Sunday, July 27, 2014

DO ARTISTS HAVE TO WORK IN A CONTEMPORARY STYLE?

Gee, I like Milt Gross. The picture he did above is so typical of his approach. It's cartoony, earthy, intellectually challenging, skillful, and it radiates happiness and good vibes.


For comparison here's (above) a frame grab from one of the better Post Modern cartoons. Cartoons with a PM look aren't exactly to my taste, even when they're as fun and creative as this show. Gross's work seems to be the product of a noble soul who's seen the dark side of life and managed to find humor in it. Post-Modern styles seem to be the product of artists who's aim is simply to be "nice" and entertaining. That's the feeling I get, anyway. 

Maybe it's just me but I'd feel strange showing a "nice" cartoon to someone who's been unemployed for a year, or to a G.I. in Afghanistan, or to someone who's been disappointed in love. Nice is fine but it seems like a narrow focus.  

On the other hand, what's wrong with being nice? I have a friend who uses nice to capture elusive qualities like charm and youth and femininity and I'd be horrified if something I said made her stop. Maybe I'm just out of sync with my time...a toothless fogey who angrily shakes his cane at passing airplanes. 



In my own defense I'll digress to a bit of history. I'm guessing that if you asked the average person living in 1968 which contemporary artist exemplified that era, the answer you'd get would be Peter Max (above). Even the Beatles favored that style. His was "The 60s Style."


Fast forward to 2014 and the artist everybody (or at least every comics fan) associates with the 60s isn't Peter Max, it's Robert Crumb (above). That's interesting because Crumb himself was a 1910s, 20s, 30s and 40s man. You don't see much of Peter Max in his work (above). His subject matter was highly contemporary, but his artistic influences were older.




Ditto John K.  John defines the modern funny style yet two of his biggest early influences were Bob Clampett and Hanna Barbera, people who did their best work in the 40s. late 50s and early 60s. Once again, the subject matter was contemporary but the influences were older. I hasten to add that Both Crumb and John developed startlingly original styles...I'm only talking about their early influences here.

So, is it necessary to draw in a "nice" Post Modern style in order to be a mirror to your time in 2014? No, that's not what John and Crumb did.  Of course, there's always room for something good, no matter what the style...even if it's Post Modern.

BTW: Thinking about Peter Max reminds me of what I like about the man. That blue picture of the Earth above is beautiful and deserves to be remembered. Most people aren't aware that after his psychedelic period he took up abstract painting, and some of the canvases aren't half bad.


What do you think of this one (above)? My friends say it's kitsch, and although it flirts with that, it still succeeds in making me think about the mystery of color.


Max didn't design Yellow Submarine but you can see that his ideas exerted an influence. I think The Blue Meanie was the best villain in an animated feature in the last half century.

[Thanks to a commenter who identified the Yellow Submarine designer as Heinz Edelmann. I just looked him up on google and was much impressed.]


9 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:29 AM

    I figured you had a thoroughly negative opinion of Adventure Time.

    I thought I remembered you (along with people like Peter Emslie and Mike F) hating it when it first came out.

    Recently I got the Crumb-illustrated biography of Franz Kafka, lots of great drawings in that. He's gotten a lot more complex than his 60s stuff.

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  2. You really hit the nail on the head, Eddie. I don't watch Adventure Time as of currently but I definitely can see why there's so much appeal for the show especially from the perspective of storytelling.

    I mean CN has been doing cartoonier shows like Steven Universe, Clarence, and Uncle Grandpa, but there's still a bit of that Adventure Time and Regular Show influence in a lot of those other shows too so I'm not sure if you'd like any of those either. Seems Wander Over Yonder is one of the most cartoony of these post modern cartoons you're talking about so there's that.

    Anyway, I draw the way I want to draw and never really have to think about having to draw in some specific style. Still working on getting my drawings to stay solid after inking them.

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  3. Anon: I think you misread what I said about Adventure Time. It's not my taste, but that doesn't mean that I hate it. It tries harder than most post modern shows and succeeds in being creative and funny in its best moments. It deserves to have an audience.

    My beef comes from the fact that it's not about comedic acting or cartooning or animation and doesn't have the gritty street smarts that Gross possessed. It does have other assets, though. It's cheery and innovative and very much wants to entertain. I don't want to be in a position of damning ice cream because it isn't steak.

    Roberto: I never think of Wander as being post modern, but I guess it has some aspects of that.

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  4. I love it when people speak FOR me, especially when they hide behind the handle "Anonymous." For the record, I've never seen Adventure Time. I have no opinion of it, either pro or con.

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  5. Anon: I've made the latest changes you asked for. Please, no more requests.

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  6. The last drawing is based upon designs of H. Edelmann, a far superior artist than Max(the question about who influenced who is hard to answer).
    If you follow the career of Edelmann through the years, you´ll see an artist in permanent evolution, and not always in the mood of the time (I´m thinking in the question you put as title of your post)

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  7. Lucas: Many thanks for the name. I just googled Edelmann and was much impressed. Is he German or British or both?

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  8. I guess he was czech, but based in Germany. His stuff from 70´s, 80´s and 90´s is amazing.

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  9. Anonymous10:35 AM

    Mike I don't have a profile, I just thought I remembered you saying that.

    Sorry.

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