The Art of Comedy

You Got Jokes?

Photo: @Reserved by #katievFlowers. Funky S.a.K.

“To truly laugh you must be able to take your pain, and play with it.”- Charlie Chaplin

(Warning: Some jokes found below may contain mature adult content. Virgin ears, beware)

Knock. Knock. “Who’s there?” Hot. “Hot, who?” Hot Flash! I’m baaack. I got copyright. Well, okay from that corny joke we can see that there is certainly an art to being in the field of comedy. I consider myself a “closet-comedian.” I have no true intentions on ever going viral. It takes a lot to deliver a good joke that will not only make yourself laugh, but to be able to make people laugh so hard that they have to look down to make sure nothing came up and out that wasn’t supposed to. To be able to do this alone can be viewed as a talent, and a blessing.

You ever laugh so hard you started crying? Or, you accidently passed gas? Or, a smidge of urine trickles out? Come on. Real talk. Laughter is good for the soul. Can you imagine God’s sense of humor? He must have one, just look at us. No. Just kidding. But, comedy is delivered in grand parody of ways. It can be served lightly and airy. It can be naughty, insulting, or and piercing.

During my under-grad at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, I took Clowning Class. I had to. It was either Clowning Class, or another Math class. Go figure. Funny thing was, my parents weren’t so happy about me entering Art school until I told them one year, I’m taking up Clowning. Actually my whole immediate family was happy to hear this news, because they all said I was too up-tight anyway and this would help remove my stick. Hahaha. Very funny. To be honest, it did. Wearing a red-nose for a semester and getting in touch with all of my silliness within helped me to not take myself and life so damn serious.

I learnt a lot about the history of comedy. The various statuses of the Comedian, such as the Yamma Clowns (Yes I’m a Clown), like Bozo. Or, the more refined Comedics of Bronzville type comedians like, the character Dr. Fraiser Crane from Fraiser, played by the actor Kelsey Grammer. The Dr. Fraiser character is of the Bronzville type of clown. The point here is that there are different classifications of clown, and clowning.

A brief History on the origin of Clowning, Comedy and The Comedian.

And, then I have jokes for you.

The clown emerged as a professional comic actor in the late middle Ages, around 1860s, as court jesters and fools who were influences for travelling entertainers, according to Clown Doctors-History of Clowns webpage. And, traditionally there are 3 types of clowns. White face, Auguste and Character.

Most of you may remember hearing of Charlie Chaplin. If you still live today from during his famous comedic era, all I can say is, “God bless.” Charlie Chaplin created and stared in his own comedic films during 1915. He was known as the, “Little Tramp” clown, from England. According to Charlie, “A day without laughter is a day wasted.”

If you are over 30ty years of age you certainly can recall Redd Fox. The syndicated televised show Sandford & Son continues on today. Redd Fox was considered a “blue humorist.” Pertaining to his, some would say, nasty and consider vulgar use of language in stand- up comedy. So very dirty was his comedy deemed, as too dirty during the time for white audiences to listen to. Do you recall seeing, or hearing of his “Party Album?” I do, because my parents tried to hide it from us. Of course, I found it. And, of course I played the album. And, yes it contained a lot of mature audience stuff. Not only did the party album contain dirty, nasty down-right filthy language for a much more mature audience, but the cover for the album itself conveyed “freaks all day.” Let’s just say the women on the cover were very scantily dressed. Hope it was warm in room.

Fox party album hadn’t become available in white record stores until 1960’s.

There existed, and exist many actor/comedians whose contribution to the vocational field helped to reform the image of the Jester and Bozo the Clown, and made it into a more refined one. But, yet maintaining the comical standards so known to be the primary talent, which is being able to make others laugh out loud. Some may agree, or not with the selected, but a few from the top of my head that made this happen for me are named below, as well, those who continue to challenge, and contribute change to the face of the industry. They may be dead or alive today.

Moms Mabley. Richard Pryor. Keenen Ivory Wayans, and family. Steve Harvey. Bill Cosby…. Sidebar. (I know) but what he has been recently accussed doesn't take away his comedic attribution. At least it shouldn't. We aren’t going there. Sticking to the overall significance of the post, no matter how tempting it is to digress right now. There are plenty of others, but the point is that these comedians weren’t, and are not just funny. They’re humor makes us think. They have a knack of getting us to truly laugh through and with our pain. This is the true gift. We no longer look at them and see, Yamma Clowns, or Buffoons. We see a person with intellect. A person who has the ability to make us cry and laugh at the same time, regardless of the current, or past situation. And, not only at them and at the world, but at ourselves. This is the true talent. It’s pretty darn hard to nearly laugh so hard until you feel like you’re about to toss up a lung, and be mad, or remain sad all at the same time. Then again, maybe one can. They would be referred to as, grouchity.

