Chris Ware just earned the status of my favorite artist. It really is not because he draws comic books. In fact, I don’t like comics at all. What I love most about him is his view on art and the story behind his development of a story. His interview definitely let me get a sneak peak of his personality while many other artists we studied do not really have that opportunity.
Chris explained, when asked about how he comes up with his stories, is that he just starts with a rough draft and keeps adding on to it or taking away. It starts out sloppy and he works with it to see what can be done whether it is the picture r the text. I was able to connect one hundred percent with his ideas. It is exactly how I work on almost everything that requires creativity. I am a strong believer that what you think up in your head might look or sound different in real life so tweaking is always necessary.
It is also interesting that he focuses on real life and more specifically personal experiences. It is usually the direction I tend to take when making a decision for myself or when giving advice to someone else. Considering personal experiences is always the truest way to express something.
Looking at his pieces of work, especially ones from the book, reminded me of my ART-106 professor, Kiler Roberts. Though she teaches her students different styles of drawing in black and white, her passion is comic strips about her own, regular, daily life with a spin of comedy. I am including a cover of volume 3 of “Powdered Milk” by Kiler Roberts.
I also appreciated the fact that his comics were based on real life. I especially liked the fact that he also added some history of Chicago into his novel as well. I think that the best stories are also the ones that have a bit of the author's own background. Even though a story may be fictional, I think it's always cool to learn that a certain moment in the story actually happened.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about how cool his art process is. The way he interprets personal situations into cartoons is extremely unique and makes his works very dynamic and interesting. After reading the interview, I was very surprised about how a cartoon artist could incorporate such strong life themes and choices into his pieces. Awesome all around.
ReplyDeleteI also liked how this article shed some light on the artistic process! To be honest, I never really thought of most comic strips as art. But after reading the interview with Ware, like you, I gained a new respect for comic artists.
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