No One Told Me Not to Do This: Selected Screenprints, 2009-2015

Jay Ryan, a passionate rock musician, is also a screen printer with a unique imagination whose works have become collector items, especially in the Chicago area. This edition displays two-hundred of his compositions, selected from his 2009 to 2015 output. These include band and concert posters, art events, film screenings, and various exotically endearing animals. Each of the illustrations is dated, with a short description, often whimsical, of the event. The quirky portrayals of flora and fauna in the images capture the eye and transform the image into an affectionate vision. In the animal group, there is an endearing screen of “Nine Black Puppies,” and all the plump critters have their tongues hanging out, a print related to an album by The Mountain Goats. For one cover of the Bicycle Times magazine, a tusked elephant and a helmeted turtle are depicted racing on their two-wheelers. Another creature in bright orange is shown pulling tape from a dispenser in a public service announcement promoting adhesives. For an end-of-the-world calendar, the style changes from the warm, fuzzy creatures to striking fragments of sharp angles with a clear message of destruction. This richly illustrated volume holds a treasure of eclectic images that utter messages for the viewer to interpret.