Week 9 Going Away For Two Weeks!!!

Well, I am going to be away for two week because my Uncle has had his leg amputated and I am needed in Newcastle in order to help out with some private family business. I will however be taking the work with me so that I can keep up to date. Will not be surprised if I fall behind though because I am going to be flat out, so I have tried to do a lot this week to make up for it. I have had a look at Topic 6 Artists’ books in depth however I find myself being quite a bit distracted at the moment because of how much stuff is going on at the moment. I had a look at the first few study activities and answered all of the questions. I looked in depth at the difference between livres d’artiste, fine printing and independent publishing. But first I want to talk about the artists’ book.
What is considered an artist’s book? I had a look at several of the definitions on the Art and Books website and I came to the conclusion that an artist’s book, in it’s most basic definition is a book that has been illustrated in some way by an artist to convey a certain aspect, idea, mood or concept. An artist’s book can be, but most often is not mass produced.
Traditionally, illustrators working for the printing trade developed black and white illustrations on paper and the design was translated by a master craftsman into a wood or metal engraving for reproduction. In contrast the illustrations on livres d’artiste are produced using original graphic processes, such as lithography, woodcut, linocut or etching, with the artist either working directly on the printing matrix or working in close collaboration with a master printer. The end result being a limited edition book that contained original illustrations and was intended for sale as a collectable object on the art market. \
I wanted to include these in my learning journal because I feel that I got a lot more of an understanding about what an Artists’ Book was through look at different ideas of what an Artists’ Book could and could not be.

An exhibit in an exhibition comprising a book that is bound up so it can not be opened?
I believe that this example can be considered to be an artist’s book because it represents all of the aspects of an artist’s book. It convey a certain concept, and fundamentally it is a book, and has book-like qualities. I’ll take this opportunity to refer back to topic 1 when we discussed what a book actually was and the idea of bookness was brought up. The exhibit represents the form of a book, and the function fundamentally however it just can not be opened.

Australian artist Imants Tillers creates composite works made up of individual panels. Many of these works contain images and text. When not exhibited on the wall these works are stacked on top of one another in sequential order.
I think that even though it is a sequential artwork, it is not to be classified as an artist’s book. One the panels are completely individual and two, just because the works, when not being exhibited, are stacked in sequential order does not mean that they can be considered a book. A stack of pages is not considered a book until it is bound. Again the form and function of a book need to be considered here. It does have the function of a book, with it’s imagery and text, however it does not employ the form of a book, with binding.

A portfolio of prints on the same topic presented in a box.
It could be argued that this can be an artist’s book because it has both the function and the form of a book. It has pages, which house the prints for a portfolio. Also it is represented in a box which can be considered a form of binding.

Well I better finish off for now. Need to start packing and get out of Wagga Wagga on the next train. Should be a wonderful train ride. I am enjoying this topic so far. It is something I have never really looked into before so I am getting quite a bit out of it. I was having a little trouble grasping what an Artists’ book was so I think that I am going to have more of a look into Artists’ Books before I post next.

Week 8 Key Examples

I had a look at the key examples for the Comics and Graphic Novels topic this week. The key examples for this topic were Art Speigelman’s Maus and Winsor mcCays ‘Little Nemo in Slumberland’ strips. Looking at these two very different but very similar comic styles many things were drawn to my attention that I really didn’t consider until now. One of the things we were asked to consider was that both of these examples were drawing by a single person. What sort of impact does this have on the finished form?

I believe that the fact that only a single person worked on both of the key examples means that there would have been a hint of personal emotions and ideals written into both the strip and the novel. Although this statement is quite apparent in Art speigelman’s Maus due to the fact that it is a biography about his father, there has to be some personal attachment in order to convey the right message across to the audience.

I didn’t enjoy this topic as much as I thought I would because I have done similar topics before in other classes and covered quite a lot of this stuff before. However I have to admit that Maus was definitely my favorite part of this topic. I feel like I have grasped on some new aspects of the comic and graphic novels. I would like to learn a little more about Winsor McCay and I would like to read the other two leading graphic novels.

