Thursday, September 3, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Abstract 18 Series 3 ‘Lines’
Abstract 18 I like the rough and spontaneous aspect to this comic and how the dry brushing catches the wrinkle of the paper. This is another of my comics looking at the gutter and panel relationship.Drawingsilence.com
Well, that was quick! First review of "Silent Pictures"
...Breer’s tiny abstract flipbooks surreptitiously introduce the third - and largest - section of the show, comprised of abstract comics from the new book of the same title by Andrei Molotiu. Here, narrative art comes with most of the trappings of the comics, minus realistic imagery and, for the most part, a verbal stream. According to Molotiu, an artist and educator, the absence of a verbal story can create a feeling of sequential drive, rhythm, or the rise and fall of a story arc.
This idea characterizes much, but not all, of the art on display at the James. Collected through a worldwide open call, the work is done by artists who will be new for most visitors to the show. Among the standouts are
I am not married because I do not have a watch, by Noah Bertansky, in which the narrative drive of the art carries haphazardly framed panels screechingly across their paper background. The message seems to be that the artist’s life is a train wreck, due to his watch- and wife-lessness,
Jasnusz Jaworski takes the idea of abstract comics to the extreme by creating an abstract language for the speech bubbles that inhabit the frames in a style reminiscent of Japanese scroll painting and calligraphy. And an old-fashioned wire magazine stand hosts a collection of paintings by Mark Staff Brandt called A History of Composition in Abstract Comic Covers. Done in oil, acrylic and collage on masonite panels, the 30 pieces in this series have a wonderfully crude graphic style shared by realistic comics by R. Crumb and others of the East Village Eye era...
Read the whole thing here.
This idea characterizes much, but not all, of the art on display at the James. Collected through a worldwide open call, the work is done by artists who will be new for most visitors to the show. Among the standouts are
I am not married because I do not have a watch, by Noah Bertansky, in which the narrative drive of the art carries haphazardly framed panels screechingly across their paper background. The message seems to be that the artist’s life is a train wreck, due to his watch- and wife-lessness,
Jasnusz Jaworski takes the idea of abstract comics to the extreme by creating an abstract language for the speech bubbles that inhabit the frames in a style reminiscent of Japanese scroll painting and calligraphy. And an old-fashioned wire magazine stand hosts a collection of paintings by Mark Staff Brandt called A History of Composition in Abstract Comic Covers. Done in oil, acrylic and collage on masonite panels, the 30 pieces in this series have a wonderfully crude graphic style shared by realistic comics by R. Crumb and others of the East Village Eye era...
Read the whole thing here.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Contest part II: "Nautilus"
Ok, I guess that contest was too easy. It certainly was over in a flash. Marcus and Kevin are getting their prizes, but I decided the fun didn't last long enough, so here is one more chance to win. This time, I'll make it a copy of my book "Nautilus" with a big dedicatory doodle inside it, based on a word of your choosing. (Admittedly, this also gives me a chance to promote my own book on this here blog, which I've kept meaning to do but just never got around to. Until now.)
So, here it is, "Nautilus," published this summer by Fahrenheit Editions from Copenhagen. (But it's in English!) I have a couple of copies left, though I will get more in a couple of weeks. Distributor Tony Shenton has picked it up, so it should be available within the next month or so in your better comic-book shops--your Quimbys, your Million-Year Picnics.
So, here's the contest, and I daresay it will be harder than the previous one (though I've been known to be wrong). Identify this musician:
If nobody gets it in 2-3 days, I'll give more hints. I suppose I could do a contest asking you to identify some obscure piece of abstract art--but what fun would that be?
Of course, if you don't win, you can also order the book from me directly, for $23 postpaid (in the States). As I said, I should have a good number of copies arriving from Denmark in a couple of weeks. (I should add that, in stores, it will unfortunately have to be more more expensive than that.)
Oh--and Marcus and Kevin? If you know this one, please let someone else win. But email me with the identification, I'd be curious to see if someone gets it.
