Barak Hardley (left) after another plane crash. This one was during a flight over Antarctica where Barak was looking for “Zoo Animals.”
My friend Barak Hardley contacts me about every three months. I met Barak in a pub in New Mexico, where he had crashed his plane in a field, stayed with firefighters while they put out the flames, then walked over to the pub (we were about one-hundred miles outside Santa Fe, in the high desert) and ordered a beer at the hotel bar. His pant-leg was burned from the crash and flames, but he didn’t want to talk about the crash. (It was the fifth time he’d crashed a plane. He just said he wasn’t a very good pilot and that “these things don’t work like cars.”) Within seconds, he asked what I did and I told him I was a writer and from that point on he wanted to talk about Steinbeck’s Travels with Charlie and whether or not the dog represented Marxist Lenninism, of which I am still uncertain, but Barak had some theories I found interesting.
Regardless, since then Barak sends me cartoons he draws and asks what I think the social commentary might be. Barak is clear there is no social commentary intended, but in his most recent e-mail states:
“..no social commentary for these three, but if there were one, what do you think they would be? I have hurt my brain on this and I can’t figure it out. They fly off my hands, Scout (Barak calls me Scout) and I know they are saying something but what? You gotta help me, Scout. Do you think I am controlled by God? Still haven’t read your book.”
So, I thought I’d introduce you to Barak Hardley and ask what you think his drawings are trying to say, even though he wasn’t trying to say anything with them. You can offer your suggestions as a comment below. Thanks!
#1
#2
#3
i just wanna hang out with barak and not even cuz the drawings are cool, but because he calls people (or person) “scout”.
it’s people!
these are all terrific. next time we should do ink blots. i think i have some of those laying around. also, many people have left messages with links to another blog, that of barak hardley, an actor who has appeared in many commercials, who also happens to draw and has very similar drawings on his site. i assure you, that barak and this barak are not the same person. please do not confuse people. this barak flies and wrecks planes and is very eccentric. that barak is nobody you should research or get confused with this one. thank you.
-the management
I laughed out loud when he said he didn’t read your book. I’m sure everyone says that to you (I have) and it is probably a bit refreshing and ego-reducing (if you ever struggle with that)
Ditto on your readers, reading the comments made me feel stupid, very brilliant and creative group here. Thanks for the insight.
I thought # 2 was Teddy Roosevelt…lol. But now I would say this is Bill after his show, when all the remorse hits him for what he said durinf the show and he just “wants his mommy”. Aren’t we all like that after we’ve said stuff we shouldn’t have.
Sorry I made a typo (these comments need an edit button – I do this all the time). I meant to say I am sure everyone says that they “have” read your book (I have) and that it may be refreshing to hear when someone hasn’t.
So I didn’t read all 53 other blog posts, so if I am encroaching on anyone else’s interpretation of the cartoons, i am sorry.
I think each one of them reflects how American culture tries to prop itself up apart from God.
1) Through technical innovation we try to prop ourselves up, and make our lives easier. Segway-makes life easier Energy Drinks- Artificially give us a boost. However, neither of these things are a true source of happiness or a replacement for better or more genuine lives.
2) Aggressiveness and cockiness that Bill represents are also masking a deeper longing and need. People who are mean or cocky generally are making up for something, and in this case it is probably an extreme fear and loneliness which is made apparent by clutching the bear.
3) Is not about Kermit being a frog, but a puppet. Many people turn to fitness to find their strength and identity, building an idol of themselves. As you can see Kermit built a strong physic, but has no base, no foundation- his legs are still small, and it is apparent he is still a puppet.
Also,
Don i just read Blue like Jazz. I found it very encouraging. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and faith.
Scout, I don’t remember giving you permission to post my personal emails on the internet and blogs and such. If I wasn’t about to take my new Piper Cub out to the Adirondacks for some field Tennis with Cheaver and Wooly, I’d have some cross words with you. Cross indeed.
