…and this is a 
Did Watterson ever do squid?
Category: Weirdness
Posted on: February 3, 2006 9:34 AM, by PZ Myers
Here's a spiffy picture.
It's almost ruined for me by the artist's description, though.
Here, raw sexual aggression is symbolized by the sperm whale, while the squid acts as a thinly-disguised metaphor for the multi-armed oligarchies of Rockefeller, Hearst, and Morgan. Their battle plays against the backdrop of the sea, standing in for—what else?—the vastness of the unconscious mind.
He can't possibly be serious. It reminded me more of this:
Forget the metaphors and monopolies and minds…it's just cooooool.
Comments
My son (now 16) probably would not have learned to read had it not been for Calvin & Hobbes & The Far Side. We had many sessions of reading those aloud and then listening to him puzzling out what some of the cartoons meant (listening to a 6 year old try to figure out The Far Side was especially hilarious).
The one you posted is still one of his favorites.
Posted by: Jodie | February 3, 2006 9:46 AM
This isn't the first time here that I'm having a hard time reading the text in the pictures.
Posted by: Mikko Sandt | February 3, 2006 10:01 AM
I love Brandon Bird's stuff. And I think that if you take a look at the rest of his work you'll realize that he's just having a lot of fun.
My personal fave is http://www.brandonbird.com/twowarriors.html
Posted by: pough | February 3, 2006 10:05 AM
...and for those of us who want to see dinosaurs AND Bea Arthur (together at last!) http://www.brandonbird.com/bea.html
Kinda puts the "he can't possibly be serious" to rest, I think. ;-)
Posted by: pough | February 3, 2006 10:08 AM
I presume the genus we're looking at here is "Tyrranoteuthis"
Posted by: Les Lane | February 3, 2006 10:30 AM
Having gone to art college - The description is a great parody of the kind of stuff people write about their work. My opinion is that if you need a paragraph next to the piece to get people to understand your intention, you've failed as an artist. Of course, the people who put up shows want (sometimes require) a little card with a paragraph about the piece, so I can totally understand why one would have fun with it.
Posted by: dAVE | February 3, 2006 11:02 AM
I hope you didn't miss this...
http://www.brandonbird.com/anguish.html
perhaps when I get home I could do a little photoshop magic and put PZ's face there.
Posted by: kenn lippert | February 3, 2006 11:36 AM
If I'd browsed the site a little more, I would have discovered he was being ironic.
I'd have also found this masterpiece that I want on my wall.
Posted by: PZ Myers![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/nav-commenters.gif)
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February 3, 2006 11:38 AM
Oh, and the captions in the cartoon:
"Tyrannosaurs in F-14s!!"
"This is so cool!"
"This is so stupid."
Posted by: PZ Myers![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/nav-commenters.gif)
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February 3, 2006 11:41 AM
Tell me you're not serious in wondering if the artist was serious.
Posted by: BMurray | February 3, 2006 11:47 AM
Wyland could learn from this guy.
Posted by: dbpitt | February 3, 2006 12:32 PM
So Bird's a Something Awful contributor, then?
http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=81&p=7
Posted by: Anton Mates | February 3, 2006 1:45 PM
Ahahaha! That reminds me of the time Charles Platt claimed that Garbage World and Planet of the Voles, two of the pulpiest pulps to ever see print, were supposed to be SFnal explorations of Freudian stages of psychosexual development.
Posted by: Rose Fox | February 3, 2006 2:30 PM
Bird is the genius behind the Law and Order coloring book.
Posted by: Ben | February 3, 2006 3:30 PM
'while the squid acts as a thinly-disguised metaphor for the multi-armed oligarchies of Rockefeller, Hearst, and Morgan"
That's not even original. The use of multi-tentacled sea creatures to represent unrestrained, grasping, corporatism is as old as...as...well, as unrestrained, grasping, corporatism. Here are six examples from the early days of anti-trust.
http://www.nhc.rtp.nc.us:8080/pds/gilded/power/text1/octopusimages.pdf
please forgive the long link
Posted by: Paul Flocken | February 3, 2006 8:43 PM
What does the Tyrannosaurus rex symbolize?
Go T. rex, munch that ugly squid to extinction!
Posted by: trexmaster | February 4, 2006 12:56 AM
On second thought, forget about my last comment. I don't like squids (or other cephalopods), but I realize I was a bit insensitive to some of the cephalopod-lovers here. My apologies.
Posted by: trexmaster | February 4, 2006 12:58 AM
What many people don't know is that Bill Watterson used to play with They Might Be Giants. The painting above was the original artwork for Apollo 18, before Bill and They went their separate ways.
Posted by: arensb | February 4, 2006 10:45 PM
PZ, you can order a signed print of The Anguish from his website.
http://www.brandonbird.com/shopping.html
Posted by: pough | February 5, 2006 1:02 AM
Calvin and Hobbes. Sigh.
Posted by: Phoenix Woman | February 9, 2006 8:49 AM