On the busy fifth floor of the YoHo Artist Studios is Seán Taggart’s studio, filled with his self-described “artoonism” pieces comprising tapestries, paintings, and sketches that include bold political statements, humorous self-reflections, and pastel depictions of dystopian landscapes. Taggart’s art draws you in with his use of color and cartoons, and then he gives you a moment to reflect on the state of the world, and, on occasion, laugh about it too.
“It’s called ‘I Scream,'” Taggert says, pointing to a large newer piece he’s recently completely. “What’s he screaming about? I don’t know, but the eye is seeing it.”
Taggert, a professional illustrator and cartoonist, has worked everywhere from Topps trading cards to creating licensed children’s comic books for DC Comics, with a notable stint as the artist for the Jerky Boys in the 1990s. He’s also worked on album art for several notable punk and hardcore bands. His love of music and comics is what brought Taggart and his wife, writer and editor Bronwyn Carlton, together.
Taggart fondly recounts the story of how he and his wife first met. After falling in love with her radio show on WFMU, a mutual friend who also worked there as a production artist and DJ offered Taggart the opportunity to create art for their program guide. He created a comic strip about the station, knowing she was fond of cartoons and comics, which concluded with a marriage proposal from him to her in the last panel. She called him not long after, and they’ve been together ever since. Carlton would go on to write and edit for Paradox Press, Marvel, and DC Comics.
Taggart made the change from working primarily on commercial art to his paintings in the early 200s, citing burnout as his primary reason. “Whenever I had a straight job, I was always doing freelance anyway,” Taggart explains. “But it’s really hard to just sustain, and I just couldn’t do like the double all-nighters. I started to design fast food premiums for restaurants for this one agency, and I was doing three days in a row without sleeping and no drugs, just coffee!”
Taggart then had a short stint in animation before bouncing around and finding work as a photo retoucher, which he continues to do to this day. “The hours are nine to five, it’s just like no stress,” Taggart says. Working for someone he enjoys with manageable hours allows him the time to focus on his paintings in his free time.
Taggart’s art often functions to pose existential questions and cynical views of the current political landscape, something he’s not afraid to shy away from in his art.
“When times are bad, some of the best art is created,” Taggart explains. He believes art is one of the strongest tools we have to fight against fascism, and it’s up to artists to take up their tools and fight with their creative power.
Seán Taggart’s work was most recently on display at the Upstream Gallery in Hastings-on-Hudson. Learn more about the gallery and his featured work on their website.