Barak,
Forgive me for putting your artwork online. I know you only sent it to me and didn’t intend for it to be shared with the world. That said, however, I think your artwork should belong to all of us. I will keep it up, although against your will.
I am glad you got another plane, Barak. But how do you keep affording so many of them? And who is this other Barak Hardley, the actor, and why do his drawings look so much like yours? Tell Cheaver and Wooly I say hello, would you? I haven’t seen them since that lawn-dart incident in the Hamptons. I hope his dogs eye has healed.
Best,
Scout
#1 Complacent Iron Man
This one is a bit obvious. Our western laziness, apathy, and self-indulgence are represented in the overweight, armored man. The pop-culture character, Iron Man, shows our over-confidence, ‘no-one-can-tell-me-what-to-do-ness’. The irony of course is in the fact that we have an armor on us, mainly as a defense, not because we are tough and bold.
The Segway vehicle and overweight appearance of the character is a testament to our indulgence.
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#2 Oh, Really O’Reilly?
A bit obvious and easy. A man who loves sensation and bullied confrontation is not a lover of truth is most likely a very insecure man. The over-exaggeration is shown in the common image of a fragile man, crying like a child hugging a secure and stable icon of times better and goneby
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#3 Sesame Doping
This one conveyed our steroid problem, even before i noticed the image name. It could simply be a fun image, using classic American pop culture icons (Kermit the Frog and Fozzie the Bear, Muppets). But there could also be a deeper meaning….
the idea that doping up can even branch find its way to the innocent and untouched. “good ol’ fashioned” hard work and determination represented by the classic, clean pop icons have been corrupted by an unnatural element. Interestingly, Kermit still retains his good-guy smile, sitting on a ledge, seemingly oblivious to his abnormal condition. He’s just doing a new thing, something everybody’s doing nowadays. Maybe it’s also reflective of the idea that most people think ‘cutting corners’ and ‘bending the rules’ is an absolute necessity in life to get ahead or stay ahead.
the sadness in the image might be reflected in Fozzie’s character – Kermit’s best friend peeks from behind the ledge, worried, unsure, and perhaps afraid of what has become of his good friend.
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i’m just sayin…
:: efrain
I think I smell a dead fish…
Picture 1 Title: “The All-American Super Hero”
Barak and Don,
So Don’s got a new book coming out sometime soon, it should have come out by now but he’s been slacking (riding his bike around or something) and we’ve still got awhile ’till it comes out, so, Barak, you should design the cover of Don’s new book! With your mad cartoon-drawing skills.
Let me know what you think. And try to get us a rough draft of that or something sometime Don so we can give our opinion and let Barak know what we think.
Just an idea. A random idea. Out of nowhere.
kermit is now like perfect. you might be intimidated by him now, but seriously, he’s kermit! he’s still the same nice kid he always was. he does have new habits though…
don, i just saw you at the echo conference like a month ago. so i heard what you said about story. then i came home and my 13 year old son had a small melt down one afternoon. we’re sitting on the deck talking it through God brings back the idea the character. my husband and i talk with tanner about what kind of character he is and what’s going on in his movie. what had God written on your heart? what’s His dream for the scene? what kind of character do you want to be? write it in, write it in, let Jesus write it in!!! we say…
i just wanted to say thank you. i think you gave a 13 year old a whole new lens through which to view what he had formerly considered just fits of chaos and then sometimes peace. you mean a lot to us! you really do.
people!
I think all of them in some way say, “I, Barak Hardley, am a pompous ass and Randy Williams is a person of substance, beauty, and truth.” But that’s just one man’s opinion.
#1: The conflicted role of technology and mass production in the human experience.
#2: Anyone as angry as O’Reilly does have serious issues. Period.
#3: Fozzy has a crush on Miss Piggie, and this image depicts how he perceives Kermits ability to win her affection. Don’t give up, Fozzy!