Cinema del Artie
Thursday, October 16, 2003In a New York Times article, Art Spiegelman points out what it is about comics as a visual storytelling medium that appeals to me:
“I get narcissistically centered in my work. Film, theater and certainly television require large groups of people working together. At their purest, comics can be made by one, even if multiphrenic person.”
Apart from his uneducated take on mental illness (Artie, schizophrenia is not multiple personality disorder, nor is ‘schizo’ a prefix meaning ‘two’), I can’t help but share the same feeling on comics.
Comics are incredibly cinematic, yet more personal than any film can ever be because one single person does the writing, the costuming, the set decoration, the special effects, the directing, the acting… It’s what appeals to me most about cartooning as an artform—the control.
I also like how he compares cartoon speech balloons to haikus, in their economy of words. However, he fails to mention that unlike a haiku, speech bubbles have accompanying illustrations that, as the saying goes, are worth 1000 words (that no doubt exceed any syllabic limitations).
ryan says:
Now that I think about it, my favourite web comic is a very personal thing to me. It’s funny how a comic strip can worm into your heart.
As far as the control issue, I think you’ll find, as I have and continue to do, that artistic centred people gravitate towards control centred issues in general. Look at the NDP party you voted for. You might as well just be flashing your commie card right now.
Communism is a very ‘fashionable’ thing in art circles. We all use Apples for their proprietary control (= better efficiency in computing). Web designers will always prefer a flash or graphic centred interface, “cus if they don’t have the fonts I want them to, it’ll look like crap”.
We are all control freaks. I fight a creeping OCD daily myself.
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Robot Johnny says:
It’s not communism that’s fashionable—it’s hideous ‘lost-all-meaning’ Che Guevara t-shirts.
But yeah, desire for control is something that I think defines designers. “What do you mean make the type larger? No, I think the logo’s a fine size! And no, thank-you very much, I will not put a drop shadow behind it!”
That’s exactly why comics are so appealing. Client and Creator are the same person.
Zombie Claire says:
I think macs and Che used to be fashionable because they were not mainstream. But now they are everywhere, like in movies and tv, and aren’t super cool any more. That kid on the O.C. combined it when he had a Che shirt on and he was using his powerbook.
Artsy people like to do things opposite to everybody else and but will be first on the backlash if too many people are doing it, that’s what I learned from the Globe and Mail.
Russell Smith in the Globe today on how the backlash works: Any media commentators trumpeting a supposedly new social group with a clever name will annoy most Canadians, because if there’s one thing Canadians hate, it’s people who think they’re clever.
Zombie Claire says:
PS: I must stress I do not watch The O.C. it just happened to be on, I SWEAR IT. REALLY. Excuse I must go, Tarzan is on the WB.
Jenny says:
Get ready for more Che! I read there are FOUR movies about him in production.
P.S. You don’t seriously watch O.C., do you?
Jenny says:
P.P.S. Guess what my next book club selection is going to be on, haha hahah.
Robot Johnny says:
You see macs on tv and in movies simply because the art directors, like most people in art and design, use macs themselves and like to stick it to the man!
The Che shirt, however, has no excuse.
Also having no excuse: ironic trucker hat.
Zombie Claire says:
If it were art directors they’d get their way all the time but I don’t know…
But I’ve noticed in movies, adults, like in corporate offices or say, they are spies or something, use Generic PC Computer. If it’s a tv show and there’s an office you see people with rows of clone computers.
Youths always use macs. Particularly iMacs. Particularly the cool characters. Vampires do too, like in Angel, because cool people aren’t supposed to use PCs.
Watch for it you’ll really start to notice.
Of course it could be product shots and they are getting paid to show logos. Who knows!
Zombie Claire says:
Guess what my next book club selection is going to be on, haha hahah.
OMG you spoiled it for Johnny, LOL!
Zombie Claire says:
P.S. You don’t seriously watch O.C., do you?
Um, like, no.
Robot Johnny says:
Oftentimes I’ll see people on TV use powerbooks but the Apple logo will be covered up with a sticker or something, so it’s like the art directors WANT to call attention to the fact that it’s a Mac, but they’re trying to hide the branding at the same time. That I can’t explain.
Zombie Claire says:
They’re conflicted! Like how Clark loves Lex on Smallville but he thinks he loves Lana. He’s just CONFUSED.
k says:
Hi
I was hoping to read that article by Art Spiegelman without having to pay the New York Times for it. Do you have a copy of it you could email me?
Thanks