric Drooker

With his new graphic novel, NAKED CITY (Dark Horse Books), artist/activist Eric Drooker finishes the New York trilogy begun in Flood! and Blood Song. We talk about how Naked City started with the image of a beleaguered squeegee-man and wound up a love letter to New York and especially Tompkins Square Park, the challenges of using word/thought balloons and captions after making wordless comics for so long, and the importance of staying handmade in the digital era. We get into his upbringing in Stuy Town and the Lower East Side/Loisaida, why we were recording in an apartment above the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, how New York changed during his life, why he semi sorta escaped from the city, what it's like being a quality-of-life criminal, and the time he made his start with stencil-graffiti only to get over-tagged by Basquiat. We also discuss his artistic & political awakenings, the Tompkins Square Park riot and police militarization, his ambivalence about street art going into the gallery, the importance of on-the-ground activism (MOAR STREET POSTERS), the surveillance panopticon, and more. Follow Eric on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube • More info at our site • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Patreon or Paypal and via our e-newsletter