I got inspired the one evening to write this lens, after meeting and seeing a new acquaintance by the name of Jay Washington perform live at Zanies Comedy Club located on Chicago’s far North-side. Hey, nothing’s wrong with a little commentary plug. Jay invited his Scene-Chicago team members for a night of entertainment as his quest. A few of us could show up. There were several Comics that night performing and had come in from various states and far locations. They were all pretty good. Providing good comedy is an art form, as well as, it can be a hit or miss. Shout-out, to Jay for his comedic performance. You might ask, “If Jay sucked, would I voice that thought.” I would answer, “Of course not.”

The truth is he made us laugh. And, for but a brief time each one present out in the audience had been given a moment presented as an opportunity to take our pain, and play with it. Thank you, to Jay and all the Comedians of the world. Keep us high on the wings of comedy.

Now, let’s get our laugh on. (Warning: Mature Adult Content)

Teacher: "Kids, what does the chicken give you?" Student: "Meat!" Teacher: "Very good! Now what does the pig give you?" Student: "Bacon!" Teacher: "Great! And what does the fat cow give you?" Student: "Homework!"

Remember, Yo Mama jokes? Yo mama so stupid, she returned a donut because it had a hole in it.

Yo momma is so fat, I took a picture of her last Christmas and it's still printing

Then there are the dirty, little nasty jokes.

A family is at the dinner table. The son asks the father, “Dad, how many kinds of boobs are there?” The father, surprised, answers, “Well, son, a woman goes through three phases. In her 20s, a woman’s breasts are like melons, round and firm. In her 30s and 40s, they are like pears, still nice, hanging a bit. After 50, they are like onions.” “Onions?” the son asks. “Yes. You see them and they make you cry.” This infuriated his wife and daughter. The daughter asks, “Mom, how many different kinds of willies are there?” The mother smiles and says, “Well, dear, a man goes through three phases also. In his 20s, his willy is like an oak tree, mighty and hard. In his 30s and 40s, it’s like a birch, flexible but reliable. After his 50s, it’s like a Christmas tree.” “A Christmas tree?” the daughter asks. “Yes, dead from the root up and the balls are just for decoration.

A husband and wife are trying to set up a new password for their computer. The husband puts, "Mypenis," and the wife falls on the ground laughing because on the screen it says, "Error. Not long enough.

Whenever your ex says, "You'll never find someone like me," the answer to that is, "That's the point."

Why did I get divorced? Well, last week was my birthday. My wife didn't wish me a happy birthday. My parents forgot and so did my kids. I went to work and even my colleagues didn't wish me a happy birthday. As I entered my office, my secretary said, "Happy birthday, boss!" I felt so special. She asked me out for lunch. After lunch, she invited me to her apartment. We went there and she said, "Do you mind if I go into the bedroom for a minute?" "Okay," I said. She came out 5 minutes later with a birthday cake, my wife, my parents, my kids, my friends, & my colleagues all yelling, "SURPRISE!!!" while I was waiting on the sofa... naked

Remember, a laugh a day can help you live longer.

***Excerpt Jokes borrowed from, The Laugh Factory Comedy Network.

P.S.

My name is Katie v. Flowers. I am a professional Visual Arts artist. Founder & Co-Founder of Promoters of The Arts. Promotion & Marketing for The Serious Artist. WWW.Promotersofthearts.com. And, Funky S.a.K. Original Artwork/Original Art-prints. We don’t just sell art. We help you create your ambiance. My blogs are geared toward empowering, and up-lifting the entrepreneur. Promoting the arts. Support for the living artists. And, creating awareness about my art and artistic services.

If you are looking for some “Soulful” art, please visit us at WWW.FUNKYSAK.COM.

Want to connect with other artists & art advocates from around the world? Please join us at, www.facebook.com/FunkySaK.

Check out my new Face-book Fanpage. www.facebook.com/katievFlowersfanpage Join me on Twitter, and network with a few stars, and discover some of the best social media marketing and promoting content writers out here today. You are encouraged to join my LinkedIn network, as I love to connect with like minds. When you visit either of our websites, please use our Social Media buttons if you do enjoy what you see, and read.

Thank you & Best Creative Regards.

Katie

#artofcomedy