Chapter 5 deals with the imperative influence of the Expressionist movement on the art of Comics. McCloud quickly delves into how lines, shapes, and colors can evoke emotions, a quality that is inherent in Expressionist art. Comic book artists utilize the stylistic breakthrough that fine artists such as Edward Munch and Wassily Kandinsky had achieved in the 1920’s.
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| Wassily Kandinsky's Composition VII, 1913 Lines alone can be used to express emotion and appeal to all of our senses, a phenomenum called synaesthesia. What is important for Comic artists is how to utilize Expressionist techniques to evoke feeling in just a few frames. Lines can even serve as visual metaphors, making something in the real world that is invisible, visible. These types of lines serve as symbols, which are the basis of any language. Therefore, visual language is just as important as written language. The word balloon encompasses both visual language and written language and is an important aspect of the Comic. Comics are essentially the art of the invisible. What is not shown literally is in turn expressed metaphorically. Chapter 6 begins by discussing how all people begin expressing themselves using a mixture of words and pictures. As we grow older, we are supposed to become more sophisticated and use words only. McCloud questions this reality. He analyzes how words and pictures had slowly separated over time, but many modern art movements such as Impressionism and Dada have since recombined the two in an acceptable art form. |
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| Hanna Hoch's Cut With the Kitchen Knife, 1919 Comics, however, are still considered a lower art form because they suffer from the “curse of all new media” (151) in that it is judged using old standards of what is considered “great art.” When in fact, comics are not as young as people believe. Cartoons are much like comics, but they usually replace written language with audible sound. I think that Comics and Cartoons go hand in hand. |
Damn the illusion of movement!
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