I have been making and reading surreal comics for a while now, but I have yet to hear anything about "abstract comics". I wonder if such a thing exists, and if so, what kind of form does it take?
I feel that the basis of surreal comics is to use the comic function, i.e. the movement of moment to moment, state to state, place to place, or element to element, to express thoughts, images, feelings, and whatnot bubbling up from the subconscious. The "element to element" format of comics is perfect to express the relationship between symbols (almost like a dream). Of course, there are probably different ways of looking at surrealism in comics... and different levels of surrealism in surrealist comics...
Up until now, I have been interested in reading and creating surreal comics because that form of art really strikes a chord in me somehow... but recently I have become intersested in pushing the envelope to abstract comics, though it is just an academic sort of interest and not really one with as much personal emotion invested as surreal comics is for me.
I thought of a few basic ideas of what kind of shape an abstract comic might take, but nothing has really crystalized into a presentable form yet, either for academic discussion or real life comic samples.
Does anyone out there have any ideas on the matter?
abstract comics
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gazorenzoku
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Jack Masters
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I'm going to post the dictionary.com definition of "abstract" here, which may seem rather cheesy and tangential to some. However, I consider thumbing through the meanings of the words you use to be a very good habit.
ab?stract adj.
1 Considered apart from concrete existence: an abstract concept.
2 Not applied or practical; theoretical.
3 Difficult to understand; abstruse:
4 Thought of or stated without reference to a specific instance: abstract words like truth and justice.
5 Impersonal, as in attitude or views.
6 Having an intellectual and affective artistic content that depends solely on intrinsic form rather than on narrative content or pictorial representation: abstract painting and sculpture.
It's very hard to have a comic that's apart from concrete existence, and a theoretical comic needs to be made into a real comic before anyone else can look at it, so you probably don't want definitions 1 or 2.
Definition 3 could certainly be applied to many of my comics. In this sense a comic can be abstract just by being hard to read.
Number 4 says it applys only to words, but it seems to me that suitably iconic pictures fall in this heading as well. Certainly worth exploring.
I see quite a bit of number 5 in my comics. When you don't have any characters, it's easy to be impersonal.
And finally number 6 is the one you seem to be looking for. Non-representation pretty much confines you to the upper tip of McCloud's triangle. This brings up an interesting question: Do panels and trails represent anything? I don't think they represent anything physical, but I would argue that there are arbitrary concepts we associate with them without which they would be merely boxes and lines.
In terms of what an abstract comic expresses, rather then expressing emotions or an ideas, I think an abstract comic shouldn't really have to express anything at all. Of course, expression is in many ways in the mind of the viewer, and it's hard to keep them from finding meaning and representation in things. I'm reminded of the piece of music by john cage that's 0 seconds long.
However, since having more then one image juxtaposed is part of the definition of the art form, I don't think you can really reduce a comic that far. Although maybe someone will think up something suitably tricky.
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<a href="Http://CastleZZT.net/Spongy/">House of Stairs</a>
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Jack Masters on 2002-01-18 18:20 ]</font>
ab?stract adj.
1 Considered apart from concrete existence: an abstract concept.
2 Not applied or practical; theoretical.
3 Difficult to understand; abstruse:
4 Thought of or stated without reference to a specific instance: abstract words like truth and justice.
5 Impersonal, as in attitude or views.
6 Having an intellectual and affective artistic content that depends solely on intrinsic form rather than on narrative content or pictorial representation: abstract painting and sculpture.
It's very hard to have a comic that's apart from concrete existence, and a theoretical comic needs to be made into a real comic before anyone else can look at it, so you probably don't want definitions 1 or 2.
Definition 3 could certainly be applied to many of my comics. In this sense a comic can be abstract just by being hard to read.
Number 4 says it applys only to words, but it seems to me that suitably iconic pictures fall in this heading as well. Certainly worth exploring.
I see quite a bit of number 5 in my comics. When you don't have any characters, it's easy to be impersonal.
And finally number 6 is the one you seem to be looking for. Non-representation pretty much confines you to the upper tip of McCloud's triangle. This brings up an interesting question: Do panels and trails represent anything? I don't think they represent anything physical, but I would argue that there are arbitrary concepts we associate with them without which they would be merely boxes and lines.
In terms of what an abstract comic expresses, rather then expressing emotions or an ideas, I think an abstract comic shouldn't really have to express anything at all. Of course, expression is in many ways in the mind of the viewer, and it's hard to keep them from finding meaning and representation in things. I'm reminded of the piece of music by john cage that's 0 seconds long.
However, since having more then one image juxtaposed is part of the definition of the art form, I don't think you can really reduce a comic that far. Although maybe someone will think up something suitably tricky.
_________________
<a href="Http://CastleZZT.net/Spongy/">House of Stairs</a>
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Jack Masters on 2002-01-18 18:20 ]</font>