How and why are comics becoming more accepted as an art form? Can/should they be regarded as a literary genre?
Comics deserve recognition and respect in both mentioned categories; both equally deserving in regards to being an art form and in being a literary genre. First of all, there is an incredible amount of artwork that goes into comic books and like Herge himself, an obviously talented group of illustrators. For example: Farr. (1991) observes 'the preparation was time-consuming and particular poses were sketched in the studio from life until Herge was satisfied.' He also makes a reference to Herge being a perfectionist and in one instance, uses a scale model of a rocket with cut away sections to enable him to be accurate in his drawings. The illustrators deserve to have their art work recognized and acknowledged like any other artists work. I believe Art is art. How can a person differentiate from one art work to another, also you cannot compare for example: a comic strip to another that has been created by a different type of artist who has their own style. Roy Lichtenstein was involved in the Pop Art movement, he faced controversy regarding his works, he used art from varying comic strips, enlarged and then painted them. They were not considered 'real' art. I believe it is ludicrous to define one work as art and yet deny another equal status and recognition.
According to Varnum and Gibbons, words were favoured over images upon the invention of the printing press but favour later on shifted towards images, as they were seen to be more alluring. (introduction. p.?). Theorist Seaward Barry A. M. states, "it is images, not words, that communicate most deeply" (p.75). She also added "when an image is combined with words as in a comic strip, the words become secondary but the language of images remains primary." (p.78). When it come to the arts, the debate between painting and poetry, literature and visual art has been ongoing between both western and eastern cultures. The Roman poet Horace once stated in a passing comment: "ut pictura poesis."( as is painting, so is poetry).
I believe that when it comes to the definition of what qualifies a written piece to be regarded as a 'literary' genre, the term should apply to any narrative piece regardless of whether it's in comic book form or other. When weighing in on this debate, what should determine whether a written piece has literary value is if it adheres to the basic narrative structure and be judged on the quality of the piece.When it comes to how and why comics are becoming more accepted as an art form as well as should comics be regarded as a literary genre; you only have to see how highly the Tintin comics were held in regard. Farr. (1991), makes a reference to the Tintin comics - 'high quality drawing and compelling narrative...' Also according to Farr. (p.59) 'The Blue Lotus' has such inherent quality and class that it can be considered a strip cartoon classic which raised the comparatively young medium to new heights.' According to Varnum and Gibbons, despite comics having been seen as a 'lowbrow' medium in America, countries such as Latin America, Japan, Canada and parts of Europe regard them highly as 'serious artistic and cultural productions.' Varnum and Gibbons (2001) believe comics are one of the most favoured forms of media that has become accepted in todays increasing visual age, alongside other mediums such as television, cinema and internet. The combined elements of representational code: images and texts, word balloons, zip ribbons and panel frames that house separate scenes of a narrative that make up comics, can easily be altered in a sophisticated manner.
Reference
Comic strip images retrieved from:
://www.google.co.nz/search?q=popular+comics+strips&es_sm=119&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=30oRVLmRN8zJuATW2oHAAQ&ved=0
Comics deserve recognition and respect in both mentioned categories; both equally deserving in regards to being an art form and in being a literary genre. First of all, there is an incredible amount of artwork that goes into comic books and like Herge himself, an obviously talented group of illustrators. For example: Farr. (1991) observes 'the preparation was time-consuming and particular poses were sketched in the studio from life until Herge was satisfied.' He also makes a reference to Herge being a perfectionist and in one instance, uses a scale model of a rocket with cut away sections to enable him to be accurate in his drawings. The illustrators deserve to have their art work recognized and acknowledged like any other artists work. I believe Art is art. How can a person differentiate from one art work to another, also you cannot compare for example: a comic strip to another that has been created by a different type of artist who has their own style. Roy Lichtenstein was involved in the Pop Art movement, he faced controversy regarding his works, he used art from varying comic strips, enlarged and then painted them. They were not considered 'real' art. I believe it is ludicrous to define one work as art and yet deny another equal status and recognition.
According to Varnum and Gibbons, words were favoured over images upon the invention of the printing press but favour later on shifted towards images, as they were seen to be more alluring. (introduction. p.?). Theorist Seaward Barry A. M. states, "it is images, not words, that communicate most deeply" (p.75). She also added "when an image is combined with words as in a comic strip, the words become secondary but the language of images remains primary." (p.78). When it come to the arts, the debate between painting and poetry, literature and visual art has been ongoing between both western and eastern cultures. The Roman poet Horace once stated in a passing comment: "ut pictura poesis."( as is painting, so is poetry).
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Reference
Varnum, R. & Gibbons, C. (Ed.). (2001). The Language of Comics: word and image (p.x). Jackson: U Press of Mississippi.
Herge. (2005; 1935). The Adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus. London; Methuen.
Farr,
M. (1991). In the Blue Lotus. In Tintin: the complete companion (pp.50-59).
London: John Murray.
Roy Lichtenstein documentary retrieved from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Slg0QkE9kUComic strip images retrieved from:
://www.google.co.nz/search?q=popular+comics+strips&es_sm=119&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=30oRVLmRN8zJuATW2oHAAQ&ved=0
Hi Franz7139. You have done a lot of very good work on these responses. However, you are only required to provide ONE blog response for each genre or medium we cover in the course. If you had been attending the labs you would have known that. Looking forward a single response on Fantasy, a single response on Anime and a single response on Science Fiction. You will find the questions and the relevant readings and secondary readings listed under 'weekly tasks' on the course information.
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