Madelyn VerVaecke

BFA in Art & Design

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Madelyn VerVaecke Personal Website

Aggressively Human

A bad day at work looks different for everyone. For some, it could be a particularly rough commute, or a coworker stealing their lunch out of the fridge (again). For those going about their day in the state capitol building in Lansing, Michigan on April 30th, 2020, it meant armed demonstrators storming the building with the not particularly specific goal of stopping Governor Whitmer. Aggressively Human is a graphic novel exploring the buildup of tensions in the political rhetoric in Michigan since the 2016 U.S. presidential election, based on a single lawmaker’s experiences both in and on the path to holding office. Knowing now that the events on that pivotal day in Lansing were a test run for what transpired in Washington D.C. on January 6th, 2021, State Representative Laurie Pohutsky recounts April 30th and various events that preceded it—events that turned that bad day at work into an unforgettable gut punch. This story intends to exemplify the importance of acting on and acknowledging the weight of these acts of intimidation and violence before they have the opportunity to evolve into something far, far worse. This is an ongoing project, intended to be completed later this year and available online and in limited printed copies. The full 28 page preview is available to read now on my personal website.
State Representative Laurie Pohutsky is shown walking in the Michigan Capitol building, passing a painting of a past governor and an elegant column while she looks at her phone, her other hand holding onto her bag. She is a short woman with hair that barely touches her shoulders. She is wearing a dress that goes down to her knees, a sweater, high heels, and a cloth mask that covers her face up just past her nose. “That was the last day I wore heels in the capitol,” she says, framing the story to follow.

“Aggressively Human,” Page 1.

A depiction of the Michigan State Capitol building in Lansing. The statue of “the Civil War governor” Austin Blair is centered in front of the building: a Confederate flag is being waved in front of it by a demonstrator. Representative Pohutsky is walking towards in the building in high heels. A demonstrator shouts “Hey!” and she turns her head to see who’s shouting. She is confronted by two men who are much taller than her, and neither of them are wearing masks. The man on the right asks, “Are you a representative?” She responds, “Yeah?” The other man points at her scowling and tells her to “Do the right thing.” She walks away from them, shown to still be in the crowd of people carrying signs and flags. “They couldn’t tell me what the ‘right thing’ was. I really don’t think they understood what was being voted on that day,” She recalls.

“Aggressively Human,” Page 2.

A depiction of the rotunda in the capitol building, leading to the House and Senate chambers. Representative Pohutsky is shown from a distance at the opposite side of the gallery in the House chamber, the balcony area. Rep. Pohutsky holds onto her bag with one hand and looks out the window, down at the crowd she had passed through on her way into the building. Most prominently shown is a naked doll hanging by a noose from a fishing pole that also has an American flag attached to it. It is surrounded by various signs, including ones that read “Heil Whitmer”, “Recall Whitmer”, “End The Lockdown”, and “Make America Great Again.” Another sign depicts Governor Gretchen Whitmer as Adolf Hitler, and the sign reads “We are called to act again.” Flags are being waived in the background, including another American flag, a Gadsden flag, and a Confederate Flag. Back in the gallery of the House chamber, an unspecified male representative remarks, “What a weird day, huh?”

“Aggressively Human,” Page 3.

An image of an ornate staircase depicted from the side in the Capitol building, a continuous image broken into three separate panels. Rep. Pohutsky is walking up the stairs, holding onto the railing. There is noise from a crowd coming from the hallway below the staircase. She recounts what had transpired over the past few hours. “I ran out to grab lunch when we went at ease.” “I purposely took a weird, long route to go and get it. There was a mob up front.” “When I got back into the building, they were trying to break onto the floor.”

“Aggressively Human,” Page 4.

Demonstrators in the hall below are chanting “let us in.” Representative Pohutsky holds onto the doorknob to re-enter the gallery, but there is a “click” and a “rattle” when she tries to turn the knob. With the crowd still chanting below, she realizes she’s locked out. “Oh come on…” She says to herself as she continues to try the handle. In a wide shot she looks back out in the direction of the chanting as it gets louder, her hand on the back of her neck. “There was no way for me to get anywhere without going through the crowd,” She remarks. Her phone dings in her purse, the crowd still shouting. The text message reads, “Hey, I’m watching the live stream, are you safe?” An unspecified male representatives is livestreaming on Facebook, telling the audience “So uh, it sounds like they’re trying to rush the floor—” There are people commenting, but their comments are out of focus. The only legible one reads, “Laurie’s stuck in the hallway, you or another rep need to get her”

“Aggressively Human,” Page 5.

The representative is still trapped in the hallway, surrounded by the chants of “let us in” to the left of her. There is a “click” and a “creak” as the door to the gallery is opened by Representative Yousef Rabhi. She rushes through the door as he holds it open, and she breathes a sigh of relief. They begin walking to their seats. Representative Rabhi is tall and slim; Rep. Pohutsky barely comes up to his shoulder. He is wearing a suit. He is wearing a mask, but his face isn’t shown in frame. “Thanks for coming to get me—” She begins to say, but is distracted by a distinct “click” behind her. Her eye glances back, staring wide. Representative Rabhi stops to talk to someone else while she keeps walking. “Great. Cool. We’re stuck up here. Sitting ducks,” She thinks as she holds onto her bag with both hands now. She sits down in her seat, staring off, concerned.

“Aggressively Human,” Page 6.

A depiction of the floor of the Michigan House of Representatives. “Every time I thought of someone not in the gallery with me, I’d try to find them on the floor” Representative Pohutsky recounts. She is then shown leaning forward slightly, phone in hand. Having found the person she was looking for, she hunches over her phone texting frantically. An unspecified female representative is shown from a distance receiving a text message from Rep. Pohutsky, standing next to the front entrance of the House floor. The doors are being banged on by the demonstrators outside the door. The text reads, “Hey, you should probably get away from the door.” Being shown from the perspective of the gallery, the unspecified representative moves away from the door. She responds to Rep. Pohutsky with a heart emoji. Rep. Pohutsky rests her phone on her stomach and sits back, relieved.

“Aggressively Human,” Page 7.

As Representative Pohutsky sits back, her hand knocks a pen off the bench she is sitting on. The pen is shown falling. She notices and leans forward to pick it up. The pen is shown to be vibrating once it is on the floor, emphasizing the power and volume of the pounding of the doors by the demonstrators, trying to break onto the House floor. As she reaches to pick up the pen, she instead focuses on her choice of footwear that day: high heels. Her hand recoils some, and she appears afraid.

“Aggressively Human,” Page 8.

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