MOTIVATED BY MORALS*

When it comes to didactic art, Jacob Maydanyk could easily be considered one of the most prolific 20th-century moralizers that lived on the Canadian prairies. His religious paintings graced the interiors of over 30 churches, and his cartoons and illustrations filled hundreds of pages in Canadian almanacs and newspapers; together, they shared the gospel's teachings and lessons learned on the streets of Winnipeg, MB. Wearing the hats of both iconographer and cartoonist, Maydanyk created visual narratives that spoke to settlers of the first waves of Ukrainian immigration and, in an attempt to guide those people spiritually and socially, he found ways to apply his artistic talents to produce imagery that, “would do something for our people…show them how they could be better…and how not to act now that they are in Canada” (Ewanchuk).

When Maydanyk immigrated to Canada, his original plan was to get his share of the ‘quick riches’ that could fund his dream to study art in Paris; but life was not so easy. Upon arrival in Winnipeg, he had to learn a new language, find a job, and adapt to a new cultural environment. Maydanyk first worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) on an ‘extra gang’[2] laying rails across the Canadian prairies; he also briefly worked on a farm. However, hard labour was not something that suited his nature and skills. So, in 1912, Maydanyk enrolled in the Ruthenian Training School (RTS) in Brandon, MB. The school’s purpose was to train and prepare young bilingual Ukrainian teachers to fill positions in the new schools built in rural Canadian communities. Maydanyk graduated in 1914 and taught for six years in several one-room schoolhouses in rural Manitoba[3]. He also painted religious images for many early 20th-century Ukrainian Catholic churches emerging on the newly populated Canadian prairies (Rotoff 125-128).

At the onset of WWI, Jacob’s aspirations to become a recognized European artist went by the wayside; nevertheless, he became very popular within the Ukrainian diaspora. He was known for his religious paintings, as well as cartoons and caricatures. Although he often focused more on one than the other at different times in his life, he appears to have been equally passionate about both genres - simultaneously creating icons and comics on demand. For over 60 years, he produced an enviable portfolio of images that, at first glance, could make one question his mission, motives, artistic inclination, incentive, and state of mind that led to such a diverse and eclectic collection of works.

When looking at the imagery, it is easy to determine that much of Maydanyk’s visual inspiration came from his experiences as a Ukrainian immigrant. He chose familiar imagery from his Ukrainian Catholic faith or his religious paintings. Dictated by church tradition, he produced specific icons with prescribed compositions intended for designated locations in a church. The dominant narratives in his comics came from immigrant experiences on the Canadian prairies from 1914 to 1930. They directly reflected the lifestyle from which he emigrated and the one into which he settled.

However, I have found that the primary motivation for Maydanyk’s thematic choices for icons and comics stems from another source. On several occasions, he emphatically noted that his work was inspired by a drive to teach fellow Ukrainians how to be civil citizens in their new homeland. This primary goal was first acknowledged in 1959 in the forward to the final Vuiko Shtif publication “Вуйка Ш. Табачнюк і 20 інші нові короткі оповідання [Uncle S. Tabachniuk and 20 other new short stories]” (5). It states that throughout his career, the author’s overall plan was to use satire and humour to expose all the misfortunes that inflicted shame on his people; he tried to correct them with laughter[4].

Years later, Maydanyk repeated this same mission statement in interviews with Yaroslaw Lozowchuk, Michael Ewanchuk, and Halya Kuchmij. He said he felt obligated to record the ‘inappropriate’ lifestyles around him and to show his readers how not to act and to laugh at themselves. Maydanyk hoped his comics would help fellow immigrants deal with obstacles associated with resettlement in a new country and inspire them to bring pride to the Ukrainian community and become productive Canadian citizens.

THE MESSAGE IN THE MEDIA

Immigration presented many challenges for new Canadians. For early 20th-century Ukrainian immigrants, the interjection of humour and satire into daily life was a productive way of dealing with the trials and tribulations of resettlement. The most popular sources of comedic escapism were the yearly almanacs of humour and comics. They reflected a familiarity and provided levity, thus helping new settlers deal with the many anxieties associated with integration into the community. In addition to offering a distraction from everyday concerns, comics, particularly those created by Jacob Maydanyk, were also didactic; they recorded the folklore of the time and served as fables, or moral compasses that guided settlers through the social customs of their new environment (Klymasz 1988, 182-83).

