Clayton: Godfather of Lower East Side Documentary

For decades, Clayton Patterson has, as his friend Ai Weiwei puts it, “relentlessly devoted himself to a kind of culture that examines authority.” Best known for his documentation of the Tompkins Square Riots in 1988, Clayton lived at the intersection of numerous underground cultures, from drag queens to punks, gangbangers to tattoo artists, breathing in the same creative energy that gave life to Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, the Talking Heads, Blondie, and other New York icons. In a time when the future of the city is threatened by hyper-gentrification, Clayton, whose work has documented the creative DIY underbelly of the Lower East Side, has become an icon of an increasingly vanishing New York. Now, in the tradition of Harvey Pekar’s American Splendor, this life has been told in a graphic novel anthology—the first biography of this iconic artist intertwined with a rich history of the Lower East Side over the last thirty years. Author Julian Voloj and Clayton Patterson will be in conversation with contributing illustrators of this graphic novel Maegan Dolan, Seanne Catedral, Jesse Lambert, Sasha Kimiatek, Natania Nunubiznez, Ray Felix, and Summer McClinton.

$15 general, $10 members, $7 seniors/students

Clayton Patterson is a Canadian-born artist, photographer, videographer and folk historian. Since moving to New York City in 1979, his work has focused almost exclusively on documenting the art, life and times of the Lower East Side in Manhattan. .

Photograph by Julian Voloj

Julian Voloj is the author of a number of critically acclaimed graphic novels, often focusing on forgotten or underappreciated New Yorkers. Born in Germany to Colombian parents, he lives in Sunnyside, Queens.

Photograph by Boris Voloj

Ray Felix is the author/publisher of “Bronx Heroes” and “A World Without Superheroes” as well as the founder of Bronx Heroes Comic Con and co-founder of “Women in Comics Con”, which promote literacy and education through the practice of reading and creating comics. 

Jesse Lambert is an artist based in Jackson Heights, NY. He makes nonfiction comics about art, history, public health, travel, and his unconventional childhood. He is currently working on a graphic memoir about growing up in a communist psychotherapy cult known as the Sullivanians.  

Maegan Dolan is a multidisciplinary artist living in New York. She is currently recording with The Lookout Honeys and illustrating the group’s escapades in Latin America.

Summer McClinton broke into comics in 2005 with her award-winning independent comic “Thread”, and has subsequently worked on many graphic novels and shorts.  Her comic book credits include illustrating novels for Harvey Pekar, and being the first comic in the Massachusetts Review. Her current illustration style reflects an interest in historical realism, with subjects related to social justice.  

Chris M. Wilson is a tattooer & cartoonist based out of Kingston, PA. He studied Illustration at the School of Visual Arts. Aside from drawing comics, he spends his time tattooing at his shop South Main Street Tattoo in Wilkes-Barre, doing freelance work and performing in a hardcore/punk band called Ekulu.  

Sasha Kimiatek is a graphic designer working for City Hall in Jersey City. She is extremely passionate about comics and storytelling, especially those addressing political realities and social concerns. Growing up in the contrasting identities of a Jewish father, and a Lebanese refugee mother, and spending part of her adolescent years in Puerto Rico, Sasha views the world through an intersectional framework that seeks to raise questions, reimagine solutions, self-educate, and realize the significance of their impact on the world.  

Seanne Catedral is a New York City bred Filipina American illustrator who prefers to see the world through a cartoon lens. Her ever evolving sets of mixed media rotate just as the world turns and is continually inspired by the nittiest, the grittiest, and also the prettiest life has to offer. She’ll make art out of anything and will continue to find new ways of expressing her ideas and experiences.  

Tanya (aka Natanya Nunubiznez) is a freelance artist and designer from New York. She has worked with clients on illustration and design, branding, and surface design. She is currently the primary artist for Hudson Illustration Co. While working, you’ll find her in the expanses of her studio scribbling furiously. When not creating illustrations, she enjoys spending time in the forest, taking creative inspiration from nature.