So, here it is, "Nautilus," published this summer by Fahrenheit Editions from Copenhagen. (But it's in English!) I have a couple of copies left, though I will get more in a couple of weeks. Distributor Tony Shenton has picked it up, so it should be available within the next month or so in your better comic-book shops--your Quimbys, your Million-Year Picnics.
So, here's the contest, and I daresay it will be harder than the previous one (though I've been known to be wrong). Identify this musician:
If nobody gets it in 2-3 days, I'll give more hints. I suppose I could do a contest asking you to identify some obscure piece of abstract art--but what fun would that be?
Of course, if you don't win, you can also order the book from me directly, for $23 postpaid (in the States). As I said, I should have a good number of copies arriving from Denmark in a couple of weeks. (I should add that, in stores, it will unfortunately have to be more more expensive than that.)
Oh--and Marcus and Kevin? If you know this one, please let someone else win. But email me with the identification, I'd be curious to see if someone gets it.
"Silent Pictures" opens today. And contest (see end of post)!
"Silent Pictures," the exhibition at the James Gallery of the Graduate Center of CUNY that I curated with Linda Norden, is opening its doors today. here is some more info:
James Gallery’s Silent Pictures Explores the Nonverbal Power of Comics
Silent Pictures, running from September 1 through October 11 in the James Gallery, will focus on aspects of comic book structure that do not depend on words to advance an image sequence. The exhibition is inspired by artist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Art Spiegelman's personal collection of wordless comics and graphic novels -- mostly black and white rare artist books from the 1930s. The show will feature a selection of these books, as well as more recent “abstract comics,” and a related film program -- all of which investigate essential qualities and aesthetics of this hugely popular medium.
The James Gallery is located off the lobby of the Graduate Center at 365 Fifth Avenue (between 34th & 35th Streets). Hours are Tuesdays through Fridays, 12–8 pm, and 12–6 pm on Saturdays & Sundays. Admission is free; for more information call 212-817-7138 or visit http://www.gc.cuny.edu/events/art_gallery.htm An opening reception for Silent Pictures will be held on Thursday, September 10, 6-8 pm.
The abstract comics, compiled by art historian and cartoon artist [No, I don't know what a "cartoon artist" is either; and I'm pretty sure I'm not one, in any case. I didn't write this release.] Andrei Molotiu for a just released anthology, Abstract Comics Fantagraphics Books, 2009), call attention to the formal mechanisms that underlie all comics. Where the earlier art collected by Spiegelman retains a narrative, often politically charged thrust, the comics gathered by Molotiu emphasize the dynamic graphics that lead the eye and mind from panel to panel, suggesting that these structural elements are fundamental to the emotional register of the medium.
The exhibition will also feature a specially commissioned wall drawing by Renee French, a hand-drawn animated film by the British artist team Rachel Cattle and Steve Richards, and a new collaborative project for the Graduate Center's Fifth Avenue lobby display windows by Gail Fitzgerald and Carl Ostendarp.
In addition, Columbia University art historian and film scholar Noam Elcott will curate a related film program titled "Comic-Film-Strip." To be installed in a small gallery-within-the-gallery, this program will feature mostly wordless, animated historic films, in which the frame-by-frame narrative parallels developments in the wordless comics that also emerged during the first half of the 20th century. “Comic-Film-Strip” will include selections of films by Emile Cohl, Walter Ruttmann, Norman McLaren, and Robert Breer, as well as a very early partially animated film by William Kentridge. Elcott will elaborate on “Comic-Film-Strip” in a public conversation to be held September 25, 6-7:30 pm in the Graduate Center’s Skylight Lounge.
From here.
In addition to most of the artists featured in the book, the Abstract Comics portion of the exhibition will also feature the works of Nina Roos:
Here is a view of Renee French's just completed mural, with the artist herself helping provide a sense of scale:
I had the idea of asking Renee to do this because, a) she's one of my favorite cartoonists, and b) she had worked really tiny, so I thought it would be interesting to see her work at the other extreme, really, really large.
