issue artist: Joe Klockowski [Woolybearz]

The newest piece in the dandy collection has arrived!

For the month of June, 10% of proceeds from the sales of “Arch” will be donated to the Ali Forney Center in New York City [helping and housing homeless LGBTQ+ youth] and another 10% will go to the Rainbow Railroad [helping LGBTQ+ people escape violence and persecution in their home countries]. As always, the rest of the proceeds will go toward helping keep this site running, and supporting queer art and artists.

Arch :: dandy collection #00006 :: 2021

I didn’t know Joe Klockowski before I started working on dandy, but he was one of the first artists I discussed the concept with in-depth, who really seemed to take a personal interest in it. I knew early on he would be the perfect person to help me navigate how to make a new “issue” for a magazine that is constantly changing, and never really published in the traditional sense. And I knew he would help me make it look good.

Klockowski’s art has a peaceful yet precarious balance to it that has undoubtedly developed through his work as a graphic designer. His personality carries a gentleness that is expressed effortlessly in each piece. As is his subtle sense of humor. His work is soothing to look at, but doesn’t shy away from deeper tones of melancholy or despondency, and he is one of few working queer artists whose depiction of the nude male form never even approaches a sexual tone.

[dandy:] So where are you from originally?
[Klockowski:] I grew up in central New York- Rome to be exact. It's a small straight town. Now, I live in the New York Capital Region, just north of Albany.

For some reason I thought you lived in New York City at one point?
I've always lived in relatively rural settings. Though I do really enjoy the city.

I know you use your real name openly as an artist, but you sign most of the work I've seen with "Woolybearz." Why is that?
I'd say 'Woolybearz' is my focused, for lack of a better term, "brand" for these specific illustrations in this style. I don't like to pigeonhole myself with my art, and I make a lot of art that is very different from Woolybearz, too. I want these illustrations to be a succinct idea all packaged under one name.

So how would you best describe the Woolybearz art you make?
In the most simple terms, they are gay bear illustrations- and I generally aim to have my work be bright and whimsical, though there tends to be an underlying somber quality to it as well.

Why somber?
I've never really been drawn to depicting hot and heavy sexual fantasy when I'm figure drawing. It's just never something I felt connected to. I want to show the opposite in some ways. Woolybearz has evolved into a reflection of my own experiences of being queer, my struggles with mental health, and feeling out of place in the gay community- primarily the bear community. I like to show a more somber side of queer affection and interaction, all wrapped up in an ironic, playful little bow.

Well you definitely don't look like a stereotypical bear. Do you identify as one though?
The bear community has been the part of the gay community I'm most attracted to- since those are the men I am into. I'm definitely not a bear. The events I go to are usually pretty bear-oriented, but I feel deep within myself that I am a muskrat.

Muskrat- I haven't heard that. How would you define what it is to be a muskrat?
Hmm. Troublemaking, sarcastic otter?

Oh yeah? What kind of trouble do you make?
I just enjoy taking the seriousness out of every scenario. I've got a weird dry sense of humor, and sometimes I just enjoy messing with people.

So what attracts you most to making art about bears?
Well mostly that I am attracted to those types of guys, but I also enjoy the irony of depicting these big, hulking body types as being really delicate. I find the majority of bear-oriented art is very sexual, which is fine- but I like creating a counterpoint to that. All the bear figures I draw are the same default bear, which I do on purpose.

Oh yeah, I noticed you use a common bear archetype as a building block in your work- often quite literally. Did your work start out that way, or just naturally progress toward that?
My work was weeeiiirrrd at first. Drippy cartoon eyes, melting acid forms, odd patterns. I had this mindset of more is more is more. I feel like I was trying way too hard to be unique. It really wasn't until the "cairn" series that I started simplifying my work and truly connecting to what I was making. I feel much more authentic with my point of view in what I'm creating now.

Whats the "cairn" series?
It's an ongoing series focused on depicting figures in a stacked-rock structure.

So would the piece you made for the dandy collection be considered part of that series?
I'd say it's the same general idea. I originally just planned a series of five "cairn" illustrations, but it's a composition I continue to connect with, so it's kind of become more than a series.

You have quite a distinct color palette as well- is there any specific motivation behind the colors you choose in your work?
I like the perceived femininity of pink and juxtaposing that with the traditionally 'masculine' subject matter. I also started working in limited color palettes -like pink and blue- because I was focused on making them risograph prints.

You were telling me before that you print a lot of your work yourself. Can you explain that process a little, and how you got into it?
Well, I own an old risograph printer that I renovated myself. Risograph printers are basically mimeographs. The process is somewhat similar to screen printing in that it uses separate colors. I stumbled on it and just really enjoyed the rough and grainy results, and the DIY nature of it. It also helps bring a physicality to my process since I work almost entirely digitally. I have this lofty idea to eventually create a queer-oriented printing press.

So are the pink and blue you chose for this issue based on colors you tend to use in your prints?
Yep! Originally I only had access to black, fluorescent pink, and medium blue. Now I own several color drums, but I still gravitate to fluorescent pink and blue for prints. It's just a palette I really enjoy.

I enjoy it as well- and it seems to make for some rich purples.
Yes! And having blue replace all the black creates this interesting overall "cold" quality to a piece.

Will you talk a bit about how you interpreted the concept of Pride in your piece?
At first I was sketching ideas that incorporated a flag, weaving in and out of this complicated piling. But it just never really felt right. I didn't want to rely on the rainbow flag to overtly depict pride, so instead I focused more on the arch structure of the rainbow, and the connotations an arch presents. A whole made from unique pieces, all reliant on supporting each other. The precarious balance in this awe-inspiring, almost gravity-defying structure.

There is a clean subtlety and fragile strength to it that really communicates what pride is meant to be about. Also, corporations seem to have co-opted the flag as a marketing tool, and when a symbol starts to be used as a tool for pandering, I feel like it loses a bit of its power.
Exactly- I'm glad you said that. I feel like the rainbow pride flag has unfortunately been repurposed to a point where I'm not really sure how well it represents queer experience or identity.

Do you have any artists you are super into or heavily influenced by?
Absolutely. There are some fantastic queer artists working right now. To name a few- Scott Csoke, Jeffrey Cheung, Caleb Boyles, Horno, Wuvable Oaf, Chris Bogia, Carlos Rodriguez, Bearpad, Jeromy Velasco, Drew Green. I also have a bit of an obsession with Eric Carle.

Woah, that's quite the list. And a few names I didn't recognize-
Oh yes. Dig in. They are all incredible.

So what do you do when you aren't drawing piles of naked bears?
I'm very outdoor oriented, so usually something nature-y. I enjoy hiking, rock climbing, swimming in rivers- all that jazz. I also really enjoy playing music. I've been casually playing guitar since I was 14 or so.

So what’s next for you as an artist?
I don’t want to give too much away about right now, but my next sort of lofty goal is developing a solid, simple patreon subscription. I have a pretty cool idea for it that very much ties into the “future queer print shop” idea I mentioned earlier. I also want to start working on a series focusing on local wildflowers in my area like trillium- possibly moving away from digital illustration into a more traditional medium.

Well you should definitely keep us caught up on what’s happening with all of that. Is there anything else you think is really important for us to know?
Everyone, seek treatment if you suffer from mental health issues. Go to fucking therapy, there is no shame in it.

more work in the dandy gallery

please take the time to let us know what you think in the comments below.

website :: woolybearz.com
instagram :: @woolybearz