Chris Simonite's Cubo-Weirdism Blog! A Blog about Chris Simonite's Art by Chris Simonite. Who the Hell else?

Last week, I was once again reminded of something I have written about a few times on this here blog here. And that is that the subject of most of my paintings are men. In the past I've written about this issue in the context of the Bechdel test. To recap, a movie, TV show, novel etc passes the Bechdel Test if it features two women having a conversation about something other than a man. In other words if that happens, the work in question is not overly sexist. Of course, in the context of my work this does not apply at all. But my work, being pop culture based, reflects what goes on in Hollywood. And that is, that stories about men are still more common than stories about women. Hence most of my paintings feature, you guessed it. Men.

I was thinking about this again because I had recently begun a series of paintings of famous comedians. And, as usual, most of them have been men. In fact this week, I will be debuting my painting of Jerry Seinfeld on social media. Sorry, another man! Ugh!

But although I've been a fan of Seinfeld for a long time, I'm happy to announce that this week's blog post will pass the Bechdel Test! At least as much as it can in the context of my work. That's because I'm not going to focus on Mr. Seinfeld this week. Although I did mention him first. So maybe I've failed again. Ugh again!

Sarah Silverman, 14" x 11", oil on canvas, 2023. Available.

Anyway, the point is, this blog post will focus on the great Sarah Silverman, who is in my top five favourite comedians of all time. 

In fact, I saw her live at Just for Laughs in Montreal around ten years ago. She hosted one of the gala shows. If you're not familiar with the galas at Just for Laughs, it kind of goes like this: the host performs some material that they didn't write, and then they introduce the other comedians. And Silverman was the host for this particular Gala.

It was super cool seeing her in person, but I wasn't thrilled with the material. It's always a little watered down at the galas because it's broadcast on CBC TV at a later date. In fact I've seen quite a few comedians at JFL that I didn't find find funny, including John Cleese (who I still love anyway) and Louis CK. And I have to admit in hindsight, I'm glad I didn't find CK funny. Enough said. Wait–dammit! I'm failing the Bechdel Test again! But this time I'll blame Just for Laughs for the fact that they mostly booked male comedians the two or three times I've been. Ugh, yet again!

Okay, back to Sarah Silverman. I highly recommend her stand-up specials and her show the Sarah Silverman Program. Both are hilarious. And she also shows great acting chops in TV shows such as Masters of Sex and a few movies. She recently hosted the Daily Show for a week and proved she's still got it. In fact, maybe they should give her the job. Not sure if she would want it or not, but she'd be a great replacement for Trevor Noah.

I'll finish this post by saying that I might take a break from painting comedians for a while. But when I get back to it, are there any comedians you'd like to see me paint? Especially female ones? Comment below, or on social media. There is no obligation to buy!