Maydanyk's strong commitment to teaching and guiding his contemporaries was echoed in his work’s text and visual content. Like many author-artists, he took events and identities from the real world and transformed them into comic strip story worlds (Aldama, 2). He catered primarily to a male audience by penning “Vuiko Shtif” narratives that illustrated the activities of the dominant male community into which he settled[5]. Many of the tales echoed experiences from the perspective of a young man travelling solo to a foreign country. Scenarios included working, political meetings/rallies, interacting with authoritative figures, wooing young women, and partying with male friends. Maydanyk often personified his characters based on people he knew personally or public figures (Maydanyk 1930a, 80-81), and on occasion, he relied on stereotypical physical features to define cultural identity, such as slanted eyes for characters of Asian descent (Maydanyk 1930a, 4-5). Clothing defined social status - for example, upper-class characters often wore monocles, top hats, and waistcoats (34), and labourers were dressed in coveralls (24). In contrast to his icons, Maydanyk rarely incorporated Ukrainian cultural imagery into the frames of his comics. He consciously chose to depict cultural neutrality - reflecting the assimilation process in the community at that time (Ewanchuk 1976).

Maydanyk also liked to poke fun at the immigrant’s dream of freedom and riches in Canada. In his earliest works, many Vuiko Shtif stories juxtaposed the lifestyle from which Maydanyk emigrated with the one into which he settled. For example, in Ілустрований Калєндар Новин – 1915 [The Illustrated News Almanac – 1915], the Tabachniuk letters refer to the hegemony that existed in Canada and how it was much like the social environment left behind in a Polish dominated homeland. In addition, he references how Canadian democracy could be influenced by a $5 bribe, much like back home (20). Also, the old oral tradition of singing to communicate stories is directly evident in the 1918 almanac (24, 42, 55). Here he helped the readers transition to the new world by using lyrics to folksongs to accompany sequential images, capitalizing on the sense of belonging which came from singing together[6].

Narratives inspired by the new country featured challenges related to immigration, including isolation (Maydanyk 1918, 55), integration (1925, 77-79; 1930a, 3), communication (1914, 20-22; 1928, 92), homeland oppression (Brandon Sun 1913), domestic disputes (1930a, 16-20), acculturation (72-72), courtship (9), and education (64-65). In addition, I also found that many of the Tabachniuk narratives were reflexive. For example, in interviews with Kuchmij and Ewanchuk, Maydanyk noted that he often turned to personal experiences for his storylines, including teaching (1930a, 64-65), working on an extra gang (5), local politics (40-41), and religion (85-88).

As noted earlier, Maydanyk’s comics were intentionally didactic. Consumed by his mission to guide newcomers, he wove specific themes into his cartoon stories, including alcohol abuse, domestic friction, and election manipulation, among other misdemeanours. Of them all, the most common theme was overindulgence in alcoholic spirits. Maydanyk included no less than three alcohol-related stories per publication - beginning with “Штіф Мулярем”. This was his first set of sequenced illustrations (Maydanyk 1918, 24-29) (see figure above). In the example, a series of five frames accompany lyrics to a ‘kolomeika – a popular type of song that often critiqued current events and referenced specific people in the community.

Vuiko Shtif, representing the stereotypical single male immigrant, worked odd jobs as a bricklayer. Always carrying a flask, he could not bear to waste a drop, even when it spilt into the eave’s trough. In a blink of an eye, he runs down the stairs and saves the day by drinking from the downspout. It was a reminder not to let liquor dictate our life such that we lower ourselves in society and literally lay down in the street to satiate our cravings. In the same publication, in “Сіпіярський притрафунок [A short CPR story],” Maydanyk again points out how drinking brings on shame and can leave you penniless. Of note, especially during these turbulent times of reconciliation with the Canadian Indigenous community, in the third alcohol-related sketch “Як Табачнюк напивався з Індіянами [How Tabachniuk Over-drank with the Indians]” (131-132), Maydanyk tries again to get a laugh by pointing fingers at human flaws. However, I feel that this story of alcohol abuse and womanizing does not paint a positive picture of either community. I can imagine how this narrative likely reinforced friction and animosity between Indigenous groups and the Ukrainian community. The lessons to be learned are only now coming to light; we need to deal with intolerance, racism, and abuse, which Maydanyk already pointed out 100 years ago.

On the theme of gender equality, although Maydanyk’s early work was decidedly male-dominant, there was a notable shift in gender balance in the 1930 comic book “Вуйкова книга”. Female counterparts to Vuiko Shtif, specifically his wife Iavdokha and the character Nasha Meri, were prevalent in over one-third of the narratives. These stories presented feminist themes, targeting the demographic of dating and married immigrants. For example, in the following series of strips, Comic 3 “Вуйко спроваджує кобіту Явдоху [Uncle Brings Over his Wife Iakhvdoha]”, the reader is introduced to immigration from a woman’s perspective (15-20).

