Corner Cafe by Jorge Colombo

Going Under by Jorge Colombo

Drizzly-gray greetings collector friends. I left for Boston in the wee hours of this morning and because early-to-bed, early-to-rise just doesn't happen in the JB universe, I've been watching the landscape go by in a sleepy haze. It's fitting that the drawings by today's edition-maker, as I mentioned when we first brought his work to 20x200, capture the New York City of my day-to-day and my daydreams. In short, Jorge Colombo's iSketches are the perfect anecdote to NYC's dismal weather and sleep deprivation, bringing reminders of the clear summer skies to come and the cozy neighborhood haunts we retreat to on the days when rain persists. Plus, Jorge's work and the bringing together of art and technology are things that make me warm and fuzzy.

Fanelli's—as featured in Corner Cafe—has long been a favorite stomping ground. An icon tucked off busier streets, it's always full yet there's almost never a wait. It's the kind of place where no one pays attention to the occasional celebrity sighting, too focused on the good company and good food in front of them. Going Under features one of those arching overpasses that mark the edges of the outer boroughs. While these are sights of home to me, I'm guessing they're starting to become familiar to even the non-New Yorkers out there too. Jorge's drawings are making regular appearances on The New Yorker blog and have popped up on another cover. (His fourth one! But who's keeping count...?)

The steady din of energy and excitement at 20x200 HQ reached unprecedented heights when one of the said New Yorker covers appeared during the live blogging of Apple's iPad release. Jorge isn't using an iPad yet but I had to ask him about it. He offered up a smart analysis of the tool and what it will offer, both what it definitely means and what it might mean:

I do not have an iPad yet, but will surely get one. I have drawn on one already, and loved a larger screen. (I'm tired of mixing phone calls in with my art supplies). One day we'll be able to draw on touch screens the size of a door. Compare the early iPods—2001: heavy, grey screen, no pictures, etc.—with current ones. Doesn't it make you feel like this one iPad is ONLY the beginning? The basic thing for me remains: no visible tool. Finger creates art, period... The other key point is portability: a regular digital studio is now in your pocket. It's not so much a toppling of status quo, more like a broadening of alternatives—shooting a movie in black-and-white film now doesn't mean the same it meant a century ago—back then it was the single option; now it's a choice among many.

That Jorge views this as a single tool among many, and within a history of evolving mediums, is evidence of his savvy approach. It's not the app that makes these drawings so great but the artist who figured out how to use it. Jorge isn't alone in his pursuits, not in the how and not in the what—legendary artist David Hockney is also adapting to new tools. And in NYC, I always think that Jorge is a bit like photographer Joseph O. Holmes. They are both tirelessly devoted to seeing the city and have looked long enough to have an appreciation and the maturity to not be overwhelmed by it. So, when I'm spending all this time away from home, I can come back knowing that they've captured parts of it for me, forever.