Random thoughts on the art of Caricature WHY do I DO THIS?

It's been said, sadly by people in my profession, that Caricature is "garbage art" Tt's "disposable art" , It's "fast food".

Well, all I can say is that "fast food" is a gourmet meal to a starving person, and how Disposable is your shadow? your reflection?

From time to time I find myself coming back to the question, What IS IT between me and caricature that keeps me coming back. In this exerpt of a letter I wrote to a potential agent, (they havent accepted me yet) I asked this question and wrote the following answer. Maybe one of you readers will find it useful.

My passion is CARICATURE. To me it's MORE than "throwaway Party Art" and "drawing people with big noses". I use caricature as a way to explore, and expose the personality and soul of a person. As human beings we all wear masks hoping that no one will pull them down and expose the hidden parts of our personality, leaving us naked and exposed. The Caricature artist acts as a human lie detector, seeing beyond the masks that people put on , and through observation, exaggeration, and amplification are able to find the true face of the person behind the "painted smile" . Throughout my career as a professional caricature entertainer and humorous portrait artist, it is not uncommon for people to say to me, "when you drew my picture , I see my father in there", or " how did you know that I was an angry person? I was SMILING!" Through the art of caricature I am also able to portray emotions, and give editorial comment. My ongoing project, and muse is something I call, "SUBWAYSURFING" or EXTREME LIFE DRAWING. where I draw caricature portraits on the NYC Trains and buses. My observations and exploits can be viewed on my blog at
wwww.subwaysurfer.blogspot.com
I am also the author of two books on the subject which can also be found on the blog.
This work has been a way for me to bring community to a cramped often uncomfortable place where intimacy is forced upon us and where we meet people of every conceivable race, gender, social economic/political status. The Subway, for me is a mobile melting pot where cultures intermingle and clash en route to destinations only known to the individual commuter.