Strip Search 1.9: You May Eat Your Tweets

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_ogR4fkRMk&w=400&h=225]

To illustrate how artists can interact with their audience, Strip Search chose twitter as the platform for “You Are Your Brand.” Its use is world-wide, generally enjoyable, and often intensely personal. And, what better person to judge such an exercise than Scott Kurtz? Kurtz has been doing his own comic work for fifteen years (the link will take you to the first comic in his archive), and is often hailed as a social media troll in his own right. Whatever the actuality may be, he’s gained – and kept – a vastly loyal audience with his trademark snarky humor and blunt honesty.

Here’s what Kurtz says about the challenge:

 “As you continue to become public figures with your work, you’re not going to be able to use twitter the way that your friends use [it]. Suddenly, you feel like you can’t have your own opinion, because it’s an opinion that influences people. It’s an opinion that changes people. You really have to think about what you say and what you put out there. Yeah. You guys are going to discover pretty soon that what you thought was your brand, which is your work, is really a smaller subset of your real brand, which is you.”

And he’s right. The artists are given one hour to compose 5 replies to tweets that have been pre-written. That’s 140 characters to effectively reply, block, or not respond to the tweet. Kurtz will judge on how well each artist communicates themselves, which is their brand, and still not piss anyone off.  “Dealing with haters,” as Abbey so concisely put it, is a big part of the tweets they’re having to reply to.

This was a roughly edited episode that felt choppy with it jumping all over the place. I give it a pass though, because it is five tweets being answered by 10 artists. That’s 50 tweets and far too many to discuss in 24 minutes. Plus, it is ultimately subjective judging. Kurtz acknowledges that. And, to sooth the wound, Strip Search posted all the responses HERE.

After reading through all the responses to the tweets, Kurtz’s commentary made a lot more sense. Mac and Monica were by far the least interesting, while Katie, Amy, and Nick were easily in the top three. They were a humorous with a touch of sarcasm, without ever rebuking those who tweeted them. Lexxy, however, was a complete push-over. Which contrasted scarily with her need to over-explain and/or justify her responses during critique. I’ve been tweeting for five years. And I acknowledge I still know nothing about tweeting. Lesson being: listen when someone’s giving affirming criticism.

With the toss-up between Katie, Amy and Nick, Kurtz chose Nick. Hard to say who someone else would have chosen. Nick, as winner, had to select the two elimination victim; a responsibility NIck takes seriously, this time being worse than the last. As opposed to his last win when he selected a strong and weak opponent, this time he chose two that he felt failed entirely at the given exercise. And, thankfully, it’s two new faces, Tavis and Lexxy, going to the Draw Off. Art Dungeon. Joke Hole. Whatever. Tuesday can’t come fast enough.

My current top three remain unchanged, though I fear it’s going to change on Tuesday:
Katie, Tavis, and Nick

New episodes air Tuesday and Friday on Penny Arcade and youtube.

Current Standings:

Abby Howard, 20, Montreal, Quebec.
She’s the youngest and has the least experience. But she draws dinosaurs! However, will any of those things even matter?

Alex Hobbs, 22, Tempe, AZ.
This swear-word dropping free-spirit is highly likeable, but will his work be up to par? Set to graduate post-Strip Search, it’ll be interesting to see where this will take him. Eliminated 1st Challenge

Amy Falcone, 24, Noank, CT
Gamer to the innards, Amy is serious and competitive to a fault. Will that fault be her undoing? Whatever the result, quitting her job to do Strip Search shows her passion.
(Challenge #1 Winner)

Erika Moen, 29, Portland, OR
Proven work in social and sexual commentary brings her to the contest with a following that marks her as one to have eyes on.

Katie Rice,31, Burbank, CA
A soft-spoken artist with a following of her own.  Some of those fans are also fellow contestants. Will she use the star power to stun?
(Kept: Elimination #1)
(Kept: Elimination #2)

Lexxy – Alexandra Douglas, 27, Carmel, IN
Also seen in Penny Arcade: The Series, she’s dealt with Gabe and Tycho’s reality egos. If that helps or harms remains to be seen.
(Social Game #2 / Seattle Trivia Winner – Wacom Cintiq HD Tablet)

Mac – Mackenzie Schubert, 26, Portland, OR
Quiet, doe-eyes Mac has a very defined artistic style all his own. It’ll be interesting to watch how his gentle soul deals with the mood swings a competitive show can bring.

Maki Naro, 31, Brooklyn, NY
While I sincerely hope this guy watches Psych, his cool logic and talent may very well be what brings him to the final set of competitors.
(Social Game #1 / Fax Machine Winner – Redraw Ticket)

Monica Ray, 22, Northbrook, IL
While seemingly quiet at the beginning, Monica’s super-power of Always Doing Something And Befriending All seems a gift. Remains to be seen if that gift implodes or explodes.

Nick Trujillo, 30, Walnut Creek, CA
Something of a philosopher and jack of all trades, Nick’s ability to be alright with people and make good art is something to watch. But will his relative newness to the industry be a detriment?
(Challenge #2 Winner)
(Challenge #3 Winner)

Tavis Maiden, 31, Mesa, AZ
Bringing the attitude only a parent can, Tavis wants this more than any five-year-old screaming for the last piece of cake. He may get it, too.

Ty Halley, 25, Portsmouth, OH
Clipped, dry witted Ty has no brain-to-mouth–filter. And, he’s using his time on Strip Search as material for his own daily life strip. That will be interesting. Eliminated 2nd Challenge

All  bios and links to the personal websites of each artist can be found here.

 

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