Week 7 The Production of Comic Books

I had a look at the production of comic books during this week as well as had a look at Reading 8 and did a little bit of research on the Graphic Novel.

The method of production and reproduction was my main focus for this week. I had a look at the study activity questions and answered them to the best of my ability. I have a very strong opinion about the comic book and I believe that a more, how should I word this, a more desirable product is produced when there is a team of artists working on it. Although working individually is quite good for smaller comic projects, and more personal projects, the higher end comics need a large group to work fluidly in order to produce the desired product by the deadline. However there are some distinct disadvantages to working in a team environment. More often than not there is a ‘clash of the titans’ of sorts. There will always be a person, or minority of the team that disagrees with the proposal. This doesn’t occur when working individually. However, this can also be considered a disadvantage of working individually. There is nobody else to bounce ideas/concepts off in order to produce the most desirable effect.

I also had a look at a variety of different comics, ranging from personal and low key comics, such as Cyanide and Happiness, to older style comics such as X-Men and Wonder Woman. I also had a look at the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics so I could compare and contrast the techniques of production and how these can effect the visual appearance of the comic. Looking at the comic page below from Wonder Woman it is clear that is it a far later comic than that of the X-Men, because of the ‘poor’ quality of the imagery and the lack of clean cut lines. This, I believe, is largely related to printing and drawing styles.

Moving on the Graphic Novel now. A graphic novel is a type of comic book, usually with a lengthy and complex storyline similar to those of novels. The three graphic novel titles that are considered to be important in the development of the graphic novel were Batman- The Dark Knight Returns, written by Frank Miller, Watchmen(1987) by Alan Moore and David Gibbons, and Maus by Art Spiegelman. The most memorable out of these three for me was Maus, which is used as a reference in my essay for this subject. It is a very touching and disturbing tale, the biography of the author’s father.

Although I enjoyed having a look at all of the different comic books and graphic novels I didn’t really feel like I could much out of this study activity. However, I did enjoy studying Maus and I enjoyed the brief study so much that I actually went out and hired the novel out to have a read of it. I was captured by it immediately and couldn’t put it down until I had finished it.

Week 6 Comics and Graphic Novels Topic

This week I started having a look at the optional topic, the Comic Book, which I am thrilled was an option because I adore comic books so I feel like this topic is just going to be an utter enjoyment for me. First of all I need to define what a comic actually is.

By definition, a comic is a sequential novel that employs the use of extravagant imagery and speech bubbles to convey a story. At least, this is what I believed until I had a look at Reading 7 and Sabin’s definition of what a comic was. I realized that I had not put enough thought into my definition of a comic, so I decided to change it a bit and I came up with this instead.
A comic is a sequential novel that tells a story through the use of imagery and, but not in all cases, text. It can be a single image or multiple images. It is a publication in its own book form or it can be displayed in newspapers, magazines, etc.

Which I am happier with by far, after this I had a look at the history of the comic and was quite intrigued by the “Golden Age of Comics”. The Golden Age of Comics refers to a period in comic book history, from the late 1930s until the late 1940s, where the modern comic book was first published. During this time there was a surge of popularity of the comic. Also the archetype of the superhero was created and defined. Many of the most famous super heroes were created during this period, including Superman and Wonder Woman.

I also had a look at the founding father of the comic, Winsor McCay. Winsor McCay’s “Little Nemo” comic strip, with its world of magic, fantasy and dreams, as well as the inventive use of frames and page layout played a major role in the development of the comic.

I think that this is enough for this week. I may have a look at the bookmaking interlude, the Stick and Elastic Band Book later on this week and I will post up some photos of what I come up with, hooray!! Time for coffee and a snooze I think. Not really, I still have far too much work to do. However I have found this topic to be both fun and very informative so far. I am grasping the topic well.