3 APRIL 2015
ON THIS DAY IN 1882 Robert Ford shot Jesse James while James was hanging a picture on the wall.
I first learned of this bit of historical trivia from Bob Dylan. That's right. There's a verse in Dylan's OUTLAW BLUES that goes:
"Ain’t gonna hang no picture
Ain’t gonna hang no picture frame
Ain’t gonna hang no picture
Ain’t gonna hang no picture frame
Well, I might look like Robert Ford
But I feel just like a Jesse James"
When I heard this line, I wanted to know if there was any real meaning to it and that's when I discovered Jesse James fate.
When I was looking for a title to my first "graphic-poem" art magazine, I decided to use a variation of that first line and Ain't gonna hang no pixel was born. It all seemed relevant. The story is a tale of an artist who decides to switch from paint to pixels. He justifies this "criminal" move by basing his decision on Dylan's switch from acoustic to electric.
I remember the expression on the face of the young man who stopped at my booth at the second annual PAINT and PIXEL Festival as he looked up to me and said, "I will never hear that song the same way." I thanked him and smiled.