Please note that the opening reception itself will be on Thursday, September 10, from 6-8. Previous to it, from 5-6 there will be a signing of the Anthology at Jim Hanley's Universe, only a couple of blocks away from the gallery.
Unfortunately, entertainment for the reception will not be provided by these guys:
Oh well, one can only dream...
(BTW, if you are the first to tell me, in comments to this post, who those guys are, you will win... I don't know, something abstract-comics related. I'll make sure it's good. And if you are the first to name at least three of them, you will win big. No points if you are my Facebook friend and have already seen this in my wall photos.)
James Gallery’s Silent Pictures Explores the Nonverbal Power of Comics
Silent Pictures, running from September 1 through October 11 in the James Gallery, will focus on aspects of comic book structure that do not depend on words to advance an image sequence. The exhibition is inspired by artist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Art Spiegelman's personal collection of wordless comics and graphic novels -- mostly black and white rare artist books from the 1930s. The show will feature a selection of these books, as well as more recent “abstract comics,” and a related film program -- all of which investigate essential qualities and aesthetics of this hugely popular medium.
The James Gallery is located off the lobby of the Graduate Center at 365 Fifth Avenue (between 34th & 35th Streets). Hours are Tuesdays through Fridays, 12–8 pm, and 12–6 pm on Saturdays & Sundays. Admission is free; for more information call 212-817-7138 or visit http://www.gc.cuny.edu/events/art_gallery.htm An opening reception for Silent Pictures will be held on Thursday, September 10, 6-8 pm.
The abstract comics, compiled by art historian and cartoon artist [No, I don't know what a "cartoon artist" is either; and I'm pretty sure I'm not one, in any case. I didn't write this release.] Andrei Molotiu for a just released anthology, Abstract Comics Fantagraphics Books, 2009), call attention to the formal mechanisms that underlie all comics. Where the earlier art collected by Spiegelman retains a narrative, often politically charged thrust, the comics gathered by Molotiu emphasize the dynamic graphics that lead the eye and mind from panel to panel, suggesting that these structural elements are fundamental to the emotional register of the medium.
The exhibition will also feature a specially commissioned wall drawing by Renee French, a hand-drawn animated film by the British artist team Rachel Cattle and Steve Richards, and a new collaborative project for the Graduate Center's Fifth Avenue lobby display windows by Gail Fitzgerald and Carl Ostendarp.
In addition, Columbia University art historian and film scholar Noam Elcott will curate a related film program titled "Comic-Film-Strip." To be installed in a small gallery-within-the-gallery, this program will feature mostly wordless, animated historic films, in which the frame-by-frame narrative parallels developments in the wordless comics that also emerged during the first half of the 20th century. “Comic-Film-Strip” will include selections of films by Emile Cohl, Walter Ruttmann, Norman McLaren, and Robert Breer, as well as a very early partially animated film by William Kentridge. Elcott will elaborate on “Comic-Film-Strip” in a public conversation to be held September 25, 6-7:30 pm in the Graduate Center’s Skylight Lounge.
From here.
In addition to most of the artists featured in the book, the Abstract Comics portion of the exhibition will also feature the works of Nina Roos:
Here is a view of Renee French's just completed mural, with the artist herself helping provide a sense of scale:
I had the idea of asking Renee to do this because, a) she's one of my favorite cartoonists, and b) she had worked really tiny, so I thought it would be interesting to see her work at the other extreme, really, really large.
Please note that the opening reception itself will be on Thursday, September 10, from 6-8. Previous to it, from 5-6 there will be a signing of the Anthology at Jim Hanley's Universe, only a couple of blocks away from the gallery.
Unfortunately, entertainment for the reception will not be provided by these guys:
Oh well, one can only dream...
(BTW, if you are the first to tell me, in comments to this post, who those guys are, you will win... I don't know, something abstract-comics related. I'll make sure it's good. And if you are the first to name at least three of them, you will win big. No points if you are my Facebook friend and have already seen this in my wall photos.)
