Week 3 Reading Response
Understanding Comics
This is the second or third time I'm reading Understanding Comics. I think I will always find it a little goofy just because of how much Scott McCloud's analysis of symbols/icons in relation to reality always sounds a little bit like a freshman stoner in art school. BUT, I do think there is a lot to learn from it. I really like the bits about comics that have realistic backgrounds and iconic figures, how words are the most abstracted symbols we have. I think it's important to think about the ratio of iconic to realistic in comics and animation in order to figure out a style that is dynamic and a story that is not see/say. The "picture plane" is an interesting concept and probably a good way to measure where exactly your art must lie to be meaningful but also interesting to look at/digest.
Ways of Seeing
John Berger's Ways of Seeing is one of the first influential texts to analyze the roles of the female figure in art history, and later, advertising. He puts forward the idea that starting in childhood, women are taught and encouraged to be constantly aware of themselves and everything they do. In simplest terms, he writes "men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves." How women appear to others (specifically men) is incredibly important to informing their success in life. His takedown of sexism in art and advertising, and how the two are intrinsically tied to capitalism and greed, are still relevant today despite the fact that we are well aware of the idea of "the male gaze" (which, by the way, was a term coined by Laura Mulvey, and a concept the men behind Ways of Seeing didn't claim to invent). I think this text is well worth reading still.
This is the second or third time I'm reading Understanding Comics. I think I will always find it a little goofy just because of how much Scott McCloud's analysis of symbols/icons in relation to reality always sounds a little bit like a freshman stoner in art school. BUT, I do think there is a lot to learn from it. I really like the bits about comics that have realistic backgrounds and iconic figures, how words are the most abstracted symbols we have. I think it's important to think about the ratio of iconic to realistic in comics and animation in order to figure out a style that is dynamic and a story that is not see/say. The "picture plane" is an interesting concept and probably a good way to measure where exactly your art must lie to be meaningful but also interesting to look at/digest.
Ways of Seeing
John Berger's Ways of Seeing is one of the first influential texts to analyze the roles of the female figure in art history, and later, advertising. He puts forward the idea that starting in childhood, women are taught and encouraged to be constantly aware of themselves and everything they do. In simplest terms, he writes "men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves." How women appear to others (specifically men) is incredibly important to informing their success in life. His takedown of sexism in art and advertising, and how the two are intrinsically tied to capitalism and greed, are still relevant today despite the fact that we are well aware of the idea of "the male gaze" (which, by the way, was a term coined by Laura Mulvey, and a concept the men behind Ways of Seeing didn't claim to invent). I think this text is well worth reading still.
Comments
Post a Comment