Cut + Paste

Danforth France. The name makes one take pause. It’s both unusual and slightly odd, not unlike its owner who is a compilation of artist, designer and stand-up comic.

I used to work with Danforth at a bookstore (now he’s off making IBM commercials) and got to know him quite well after sitting through many a lunch of corndogs and coleslaw in the “picnic area” of Vons parking lot. Actually he was quite social during work too, always entertaining co-workers if not the boss, with a myriad of hand drawn characters and collages made from bits of tape, markers and other leftover supplies native to the retail counter. Somewhere between the pink message pad paper and the discovery of old line drawings from a Reader’s Digest tome, Danforth created a unique style that mixes naive retro images with contrasting words and ideas and introduces just enough edginess to make you stop, ponder and think... nancy bockoven

mmmmmmmmmm

The following questions are taken from the famous Marcel Proust questionnaire...

What is your greatest fear?
Having low standards, which I may already have. That, and snakes.

What is your current state of mind?
Cranky due to my creative and personal laziness.

What is your favorite way of spending time?
Working on my own projects.

What historical figure do you identify with?
I'd like to be Ben Franklin of my day.

Which living person do you most admire
I have no idea.

Who is your favorite fictional hero?
C-3PO.

Who are you're real-life heroes?
R. Buckminster Fuller

What is your most treasured posession?
My photographs.

When and where are you happiest?
When and where was I what now?

What is your most obvious characteristic?
Lankiness.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Acting out of insecurity or lying to myself.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Same thing.

What is your greatest extravagance?
Cigarettes and booze.

What is your favorite journey?
I don't know but I have a tradition of drinking orange juice in the
airport before I fly anywhere. It tastes like adventure.

What do you most dislike about your appearance?
Nothing bothers me too much.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Celebrity and being nice.

On what occasion do you lie?
At work.

Which words or phrases do you overuse the most?
"All manner of" and "right on".

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I'd give myself a comfortable living wage.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Shaving my moustache off.

Where would you like to live?
New York. London. The moon after they put a Starbucks there.

What is the quality you most admire in a man?
A lack of macho-ness.

What is the quality you most admire in a woman?
Sexual forwardness.

What is it you most dislike?
Advertising.

What is it you most value in friends?
A contentedness to sit and drink.

For more about Danforth France you can visit his website at www.Planet Danforth.com

MARCEL PROUST was a French writer who believed that people must know and understand themselves before they could know or understand others. He developed a list of subjective questions that he felt would help reveal to people their true selves and the inner personalities of those around them (from Proust website).