Blog Repost- Shaun Tan- The Arrival

The arrival by Shaun Tan is a very personal approach to the characters feeling of isolation in a foreign land. The story is told through snapshot drawings of everyday life. Everything from the food that is eaten, to the different fauna and flora that can be observed in this place. Not only does Tan portray this feeling of alienation, but he also makes the reader feel the same way; the animals have some resemblance to earthly creatures but even they are highly stylized. This feeling loneliness is also being experienced by the reader.The rendering of the work is phenomenal, when I see the mythical creatures mixed with magical cities, and I am immediately awed. Even the language that is posted on boards in the piece looks like alien hieroglyphs.
Tan portrays the differences even in the cloud formations.He immerses us in his environments, so that we too might be awed in the same way as the characters in the book.In a way Tan portrayed the character as loosing his identity in this new world. Personally, I think these pieces represent the United States and all the prospects she has to offer, in saying this many of the customs are different and a culture shock is immediately noticed, in this instance I speak from personal experience.In certain scenes he shows the character as tiny, so as to further the feeling of insignificance, to where some of the birds are even larger than him. Tan has to communicate through sketches due to an obvious language barrier.
By showing flashbacks of the characters family, we the reader have a tendency to feel sad for him and share his feelings.Things in the city look surreal and promising, yet daunting at the same time due to his cultural obstacles.Even the very physics of his existence seem to be off, he doesn't fit in. This is most easily seen when there are ships in the sky going beneath bridges.Everything is larger than life, everything looks mysterious and industrialized.He does however get used to these unusual settings and adopts some of the strange creatures. Each moment of his life is documented so as to accustom himself to his new reality.In the end he his family joins him in his new life (presumably in New York City). The drawings in this book are spectacular, the essence of his surroundings are personified for the viewer which makes the read all the more enriching.The composition, lighting and value is really beautiful all around. This is really a magnificent work of art.

When I am King and Electric sheep comix

When I am King
This is an interesting little work of art, the use of very simple shapes and colors is utilized.The format for me is also very interesting in that it is one direction the entire time, which is a different approach to the way Scott McCloud sees comics going. Multi directional and with many simultaneous events taking place.I think this one directional approach is direct and immediately readable, which is a different approach to many other comic artists that I have been exposed to this semester. There are no fancy dynamics or interestingly broken up spaces, what you see is what you get and that, in my opinion is the greatest attribute of a work such as this.





Patrick Farley- Electric Sheep Comix
Honestly, I don't know where to start with this piece, the imagery and special effects are unlike anything I've ever seen before. The characterization is very realistic and visually interactive with moving shapes and scenes etc.The idea of apes and our progression to humanity is an interesting mental journey. The idea of carnal nature is brought out by the fantasy world of the woman in the piece. My favorite part was when there were various organic elements, bacteria,veins and fish etc move across the screen.I'm interested to see what other artists are exploring this media option. I guess the message this piece brings, is that despite our advancement as a species, we still have very primitive understandings on certain subjects.

The Meek

The meek

I had not been exposed to web-comics before this class, after reading Meek my horizons have been expanded from an artistic point of view. The story is of a naturalist girl who is looking for her grandfather. Along the way she is chased by loggers, who haven’t had much female interaction, and as a result of their needs, they try to capture her. She however knows how to move around the jungle unseen. She asks for help but time after time she is disappointed. The artwork in this piece is great, the colors are really interesting, earthy yet mystical in some way. The organizing of graphic spaces is also very effective. For me one of the best characteristics is the characterization. The compositions are dynamic and the creatures are unique looking. 

Promethea and Sin City

Alan Moore- Promethea

I must be honest when I first read Promethea, I wasn’t particularly taken by the imagery, and it seemed a little zingy. As I’ve read further into his work, I am more and more impressed by Moore’s genius in creating a short story with incredible punch and meaning. After watching the interview The Mindscape of Alan Moore, I was immediately struck with the kind of concepts and symbolism that I am naturally drawn to as an artist. I would consider myself to be open-minded with topics as large as the ones Moore tackles, however with that mindset I ironically became close-minded to his conceptualizations. Needless to say the tides have changed. The imagery, even though it is not particularly what I go for typically, works, beautifully. The way that Moore refocuses the audience to topics that pertain to us as individuals and indeed as a whole, in a tangible/physical and malleable realm such as ours is quite brilliant. The idea of greater consciousness and materialism is something that I feel has been swept under the rug. Through contemporary media we are willingly blinding ourselves to the idea of non-local consciousness and abstract concepts of that nature. Physical temptation is now considered in a new light by the way in which Moore delivers his message. The story I read was about a girl (Sophie)who passed out and was able to access this dream-state of knowledge as a result of coming across Promethea and route 32- the crossing point of physicality and consciousness. The idea of human mortality and the immortality of the soul in contrast are thought provoking to say the least. We essentially have become so consciously detached from universal ordinance, and as a result of poor judgment of freedom of choice that we have now condemned ourselves. Basically what I’m saying is I’m now a fan of Moore’s work and the depth to which his concepts/stories frequently reach.

Frank Miller- Sin City
I have read several episodes of Millers work as well as watched the movie. The illustration is amazing, the use of graphic shapes and abstraction of form is what increases the drama of the work ten fold. I can clearly imagine the characters, even had I not seen the movie. The wording in Miller's work is concise, unlike Alan Moore who tends to elaborate very clearly what's happening through wording. I feel that Miller leaves more to the reader its almost like he wants the reader to expose their dark-side to relate to the work. The composition, lighting and characterization communicates everything that is needed to be understood very quickly in these episodes. High contrast imagery heightens the tension of the scenes. This is truly a masterful collection of art and literature.

Alice in Sunderland

                                                                 Alice in Sunderland- Brian Talbot

This is concrete evidence that comics do indeed hold much literary value. Alice in Sunderland is an informative piece of writing that elaborates on the general vicinity of Sunderland, England. The work is very theatrical; most of the story is of a play setting, the actor, is also the narrator of the stories. Interesting historical facts can be learned from this piece. This piece is a great way to learn general knowledge of European history and significant figures, particularly within the English culture. The imagery is very fitting for the scene, these is transitioning in the story between the reality of the narrator and the events that are elaborated as part of the narrative. The juxtaposition of photographs and illustrations is very effective, at times I found myself double taking some of the images. His drawing style is articulated beautifully. The penmanship he shows is rich in texture and packed with emotional stimuli. The depth that he achieves is through deliberate and bold mark making is easily apparent. As mentioned earlier this piece is packed full of general knowledge and is accurate to actual historical events, I think the approach is beneficial to learning particularly from an illustrative standpoint. This communication that is vital to the success of illustrators in particular, however that cannot be narrowed to a single field. I feel that this work has not only put Alice in Wonderland into context but indeed other significant figures such as Shakespeare, Captain Cook, Ruskin, Churchill to name a few. The characters and contexts that are explained in Alice in Sunderland increase the richness of other popular works, as we now have a greater understanding of the cultural advancement. Something that is lost in contemporary art, particularly since the emergence of movies and the fictional qualities of these works, which are brought to light. I really enjoyed this work by Talbot, it is informative which I personally appreciate. The lineage and stories of characters (non fiction) fascinates me due to the anthropologic value of the respective character’s backgrounds.

Comics as contemporary literature

Daniel Clowes- Eight ball (Like a velvet glove in cast iron)

This comic is about a man by the name of Clay, he goes to watch a movie at a filthy cinema. Some sort of dominatrix type movie, the story progresses by him borrowing a car from an acquaintance, and being arrested for smelling like alcohol due to a drunken teller lady. Whilst he in the police car the officers spot a prostitute, have her way with her, only to find out she is some three-eyed alien who was the dominatrix character in the movie. The style of art is graphically striking, strong use of high contrast values, this creates a sense of dramatization and tension throughout the story, there value shifts determine whether the movie is being shown of whether it is a view of Carl. The simplified line work has an almost wood cut type appearance; in some ways the style reminds me of Rockwell Kent. This piece has a strange ending in that both suspects are released and the officers drive off. This is an interesting piece of literature nevertheless.

Love and Rockets- Hernandez Bros

The imagery in this piece is very informative for the viewer, the words add accent to the artwork. The story is about a promiscuous woman who has various relations with men; part of the reason is that she just wants to live life without having to worry about her children. She ends up with a serial killer who dies whilst she is with him. The organization of visual elements is simple yet theatrical by the use of high contrast even to make the mid value areas apparent. This work was a great way to learn how to have simultaneous happenings within a limited framework.

Manga

Ranma- Rumiko Takahashi

Typically I’m not a fan of this style of artwork. However, in saying that, Ranma was certainly an enjoyable read. The cultural differences between American comics and manga really aren’t that far apart. Though the styles are different the layout and compositional elements hold a lot of similarity for me. I’m definitely a fan of the way space was handled in this work especially during action scenes and indeed scenes that are a little more intimate. The idea of arranged marriage is something that is probably unheard of in this country, however I could relate I that there is a large influence of Indian tradition in South Africa, who have similar customs to those mentioned in the story. There are some places where artistic license has been used to its full extent, by way of the nimble “kung-fu” panda character and sex changing pools. Though the concepts may seem far-fetched, it is still within reach for the reader to fill in the blanks and make the story more readable. I really enjoyed the way that Takahashi created dynamic compositions, full of depth and movement. The spaces are interesting by way of placement and varied shapes of the frames.

 

Buddha – Osamu Tezuka

The story of a boy who is sent south to find a mysterious man is very intriguing. The story entails the details of the boy’s travels, including his mother being kidnapped and is threatened to be sold. The style of this work is very interesting; I do feel that at times there were two distinctive voices of artwork coming through. One is more stylized and one more representational and rendered to a further lever. These contrasting styles create a sort of transition of the work. The usage of space and placement and shapes of frames is highly effective. This is a very fast moving coming with plenty of action and that’s the way its intended to be read, in my opinion.