Title: Empire is Tacky
Medium: Digitally printed, saddle-stitch zine; conte, graphite, digital collage, personal writing
Dimensions: 5 in. W x 6.5 in. H; 32 pages
Date: 2022
Zine anthology of several new and reformatted comic adaptations of personal essay broadsheets reflecting on modern day imperialism within the context of the United States.
Studio production and printing of this book is the result of a 2022 Creative Support for Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
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Alt Text: Cover. Ragged, spattered ink and graphite drawing of the upper torso of the Augustus of Prima Porta, eyes obscured by ink, teeth and lips coated in makeup, in front of bright purple backdrop. A thin, golden frame is drawn around the area of the cover. Over a black bar in middle of page, title, in imitation of carved stone, reads "Empire is Tacky: Essays by Jacob Yeates."
Alt Text: Interior title page featuring a black and white version of the image on the book cover. All subsequent interior pages are also in black, white and greys (no color).
Alt Text: Table of contents spread. Left page shows a crudely drawn facsimile of a Roman bust between two broken pillars. This page layout is used in future as a chapter heading. Right page, alongside collaged imagery of a jar, a hand with a knife, and geometric patterns, lists five sections, each punctuated with a small box containing a flag, an "X" running through each box.
Alt Text: Intro section spread. Spread dominated by white text on black background, bordered by of geometric, Greco-Roman patterns. In upper left and right portions are drawings of fragmented sculptures of human bodies, more akin to flesh than stone. Two panels, one on bottom left, the other bottom right, show collaged, antique imagery of coiling serpents or worms.
Alt Text: Section one title spread. Left page shows a crudely drawn facsimile of a Roman bust between two broken pillars. Right page, below handwritten title, a crudely-drawn frame containing of a mob of ski mask-clad, shouting men pushing through a hall. On bottom right of image is a small box containing a flag, an "X" running through it.
Alt Text: On left, two variations of ink and graphite drawings of a man in a tee shirt and boxers standing in a doorway, looking off to some noise. On right, the backs of two fleeing, hunched figures frozen in midstride in a hallway. Bullet holes and splatters mar the walls around them. Below, another frame shows a glimpse of a hand clutching a knife.
Alt Text: On left is a grid of six frames. Three depict drawings of flags. The others, a map of Ft. Snelling, a Gericault study of amputated limbs, and a photo of a bulldozer. Each frame has an "X" drawn through it. On right, a drawing of a mob of ski mask-clad, shouting men pushing through a hall. A second frame shows a closeup of bulging eyes and gritted teeth.
Alt Text: A single, wide frame depicts an ink and graphite drawing of a screaming man in profile, stabbing a kitchen knife into the forehead of a figure in a ski mask held against a wall. To the right of that figure is a long line of that same, masked figure spanning into the extreme foreground of the image, each figure with a knife embedded into its forehead.
Alt Text: Section two title spread. Left page shows a crudely drawn facsimile of a Roman bust between two broken pillars. Right page, a technical drawing of a sarcophagus, oriented vertically rather than horizontally, is marred by black paint streaks and splatters. Section title is written over this. On bottom right of image is a small box containing a flag, an "X" running through it.
Alt Text: Majority of spread dominated by several technical drawings of Virginia's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on scarred, stained paper. In upper right is a fragment of a distorted, graphite drawing of the three relief-carved figures on the tomb. On the left, partially visible, traveling down the page are three simple ink drawings of laurel wreaths.
Alt Text: Left page shows ink drawings of laurel wreaths continuing downwards behind large panel of text. Another simple ink drawing of Tomb Guard insignia punctuates end of text. On right, in front of tomb schematics and three, black obelisks or shafts of splattered paint is a distorted drawing of a uniformed Tomb Guard in mid-stride.
Alt Text: On left, behind frame of text, is inverted version of patrolling Tomb Guard, next to fragments of wreath icons. The Tomb Guard's eyes have been obscured by white bar. On right, technical drawing of Tomb and distorted graphite drawings of relief figures are again visible, but oriented vertically, further disorienting viewer.
Alt Text: Section three title spread. Left page shows a crudely drawn facsimile of a Roman bust between two broken pillars. Right page, a fragment of a drawn reproduction of Yvon's "Caesar Crossing the Rubicon," is framed by pencil hatching and paint streaks. Section title is written over this. On bottom right of image is a small box containing a flag, an "X" running through it.
Alt Text: On left, three simple ink reproductions of upside-down Roman Legionnaire standards are present on white, ink-spattered background, a loose graphite circle around them. On right, barely visible behind three black boxes containing text, is a detailed drawing of a figure trampled by horse hooves; part of a larger, mostly unseen, image.
Alt Text: Spread dominated by technical line drawing of Jeep Rubicon. Underneath the wheels is splattered ink and paint, and barely visible behind the vehicle is part of a large image, a drawing depicting what appears to be a panicking or distraught crowd.
Alt Text: Spread dominated by now-visible image obscured in prior spreads, a large graphite and ink reproduction of Adolph Yvon's "Caesar Crossing the Rubicon," but seemingly even more foreboding/apocalyptic. Sprawling across the canvas above a ghostly, sword-wielding figure, is handwritten text quoting a Jeep ad campaign.
Alt Text: End section spread. Left page shows a crudely drawn facsimile of a Roman bust between two broken pillars. Right page, parallel to column of text is spattered ink and graphite drawing of the Augustus of Prima Porta, eyes obscured by ink, teeth and lips coated in makeup. On bottom right of image is a small box containing a flag, an "X" running through it.
Alt Text: Interior title page featuring a black and white version of the image on the book's back cover. See next image for full description.
Alt Text: Back cover. Bright purple cover containing thin, gold, rectangular frame. Within frame is Roman bust drawing, now drawn in whites and purples, the broken columns capped with gold. The change in color reveals the bust's face as crudely done up in stage makeup, both clownish and unsettling.
*Disregard pink paper from earlier documentation requiring obscuring of artist name