In summary, when Vuiko Shtif’s wife, Iavdoha, first arrives in Canada, he buys her a hat and suggests she exchange the rags she is wearing for more stylish clothes - Vuiko Shtif does not want them to be mistaken for ‘dumb immigrants.’ Iavkokha goes along with it, then recognizes that the new look makes her more attractive and intelligent, raising her self-esteem. However, Shtif is threatened by the new look. Feeling that he has lost control over her, he insinuates that she is crazy and will bring shame to the family. The outcome is more autonomy to Iavdokha and leaves Uncle Shtif pondering the differences between social norms in the old country and the new.

Several messages are voiced within this one story that relates to women and immigration. Here, Maydanyk's didactic message is best contextualized by Canadian historian Frances Swyripa. In her book, "Wedded to the Cause", Swyripa explores the significance of clothing in relation to the Ukrainian girl in the Canadian city. She notes that "hats attracted an inordinate amount of attention" and were subject to various levels of interpretation (92-93). In Ukrainian folklore, there is a wedding ritual where the bride exchanges her wreath of flowers for a married woman's head shawl/kerchief—the exchange of the head covering represented acceptance of a change in status – a leaving of the past. From one perspective, refusal would have been a statement of resistance to leaving the past; from another point of view, refusal could have been a militant statement of defiance and independence. In Canada during the 1920s, the 'flamboyant hat' was synonymous with the new country. Symbolically, those who wore them appeared to be aligned with the upper class, the intelligent and educated, and the Anglo-Canadian lifestyle. Although the head was still covered, the older community members feared the hat; it symbolized assimilation and a disregard/disrespect for cultural traditions. As a result, a woman's choice to wear a hat was very controversial within the Ukrainian-Canadian community. Yet, for many young female immigrants, wearing the hat was an expression of emancipation and progress (Cheladyn 2019a 16).

Maydanyk's message is clear: the moral of this story is to respect women's rights and independence.

NASHA MERI [OUR MERI]

When it came to women and morality, Maydanyk did not hold back on proselytization. Nasha Meri [Our Mary] appeared in her own strip dedicated to the exploits of young single female immigrants (See strip about). Meri symbolized the Ukrainian immigrant girl in young womanhood, testing the freedoms and attraction of a new country. She represented the first urban Ukrainian girls, such as those who became domestics in English homes or changed their names to improve their chances for a job. Meri was the counterpart to Vuiko Shtif and the other maladjusted ‘Jacks’ – young men “whose education began on the railway gang and ended in the bar and pool hall” (Swrypa 64). With her attraction to modern fashion, the rejection of the headscarf, and her fascination with “good time” dances and moving pictures, Meri displayed the undesirable effect of uprooting and transplanting as Ukrainians groped to reconcile the ways of the two worlds. Appearing during the interwar period, Meri attracted much criticism. The status and assimilation with the Anglo-Canadian world that Meri so desperately sought through marriage to English men drew sharp disapproval for its alienation from things Ukrainian and the nationalist cause that was rising in the old country. Meri’s character brought forth questions of intermarriage, language loss, and alienation from the Ukrainian community, and describes Nasha Meri perfectly as the woman who “personified female rebellion against traditional, demanding subservient roles, as well as parental expectations and community directives in the name of the larger good” (65).

Maydanyk chose to edify and elucidate the Ukrainian community early in his artistic career. He capitalized on his ability to paint religious art and entertained himself by cartooning. Uncle Shtif Tabachniuk and Nasha Meri did not materialize out of thin air; they were a product of their time. Historical, political, industrial, and social factors contributed to the initial inspiration for the characters and the narrative. Although by today’s standards, his storylines are often considered crude, racist, and derogatory, Maydanyk’s messages rang true to the readership of the time. The characters lived, interacted with the rest of the community, and shared their hopes and dreams, trials and tribulations with the readers. Unfortunately, although Maydanyk himself lived until 1984, his series ended in the 50s and did not continue past a reprint of “Вуйко Штіф [Uncle Shtif]” in 1974. Several contributing factors challenged its survival. Primarily, language evolved, and the macaronic narratives became associated with the past. Politics during both world wars also targeted comics as radical publications, undermining public popularity; during WWI, Ukrainian immigrants were labelled as aliens resulting in censorship of Ukrainian Canadian publications - cartoons were strictly omitted.

Moreover, subsequent waves of immigrants no longer mirrored the life of Vuiko Shtif Tabachniuk, and the lessons to be taught were considered irrelevant. Nevertheless, the comics world created by Jacob Maydanyk was valuable. They provided a breath of levity during a stressful time of immigration, and the illumination of churches created a spiritual sanctuary. In retrospect, as implied by the opening quote, I would agree with S.M. that Maydanyk’s didactic imagery played a hand in positioning his readership as ‘people among people” within the globally recognized multicultural community in Canada.

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