HOME | DD

Description
©2021 Zach Horvath

Brush pen, microns and white ink. No pencils!

About 10 days ago I was struck with devastating news that my friend good friend Chris had died… on November 16th, nearly 5 years ago in 2016. Chris was a friend of mine who I had met in Oakland, CA. Although I only had the fortune of knowing him for 2 years, I camped with him for the majority of my time living on the street, and we became close friends very fast and I spent a lot of time kicking it with him.

Chris was a friend in the truest sense-he was ten years older than me, and showed me kindness during a very tumultuous time. He shared a mutual reverence for punk, metal, art and writing. He had an awesome black pit-bull named Tokie who possessed an amazing temperament
as well as being fiercely protective. He guarded our camp and saved my skin more times than I could ever know.

I remember one night Chris and I were walking around looking for snipes (cigarette butts) when he excitedly pulled out several old issues of art magazine, Juxtapoz, flipping through the “usual conceptual garbage”, until he found what he was looking for. Under a street lamp we sat down and became transfixed by the incredible black and white illustrations reminiscent of both Gustave Doré and Bernie Wrightson. I remember exclaiming out loud “I didn’t know people made art like this anymore!”. The artist was Aaron Horkey.

It’s easy to be aggreable with people to keep the peace and avoid conflict. This is a coping mechanism I’ve struggled with for far too long. Sometimes it’s smarter not to fight over something seemingly trivial, and I used to get annoyed at Chris for behaving in a way I perceived at times as ‘overly defensive’ or even a bit ‘paranoid’. He was not always an ‘easy’ person, but I probably wouldn’t have become friends with him if he was.

However, looking back, I think that when you are someone who holds strong principles, it’s necessary to challenge that which has the potential to threaten the people and things you care about... and often ill-intentioned people present themselves as harmless, only to later reveal themselves for the cancerous monsters they are.

It is easy to say the right thing without having to act, to be polite, feigning generosity; but when the shit hits the fan it’s the people who stick by you that truly matter-Chris was that kind of friend, and he won’t be forgotten.

Description
©2021 Zach Horvath

Brush pen, microns and white ink. No pencils!

About 10 days ago I was struck with devastating news that my friend good friend Chris had died… on November 16th, nearly 5 years ago in 2016. Chris was a friend of mine who I had met in Oakland, CA. Although I only had the fortune of knowing him for 2 years, I camped with him for the majority of my time living on the street, and we became close friends very fast and I spent a lot of time kicking it with him.

Chris was a friend in the truest sense-he was ten years older than me, and showed me kindness during a very tumultuous time. He shared a mutual reverence for punk, metal, art and writing. He had an awesome black pit-bull named Tokie who possessed an amazing temperament
as well as being fiercely protective. He guarded our camp and saved my skin more times than I could ever know.

I remember one night Chris and I were walking around looking for snipes (cigarette butts) when he excitedly pulled out several old issues of art magazine, Juxtapoz, flipping through the “usual conceptual garbage”, until he found what he was looking for. Under a street lamp we sat down and became transfixed by the incredible black and white illustrations reminiscent of both Gustave Doré and Bernie Wrightson. I remember exclaiming out loud “I didn’t know people made art like this anymore!”. The artist was Aaron Horkey.

It’s easy to be aggreable with people to keep the peace and avoid conflict. This is a coping mechanism I’ve struggled with for far too long. Sometimes it’s smarter not to fight over something seemingly trivial, and I used to get annoyed at Chris for behaving in a way I perceived at times as ‘overly defensive’ or even a bit ‘paranoid’. He was not always an ‘easy’ person, but I probably wouldn’t have become friends with him if he was.

However, looking back, I think that when you are someone who holds strong principles, it’s necessary to challenge that which has the potential to threaten the people and things you care about... and often ill-intentioned people present themselves as harmless, only to later reveal themselves for the cancerous monsters they are.

It is easy to say the right thing without having to act, to be polite, feigning generosity; but when the shit hits the fan it’s the people who stick by you that truly matter-Chris was that kind of friend, and he won’t be forgotten.