Underground comics enter into art

In my last post I mentioned a cartoon-like drawing trend in contemporary drawing, a trend exemplified by artists such as Mike Kelley, Raymond Pettibon and Martin Kippenberger. Although 'cartoon' like is a reasonable description, perhaps cartoon influenced is a better term. There is a certain crudeness to these drawings, a crudeness that is perhaps an attempt to get closer to a raw authenticity, an attempt to capture how funny life can be, as well as how childish and stupid it can sometimes seem. Bad, stupid drawings that come from a 'punk' culture, a culture influenced by underground comics artists such as Robert Crumb and Gilbert Shelton or the crude humour of Viz. These artists grew up up reading comics, comic art had helped shape the form and shape of the way they saw and drew the world. They are not using comic images as Pop Art, (Pop artists were more interested in the style) they use the images as a type of urban signature, a way to signify that what they want to say is direct and not mediated by art. Like the comic books that influenced them these artists also put text into their images, text that provides a narrative that can go alongside the images to anchor them into an often deranged world. 
Philip Guston was the artist who changed the game. His 'conversion' from Abstract Expressionism was one that alerted the art world to the possibilities of a post comic book reality. His images of giant boots or Klu Klux Clan members were drawings with a lineage that went back to “Krazy Kat” and were a celebration of that fact and not a critique, these drawings might look like those of a Neanderthal, but they are actually a sophisticated method acting. 

Images above Philip Guston

Martin Kippenberger made a long series of drawings on hotel stationery, his 'hotel drawings', these were done during the last 10 years of his life, a life that had been devoted to pricking holes in the pomposity of modern art. Typical of his attitude was to buy a gas station and rename it Martin Borman. For Kippenberger art faced a crisis and it was one of authenticity. How could an artist paint in an age when it didn't matter to anyone of consequence. In many ways he throws down a gauntlet for any artists who follow him, "go on" he seems to say, "what can you do that's never been done?" Now of course his work is collected and subsumed into the art market, but at the time he appeared shocking in his complete indifference to style, subject or the idea of an artistic coherence. He is well worth researching if you are at all politically engaged and worried about how image making can still be relevant in a time of economic and political crisis. His 'bad' drawings reference everything from comic art to German woodcuts from the 16th century. 

Images above Martin Kippenberger

Mike Kelly was a member of the band, 'Destroy all Monsters' and perhaps his most iconic work was made in 1999, a video in which Superman recites selections from Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar. The comic book hero taking away Sylvia Plath's voice and replacing it with the familiar tones of comic heroism. Kelly's drawings, (below) reflect a similar sensibility. His style coming as much from S. Clay Wilson and Zap comics as the work of Basil Wolverton for MAD. Look out for a future post on Wolverton and other comic book heroes of mine, I strongly believe that their work is central to the development of our current cultural imagination. 

Images above Mike Kelly

Raymond Pettibon began his career by producing illustrations for the punk band Black Flag, he was the bass player. He makes work that reflects his responses to a wide spectrum of American culture from art to literature, sport, religion, politics, surfers, baseball players, homicidal teenage punks and Elvis. Pettibon also takes quotes from literature and writes them alongside his cartoon influenced images. He cites political editorial cartoons as his influence alongside Blake and Goya. He sometimes publishes his drawings as limited-edition photocopied booklets very like zines and also draws on the walls of galleries, hanging his framed drawings amongst the images he has made directly on the gallery walls. 

Images above Raymond Pettibon

It's hard to escape your childhood. As culture moves on what was current in your growing years can from a distance appear strange and exotic, however because it was at one time familiar it still has resonance, not just for yourself but for others of the same generation. I went to a talk by Thomas Houseago last year, (another ex-student) and he cited Sesame Street characters as being a key influence on his development as a sculptor. What is perhaps most interesting about these artists though is that although they reference comic art modes, their subject matter is very adult. Sex, violence and political comment are always present, the dark underbelly of life recorded using a language that was first encountered in childhood. Maybe this is the language that kids us into engaging with things we don't normally touch. It's edgy and therefore bound to be interesting. 

See also:

Comic book art and theory

The Beano and Viz Hardeep Pandhal 

Narrative drawing

Kaws and Disney

Philip Guston

Drawing and humour

Chad McCail 

Richard McGuire's 'Here' 

Kirby dots and Kirby crackle

Magicians of the Earth: Part 2

I put up a post a while ago about the exhibition 'Magicians of the Earth' and although reflecting on the fact that non Western artists from that show had had very different careers since then, didn't really look at what those artists are doing now. Some of the artists in that show have continued to produce very interesting work, and because their influences stem from cultures outside Western traditions their imagery is perhaps more surprising or feels more engaged with mythic traditions outside our own. I think these artists are well worth looking at and they can perhaps help revitalise your own practice, never forget that Picasso could not have produced 'Les Demoiselles d'Avignon' if he had not been introduced to the ethnological museum in Paris.

