Daily Texan

Review of Blood Song: A Silent Ballad

"Artist Draws Emotion with New Graphic Novel"

by Weezie Melancon

October 2002

Our emotions, along with our ideas and beliefs, are trademarks that define our personality. While some use actions to communicate, others use their voice, and while some prefer the written word, there are those that look to pictures. Eric Drooker is an artist and a novelist who uses his unconventional artwork as his form of self-expression.

"Pictures are my native tongue. I use artwork as a means of communication," Drooker said. "I consider artwork to be a universal language--no matter what language one speaks, they will be able to understand it."

Drooker began his career as a freelance artist in New York City, and quickly obtained a reputation as a street art-activist. Recognizing the city as, "a very extreme place with a lot of social contradiction," Drooker describes the scenery he was exposed to as a child and the effect the environment had on him and how it molded his style and the work.

"Injustices are very obvious to see on a street. You'll see homeless people hanging out and then a stretch Cadillac drive by," Drooker said. "I think these are all things that affected me in a very deep way and stimulated me. These are things that make their presence known it my artwork."

Drooker's credits include his award-winning novel, Flood!, album covers for Rage against the Machine and Faith No More, as well as featured illustrations in Newsweek, The New York Times and The New Yorker. Drooker just completed the cover for, 9/11: Artist Respond, Volume I, a commemorative comic book created in response to the terrorist attacks.

Recently, Drooker published another novel, Blood Song, a wordless narrative consisting entirely of sequential graphics. The silent ballad illustrates a story of a young girl's journey and transformation to womanhood.

"Pictures, by their nature, are a little more open-ended than text. The person who looks at the image brings a lot of baggage with them and will read into the image." Drooker said. "The artist supplies his end of it and the other 50 percent is the interpretation of the viewer."

In Blood Song, Drooker predominantly uses a monochromatic pallet, mostly black, white, and deep shades of blue, but adds bursts of color to mark pivotal moments in the story. The novel allows its viewers to add their own dialogue, perhaps take part in the creation and completion of the story.

"I wanted to use color very sparingly so that it would really stand out," Drooker explains. "Warm yellows and oranges and red, the color of blood itself, is used to give it some real contrast. The splashes of color represent moments of epiphany that advance the plot--moments of revelation--perhaps a turning point."

The details of his images invite viewers to imagine, create and embrace the multiple messages and symbols conveyed in the images.

The revolutionary style of Eric Drooker is provocatively unique and will, undoubtedly, leave a lasting impression. His radical artwork shares his perception on the wonders and the inhumanities that exist among us.