{"id":26586,"date":"2014-12-27T20:39:32","date_gmt":"2014-12-28T01:39:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artoronto.ca\/?p=26586"},"modified":"2015-02-17T20:42:51","modified_gmt":"2015-02-18T01:42:51","slug":"art-spiegelmans-co-mix-a-retrospective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/?p=26586","title":{"rendered":"Art Spiegelman\u2019s CO-MIX: A Retrospective"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Art Spiegelman at the press preview on December 17, 2014. Photo: Jos\u00e9phine Mwanvua<\/p>\n

We arrived an hour early at the AGO for the Art Spiegelman press preview on December 17th.\u00a0I looked forward to this exciting experience and honor, because he is a legend in the world of comics. We had the opportunity to\u00a0see the exhibition before the talk began. It is\u00a0an extensive exhibition, in a large space, and with so many things to look at. I took my time to savour it methodically\u2014by taking in the contents of a few comic strips and cover art at a time, and then moving on to find their sketches, so I could appreciate the time and dedication the artist put into them. While exploring, I came across certain pieces that made me laugh, and occasionally heard others laugh beside me as well. Art Spiegelman\u2019s comix are humorous, strange – as a lot of underground comix are –\u00a0but it also\u00a0can become serious when he deals with sexual or political content.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Art Spiegelman, \u201cShaggy Dog Story\u2026\u201d, Playboy magazine, Artist\u2019s proof, 1979. Photo: Jos\u00e9phine Mwanvua<\/p>\n

\u00a0There is a difference between \u201ccomics\u201d and \u201ccomix\u201d: the word \u201ccomics\u201d is used when describing mainstream comic art or comics in general, while the term \u201ccomix\u201d is used specifically when speaking of underground (also known as alternative) comic art. Being an underground comix enthusiast\u00a0I can\u2019t help but notice the great similarities of Spiegelman\u2019s work with that of Japanese alternative comic artists, those who produced work throughout the 70s -80s just like he did, such as Suehiro Maruo, Osamu Tezuka, or Katsuhiro Otomo. Later, during his talk, Spiegelman mentioned that throughout the phases in comic cultures, they all tend to look the same. As an homage to Charles Schulz\u00a0“Peanuts” he drew, “Abstract Though is a Warm Puppy”,\u00a0and he\u00a0pinpointed how Charles Schulz’\u00a0work became some of pop culture\u2019s most iconic artifacts.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Art Spiegelman, \u201cAbstract Thought is a Warm Puppy\u201d, The New Yorker, February 2000. Photo: Jos\u00e9phine Mwanvua<\/p>\n

During the talk, Spiegelman – who happens to have a very metaphorical way of speaking, and who is just as funny as his comics- sat comfortably, talking with the host,\u00a0AGO’s\u00a0Director and CEO,\u00a0Matthew Teitelbaum about how the culture of comics changed society\u2019s relationship to media.\u00a0He\u00a0remembered the early phase in the 60\u2019s when comics were wordless and relief printed with woodcut pieces. He mostly spoke about what art means to him and his anxious battles with modernism, and whether comic books are art. He gave very long answers to Teitelbaum\u2019s short questions, that contained a multitude of issues and stories. It was\u00a0very \u00a0interesting to hear him speak about how comics are treated nowadays: that comics can now be seen in museums next to Picasso, or studied in classrooms.\u00a0This is highly unusual for this type of culture because, Spiegelman says, comic culture has a different energy than high class culture,\u00a0\u00a0what \u00a0are originally, and essentially, collector\u2019s items.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Art Spiegelman, \u201cRAW no.7, The Torn-Again Graphix Magazine\u201d, 1985. Courtesy of AGO.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true: comics, especially alternative comix, sit lower in the hierarchy of cultural class. It\u2019s not regarded in the same way as ballet, the opera or classical music. The hobby of comic book collecting has always been seen as \u201cnerdy\u201d, or strange to a lot of those who don\u2019t identify with that culture. However, although it\u2019s still rather common to get negative reactions when we enthusiasts express our love for the hobby –\u00a0comic book conventions have recently become mainstream. Take San Diego Comic Con for example: SDCC is the holy grail of all comic book conventions, and since last year, it\u2019s been deemed as \u201cmainstream\u201d and gets a lot of attention in the media. Let\u2019s not forget the fact that some of Hollywood\u2019s biggest box office titles as of late are movies based on Marvel and DC comics. A lot of the people who attend these screenings are those who have never picked up a comic book in their lives and who even might have made fun of that kid in school who did.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Art Spiegelman, contents pages of \u201cMaus 1\u201d, gouache and ink on paper, 1986; contents pages of \u201cMaus II\u201d, gouache on paper, 1991. Photo: Jos\u00e9phine Mwanvua<\/p>\n

Then Teitelbaum, asked Spiegelman to talk about “Maus”, his most praised work to date. The artist spoke about the inspiration behind it: the Jewish identity, and his ambitions at the time, which were in line with the fact that he was turning 30 and going to \u201cbecome an adult\u201d. He states that the idea came from wanting to depict anthropomorphic animals, and creating a comic in the form of a bedtime story that told the tale of his parents\u2019 experiences in Auschwitz. He also wanted to make a comic that was long enough to need a bookmark – Spiegelman wasn\u2019t familiar with the idea of graphic novels yet.<\/p>\n

I haven\u2019t had enough of his comics history lessons yet; I\u2019m going to see Art Spiegelman give another talk, \u201cWhat the %@&*! Happened to Comics?\u201d, at Bloor Hot Docs Cinema on January 26, 2015,\u00a0where he will school the audience on the chronological history of comic art and the importance of it as a medium.<\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9phine Mwanvua<\/p>\n

*Exhibition information: December 17 \u2013 March 15, 2015, Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas Street West, Toronto. Gallery hours: Tue & Thur –\u00a0Sun: 10\u00a0 \u2013 5:30, Wed 10 – 8:30 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Jos\u00e9phine Mwanvua<\/strong><\/p>\n

Art Spiegelman – who happens to have a very metaphorical way of speaking, and who is just as funny as his comics – talked about how the culture of comics changed society\u2019s relationship to media and how comics are treated nowadays: that they can even be seen in museums.<\/p>\n

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