Hi there,
I am the illustrator of the overtly goofy cartoon poster for the recent CULTURE OF CONTACT conference --- Err, I mean - FESTIVAL. The topic of the cartoon poster and Budd Hopkins came up on the recent C of C pod-cast. I feel like I should reply.
I talked with Budd about this directly, and maybe I can clarify a little bit.
First - A while back Jeremy and I chatted about the idea for the poster. I had been reviewing his comments and it was obvious he wanted to do something entirely different than the "standard" conference. I've been to a few UFO conferences, and they can be pretty stodgy and dry. So - I understood what he was trying to accomplish. During my by-gone days as a super-cool hipster in Greenwich Village, I used to do punk rock posters, and I offered up my services to Jeremy. He was quick to say yes, and I got out my pens.
We did a little back and forth with preliminary sketches, and it was a team effort that created the overtly goofy poster.
Okay, let's fast forward to Budd and his reluctance to be a part of this conference --- Err, I mean - FESTIVAL.
Having talked to Budd, he said (I'm paraphrasing from memory) that he didn't like the cartoon because he thought it sent the wrong message about the very serious issues surrounding his research. He felt that the issues of "mythology" fall well outside his focus and conclusions. Fair enough.
He simply chose to remove himself from the festival as a speaker because he felt his work wouldn't be a good fit in this format. I think that Budd has spent a lot of years desperately trying to make sure this topic is treated seriously, and anything that smacks of "jest" would feel repellent to him.
He used this phrase a few times: "It does a disservice to the cause."
Again, fair enough.
I met with Budd several days after the conference and he asked about how the event went. I defended Jeremy and his intentions. I told him it was (sadly) poorly attended. I also said that I met a lot of really nice people, and the small scene made it super easy for me to spend time and chat with people with similar experiences. I said I found this enormously satisfying. Budd understood, appreciated and recognized my positive outcome.
He talked about the other speakers. And with no bitterness, but maybe a little exasperation, he talked about the way he disparages the way they present themselves. He spoke about Steven Basset and the tone he takes, and he said (again), "It does a disservice to the cause."
Maybe a goofy poster is the wrong tact? I know it generated a lot of reactions, either enormously positive or decidedly negative. It sure was fun to draw. Who knows?
I'll add that Budd is not a young man, and that Jeremy is. There is a new generation of researchers (or, more accurately spokesmen) for this very strange phenomenon. Things are changing, and there is an obligation that comes when a torch is passed.
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