BRIEF SYNOPSIS:
The Listener is a graphic novel currently being written and drawn by David Lester that casts light on an obscure event from the 1930s to magnify the importance of small actions in a larger context. This is the story of a chance meeting between an old German couple and Louise, a 34 year old Canadian artist on a cycling trip in Europe. The old couple have a secret and the artist needs a secret to have.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION:
Louise, a painter, has lost her sense of artistic purpose. Art feels irrelevant in a market-driven world. She abruptly sets out on a cycling journey of what she thinks of as artistically affluent Europe in order to find her renewal of inspiration in a modern Canada. She debates culture and politics with other travellers and comes to terms with the loneliness of independent thought. All of this is intercut with her chance meeting of an old German couple who tell her a dark story from their past. It concerns their complacency during the last free election to occur in Germany (before the Nazi Party achieved power in 1933). The outcome of this vote shaped the course of history. Had individuals acted differently, Nazi Germany might never have come to be.
The contrast between an independent artist and the birth of a fascist state remain linked in their opposition to each other. In the end, Louise is must confront her own complacency.
The Listener is being drawn in hard lines with pen and painted softly with acrylics and watercolours.
David Lester is the guitar player in Mecca Normal, the underground rock duo whose most recent album is The Observer (Kill Rock Stars). He is the creator of the "Inspired Agitators" poster series and as a cartoonist he drew the cautionary tale about fascism called "Noir Canada." His t-shirt designs include "Actually, I like crap." His book The Gruesome Acts of Capitalism (Arbeiter Ring) has been re-printed in a revised second edition. For a year, his cartoons ran regularily in the San Diego Reader. His paintings have been exhibited in art galleries and he has designed book and CD covers.
You can check out David's various projects online at:
