Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Monday, September 29, 2014
Week 5-Intertextuality
Intertextuality describes the way in which works are given meaning through other, separate texts. On the part of the author, intertextuality may be achieved consciously through reference, quotation, allusion, or parody. It may subconsciously come into play through the authors influences and inspirations. The reader of a text brings their own intertextuality to the experience based on his or her unique frame of reference. Perhaps, while reading a novel, the reader is picturing the protagonist as Han Solo in their mind's eye. Boom-intertextuality!
The author has no control over the audience experience. An author may intentionally reference outside work, but that doesn't mean the reader will perceive this intent. Also, the reader will compare, contrast, and otherwise contextualize a work using source material outside the author's control.
In a sense, intertextuality strips a text or work of its agency. A book (or poem, painting, piece of music etc.) is not its own, self-contained thing. It does not dictate its own meaning. Instead, the work is given meaning by how it stands historically, and in relation to previous work. A text simply exists, the world at large assigns its meaning.
My book for the "Book Project" portion of this class is about comic books. The comic industry is positively bursting with intertextuality. Most of the characters that are household names today, were created by Jewish writers and artists starting in the 1930's. Born out of a culture in which antisemitism was prevalent, their stories are often about outsiders, be they awkward social misfits like Peter Parker/Spider-Man, or literal aliens, as in the case of Superman. These characters rise above their social standing to become heroes with tremendous power. It's not hard to see the kind of wish fulfillment that went into their origins. One of the definitions of intertextuality is "to intermingle", and clearly, there was a lot of intermingling between fiction and the real world climate of the time period in which these characters were first established.
As for the artists I'm going to cite, I'm using the founding members of Image Comics. Image was a comic publisher in the 90's, created by a bunch of fan-favorite artists who departed from the major publishers in an effort to achieve greater creative freedom (by owning their own creations and retaining publishing rights). These guys built their careers on drawing Batman, Spider-Man and the X-Men. So what did they do when they had complete creative freedom? They made a bunch of pastiches of existing characters, or pretty much directly cribbed from their old gigs:
Todd McFarlane created Spawn, who is basically Spider-Man wearing Batman's cape:
Jim Lee, who was a well known X-Men artist, created "WildC.A.T.S.", who are, essentially, the X-Men in slightly different clothes:
Likewise, Rob Liefeld's "Youngblood" bore a striking resemblance to his previous work on X-Force:
Have you always enjoyed the Hulk, but lamented the fact he just wasn't metal enough? Well, former Hulk artist Dale Keown agrees, and his "Pitt" has got you covered:
"The Fighting American" is fighting for the right to be blatantly plagiarized from Captain America:
"Hey, what if Wonder Woman had, like, a sword or some shit?" And thus, "Glory" was born:
If aliens came to Earth, and without knowing a single thing about our culture were presented with an image of Superman, and an image of "Supreme" they'd immediately think "This one guy stole this other guy's idea! These naked apes are thieves! It's good that we're about to destroy them.":
All jokes aside, I don't think it's pure creative bankruptcy that lead to these "new" characters seeming so redundant. Superman was one of the first costumed superheros. When Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster brought him to life in the 1930's they had no template to follow. They were forging new ground. In the 60-odd ensuing years between the inception of the superhero and the creation of Image comics, the creative choices early comics pioneers made became hallmarks of the genre. Things like capes and masks and tights are now the iconography of the comic book industry. The Image creators were playing with established archetypes, using a common visual language established over decades. They were influenced by and referencing past works, hence, intertextuality.
For my book entry...The X-Men didn't receive their powers like Spider-Man, or develop them through rigorous training like Batman. They are mutants, born with a gene that separates them from the rest of mankind. They are persecuted by society, treated as outsiders. Humanity in the X-Men books is constantly looking to either eradicate these mutants, banish them to some far off location, or find a cure for what is commonly seen as a "disease." For obvious reasons, the gay community has taken to the X-Men as an allegory for homosexuality. Over time, various writers and artists have been consciously approaching the material as a metaphor for homosexuality. I took some photos from Pride parades, and Photoshopped them into X-Men characters, to make the connection explicit.
The author has no control over the audience experience. An author may intentionally reference outside work, but that doesn't mean the reader will perceive this intent. Also, the reader will compare, contrast, and otherwise contextualize a work using source material outside the author's control.
In a sense, intertextuality strips a text or work of its agency. A book (or poem, painting, piece of music etc.) is not its own, self-contained thing. It does not dictate its own meaning. Instead, the work is given meaning by how it stands historically, and in relation to previous work. A text simply exists, the world at large assigns its meaning.
My book for the "Book Project" portion of this class is about comic books. The comic industry is positively bursting with intertextuality. Most of the characters that are household names today, were created by Jewish writers and artists starting in the 1930's. Born out of a culture in which antisemitism was prevalent, their stories are often about outsiders, be they awkward social misfits like Peter Parker/Spider-Man, or literal aliens, as in the case of Superman. These characters rise above their social standing to become heroes with tremendous power. It's not hard to see the kind of wish fulfillment that went into their origins. One of the definitions of intertextuality is "to intermingle", and clearly, there was a lot of intermingling between fiction and the real world climate of the time period in which these characters were first established.
As for the artists I'm going to cite, I'm using the founding members of Image Comics. Image was a comic publisher in the 90's, created by a bunch of fan-favorite artists who departed from the major publishers in an effort to achieve greater creative freedom (by owning their own creations and retaining publishing rights). These guys built their careers on drawing Batman, Spider-Man and the X-Men. So what did they do when they had complete creative freedom? They made a bunch of pastiches of existing characters, or pretty much directly cribbed from their old gigs:
Todd McFarlane created Spawn, who is basically Spider-Man wearing Batman's cape:
Jim Lee, who was a well known X-Men artist, created "WildC.A.T.S.", who are, essentially, the X-Men in slightly different clothes:
Likewise, Rob Liefeld's "Youngblood" bore a striking resemblance to his previous work on X-Force:
Have you always enjoyed the Hulk, but lamented the fact he just wasn't metal enough? Well, former Hulk artist Dale Keown agrees, and his "Pitt" has got you covered:
"The Fighting American" is fighting for the right to be blatantly plagiarized from Captain America:
"Hey, what if Wonder Woman had, like, a sword or some shit?" And thus, "Glory" was born:
If aliens came to Earth, and without knowing a single thing about our culture were presented with an image of Superman, and an image of "Supreme" they'd immediately think "This one guy stole this other guy's idea! These naked apes are thieves! It's good that we're about to destroy them.":
All jokes aside, I don't think it's pure creative bankruptcy that lead to these "new" characters seeming so redundant. Superman was one of the first costumed superheros. When Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster brought him to life in the 1930's they had no template to follow. They were forging new ground. In the 60-odd ensuing years between the inception of the superhero and the creation of Image comics, the creative choices early comics pioneers made became hallmarks of the genre. Things like capes and masks and tights are now the iconography of the comic book industry. The Image creators were playing with established archetypes, using a common visual language established over decades. They were influenced by and referencing past works, hence, intertextuality.
For my book entry...The X-Men didn't receive their powers like Spider-Man, or develop them through rigorous training like Batman. They are mutants, born with a gene that separates them from the rest of mankind. They are persecuted by society, treated as outsiders. Humanity in the X-Men books is constantly looking to either eradicate these mutants, banish them to some far off location, or find a cure for what is commonly seen as a "disease." For obvious reasons, the gay community has taken to the X-Men as an allegory for homosexuality. Over time, various writers and artists have been consciously approaching the material as a metaphor for homosexuality. I took some photos from Pride parades, and Photoshopped them into X-Men characters, to make the connection explicit.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Mask Project
Most everything in my mask is comprised of eco-conscious, biodegradable material found at Whole Foods. I just sleep better at night knowing I spent a shit ton of money to ensure that long after I'm gone, whatever landfill holds my refuse may one day sprout a single flower to dot the post-apocalyptic horizon. For the photo, I went back to the Whole Foods sports bar and posted up at a table in the middle of the room, like a creep.
The above is my amateur Photoshop hackjob. The below is the unaltered version, showing that there were actual people (a lot of people, though it's hard to tell) in the vicinity.
Not pictured: The bartender who came up to me and asked if I was about to rob the place. When I told him "Probably not" he said "That's cool, bro. Give me a shout if you change your mind." I peeled him off a couple of Monopoly hundies for being a good sport. When it comes to counterfeit money, my generosity knows no bounds.
The above is my amateur Photoshop hackjob. The below is the unaltered version, showing that there were actual people (a lot of people, though it's hard to tell) in the vicinity.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Week 4-Assemblage
Assemblage, funnily enough, is the act of assembling things. In art, it generally refers to taking a series of objects not specifically intended for art work, and combining them into a new context. The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes these objects as "junk", but hey, one man's trash is another man's treasure, right?
Artists associated with this type of work include Kurt Schwitters, Marcel Duchamp, Hans Bellemer and Pablo Picasso. Using scraps of paper, wire, mesh, and found objects both natural and man made, these artists created 2 and 3 dimensional compositions providing commentary on a variety of issues including criticism of the art world itself.
Examples:
My hackneyed attempt using the dictionary's definition of materials (i.e. junk):
Artists associated with this type of work include Kurt Schwitters, Marcel Duchamp, Hans Bellemer and Pablo Picasso. Using scraps of paper, wire, mesh, and found objects both natural and man made, these artists created 2 and 3 dimensional compositions providing commentary on a variety of issues including criticism of the art world itself.
Examples:
My hackneyed attempt using the dictionary's definition of materials (i.e. junk):
Monday, September 15, 2014
Week 3-Negative Space
Negative space is the area around, between, and within objects. Positive space is typically the "subject" of an image, negative space is anything that, well, isn't the subject. In artwork, the interplay between positive and negative space can be used to enhance the visual interest of a piece. When well executed, negative space can draw the eye away from the subject to become the main focal point of the work. It can also be used to create intricate designs using a simple two color scheme.
It's a relatively simple concept, but one that is probably more easily demonstrated than explained. I'm not exactly an expert on graphic design, but I'm a fan of George Bokhua and feel like his work provides a great example of this principle in action:
I thought the book I was using, with it's many illustrations, bright colors and contrast between text and imagery would provide a lot of opportunities to play with negative space. Instead, every time I cut something out of the book it was really difficult to read the negative space due to the sheer amount of visual clutter on each page. Oh well, I gave it a couple of different tries:
It's a relatively simple concept, but one that is probably more easily demonstrated than explained. I'm not exactly an expert on graphic design, but I'm a fan of George Bokhua and feel like his work provides a great example of this principle in action:
I thought the book I was using, with it's many illustrations, bright colors and contrast between text and imagery would provide a lot of opportunities to play with negative space. Instead, every time I cut something out of the book it was really difficult to read the negative space due to the sheer amount of visual clutter on each page. Oh well, I gave it a couple of different tries:
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