Riposte Card No. 18: Perturbed Putt!

Or, Joseph Joubert by Karsten Petrat

They say the Germans have a word for everything, but in this case I already had the words. Specifically, I had this great quip from the French essayist Joseph Joubert:

“Misery is almost always the result of thinking.”
— Joseph Joubert

To create the 18th Riposte Card, I reached out to Karsten Petrat, a profoundly talented illustrator and designer of German extraction who toils happily in the city of Toronto.

He got it immediately in one of my favourite visual puns to date: Being stuck in your own head is miserable.

Even worse: To have to play a decapitated game of golf atop said head.

And here’s his obligatory Riposte Questionnaire:

What’s your go-to item in a well-stocked stationery store?
A pencil and an eraser.

Where do you go for inspiration and/or information?
I love going into vintage stores. I can explore all the random items that my mind can circle back to when trying to come up with new ideas.

Is there one joke, witticism, or aphorism you live by?
I am German, Germans do not make jokes.

What’s the best thing to put on toast?
I would rather not comment on this hot topic in a society that is already full of division.

What work are you most proud of, and how can people support it?
The work I still like to look back on is a stop-motion animation I made in university of a pencil erasing itself. It embodies the torment of an artist's mind... or perhaps its beauty? You can find it on the About page of my website, splitintoone.com. It’s not for sale, but since you’re already on my site, feel free to click on the Contact page to say “Hello.”

Become a paying subscriber and I’ll send you the above Riposte Card in the mail! Misery not included.