What can’t a hooter do? Move or jump over cars. Change the lights of the streetlight. Cure deafness. Amputate impudence. Awaken someone’s consciousness.
Indignant hooters, flying fag-ends, loose and spitting tiles on sidewalks, aggressive public transport passengers and a whole lot of other oddities turn out appealing to artist Yavor Popov. He breathes new life to all this in his amusing cartoons winking to us from the Facebook page of the young man entitled, A Guide on How to Make Use of Sofia. For only a year it has been visited by 17,000 users and has triggered heated comments.
As Yavor explains the idea for the page came spontaneously provoked by everyday clashes with similar urban situations and characters. „Well, I am trying to mock some harmful habits that might look petty at first glance. I however am convinced that a lot more positive things could happen to the city provided its people try to give up those habits and manners”, the cartoonist contends. He adds that he loves Sofia dearly, as it is his hometown but dreams of living away from its hassle, transport fumes and shrieking klaxons. Here is more from Yavor on how he picks up stories from life to create his cartoons:
„I love to walk in town, on my own or with my family. This brings up a host of impressions. Life is full of stories, some of them comic, others – rather annoying. I try not to be serious, though it seems a tough job, so I mostly create cartoons. Sometimes I am challenged to voice a more critical opinion, but then I calm down and make my best not to bring to people negative and bleak subjects. So, I mostly focus on some innocuous human habits. They lack in scale but one can imagine how they multiply given the huge number of people living in the city. All this stands in the way of Sofia becoming a truly European city. One of the things that drive me crazy is seeing people throwing away garbage in the middle of nowhere. Some do it without even thinking twice. There are people who throw away their tramway tickets in the street. Others do the same with fag-ends. I am very much annoyed by people who walk their dogs but fail to collect their poop. Most people find excuses in others. At the end of the day however, all this boils down to fostering of some worthy, simple habits.”
Yavor’s cartoons are so good that some might be surprised to find out that he is a self-taught artist.
„I love drawing”, he explains. “I browse the Internet all the time and keep an eye on artists blogs to learn techniques and tricks from them. This sometimes takes too much time because I have to discover everything on my own”.
For Yavor the creation and maintenance of the Facebook page A Guide on How to Make Use of Sofia is a hobby and also a serious project that comes as an expression of his civil position. Though he is not a graduate of the Academy of Arts, for him art is a profession and a way of life. For quite some time he has been working in graphic design and advertising.
Here is more from Yavor about the opportunities for creative expression that social networks can offer:
„I have long-time experience with the Internet. In fact I was among the founders of the search.bg gateway. My job has to do with the graphic aspect of Internet sites. Social networks and the idea behind them is quite a favorable environment for creative minds. This is a very good way to express yourself. I am impressed with the fast rate of development of this medium. Much more things have become available online including information about specialized interests.”
To make Sofia a better place depends not only on the municipal administration but on ourselves as well, Yavor says. Can cartoons urge Sofia citizens to part with their harmful habits?
„Frankly, I had never imagined there would be such strong interest in the Facebook page”, the artist admits. “In any case I have intended my works – and my point of view – to reach out to as many people as possible. Of course, I would be happy if the idea behind the page develops. I have plans for new and interesting ways of presenting and discussing the problems of the city, including a series of animated cartoon videos. One option is to print cartoons on paper, and collect them in a book. The visitors of the website have suggested the release of such a book that would be given out at metro stations in Sofia. In this way passengers will get entertained while traveling on the metro. I think that there are a few directions to take and I hope that other people could join me to make all these ideas happen. I might have not enough resources for this challenge working on my own.”
The first one-man exhibition of Yavor Popov last September was very successful. It was part of the festival "ON! Fest 2011", and some new events featuring his art are on their way too.
Translated by Daniela Konstantinova
Illustrations are provided by Yavor Popov
