Montclair surely has no shortage of interesting characters who perform, act or showcase their unique talents in the township or in the surrounding area, but this fellow — who calls himself Natty Bumpercar — has to be amongst the most colorful. An animator, artist, comedian and director, Bumpercar (who declined using any other name in this article) was formerly a graphics and web designer for the New York Times before it outsourced his entire department a few years back. When he’s not occupied with his design consulting business, Bumpercar produces art and humor that is refreshing, whimsical and extremely amusing.
Bumpercar’s material is a hodgepodge of offbeat and tangential ideas, perhaps similar to the television shows Family Guy or Aqua Teen Hunger Force (or maybe even the old Pee-wee’s Playhouse). You can see his colorful comic strips and paintings and meet characters such as Ants and Snowflake — who live together in a make-believe place called Coffee-Can Alley — on his website. You can find his paintings at Lili Meili & Beau in Montclair’s Watchung Plaza (as well as on his website). Bumpercar is currently working with a company to bring his characters and world to interactive apps for the iPad.
Bumpercar will be performing his stand-up comedy at Tierney’s this coming Sunday, March 6, 8 p.m. as part of a group show. For more information, click here.
Watch the video below to hear this fun, G-rated artist (he also does Children’s party entertainment) speak about his work, humor and general state of his artistic existence with Baristanet’s Michael Donofrio. The video was shot in the K-Mart/Whole Foods parking lot in West Orange on a thaw day a few weeks back. Bumpercar intended to set up in Eagle Rock Reservation, however there was a “Deer Management” session in progress, so he improvised a set in front of some nearby plow debris.
OSHA here. What the heck is that microphone plugged into?
The mic is plugged into a battery (which is powered by running mice) that’s hidden in the snowbank . . . but – we are (more-or-less) safe because we’re wearing rubber boots. Safe until we run out of cheese – that is!