José Bedia

The Peruvian artist José Bedia’s work reflects the transcultural journeys he has made. He has worked with the Afro-Cuban religion Palo Monte, Mexican shamens, Peruvian Amazonian people as well as making work done pilgrimages to Zambia where he worked with diviners. I am particularly interested in how he is now working on a very large scale and using objects in relation to his drawings, thus opening out his work into a more environmental space. He is trying to respond to the myths and ritualistic nature of cultures that he feels are more in touch with the spiritual nature of life. Now that travel is so accessible this type of work is becoming more possible, however there is a Postmodern issue here which raises ethical questions, whether or not he is immersed in these cultures or simply appropriating them? One argument would be that this is a normal and proper response to a globalism, which celebrates diverse cultures, another would be that this is just another version of cultural imperialism. It feels to me that as a Peruvian he sees himself as an 'outsider' and therefore my guess is that his response is authentic but you will have to make your own minds up. 

All images above by José Bedia

Twins Seven Seven

Prince Twins Seven Seven, was born Prince Taiwo Olaniyi Oyewale-Toyeje Oyelale Osuntoki  in Ogidi, Nigeria. His work reflects a personal cosmology drawn from Yoruba myths and stories. He saw the materials of his work as the physical manifestation of a universe of potent forces in a state of constant transformation, his personal language is shaped into creatures and people that reveal a mythopoetic world. 

TWIN SEVEN SEVEN, BEAST IN SPIDER BUSH 1984 PEN & INK ON PAPER 12.5 X17.5in

TWIN SEVEN SEVEN: Sea Ghosts 3: Ink on Plywood

Twin Seven Seven comes from a similar culture to the Leeds based artist Oluseyi Ogunjobi. Oluseyi is a storyteller, musician, painter and textile artist. Seyi’s work reflects a philosophical journey striving to capture the universal essence of spirituality and its relevance to the needs of our contemporary commodity driven society. He believes that some answers can be found within the traditional life and stories found in Yoruba culture. 

The Dance of the Moody Breeze (below) is a figurative image of a dancing masquerade which was created because of Seyi’s interest in the philosophies that govern the evocations of mask performances from different parts of Africa. Depending on the origin of the masquerade and the philosophies associated with his appearance, the costume a man wears may cover his whole body or part of his body. For instance, it is an abomination for the body of the Yoruba Egungun masquerades from Nigeria to be seen, hence, the type of costumes they wear must cover their whole body because they are supposed to be inhabitants of heaven, visiting the community of their living relatives. But this particular image represents another type of mask performance from the South Eastern part of Nigeria, where the costume does not cover all the body. The wavelike mark making strokes surrounding the masked figure and the atmosphere depicts the mood of the occasion and the reverence associated with the transformation and the ritual in progress. Although Oluseyi wasn't in the Magicians of the Earth exhibition his work comes from a tradition that that exhibition sought to celebrate and the fact that he works in Leeds again illustrates the global nature of cultural communities. 

Oluseyi Ogunjobi:

  

Oluseyi Ogunjobi: Dance of the Moody Breeze: Batik

Fréderic Bruly Bouabré

Fréderic Bruly Bouabré was an Ivorian artist. He produced thousands of small cards using ballpoint pens and crayons, with symbolic imagery surrounded by text, each card carried a unique divinatory message and comments on life and history. 

Fréderic Bruly Bouabré drawings on show. It's a lot of work to hang drawings like this but for small drawings which are all the same format it works really well. 

Fréderic Bruly Bouabré

Norval Morrisseau

Canadian artist Norval Morrisseau created works depicting the legends of his people, the cultural and political tensions between native Canadian and European traditions, his existential struggles, and his deep spirituality and interest in mysticism. His images are clearly part of the North American Indian mythos but their stylisation also echoes an awareness of modernism and some forms of illustration. The depiction of both insides and outsides is in particular very interesting and reminded me of some Australian aboriginal images. 

Norval Morrisseau

Marcel Dzama

Marcel Dzama is another canadian artist but much younger. His name simply popped into my mind when I was thinking about Morrisseau. His quirky cartoon-like drawings extend the trend in contemporary drawing of examining the awkward nature of social narratives, a trend exemplified by artists such as Mike Kelley, Raymond Pettibon and Martin Kippenberger. I'll post about that too but not today. So I'll simply leave you with an image of Dzama's and a thought about how the traditions of ethic Canadian art have obviously found some space in Dzama's visual imagination, even though he is obviously a sophisticated post-modern Western image maker. Perhaps all cultures both past and present are now part of our visual vocabulary, the advent of the internet bringing them together under one electronic roof, and what matters now is how we as artists respond to that and make meaning from this vast multiplicity of possibilities. 

Marcel Dzama

See also:

Drawing elephants and other animals

Indian Aesthetics

Nalini Malani

Hardeep Pandhal 

Barthélémy Toguo

Why draw animals

Emakimono and other scroll images

Magicians of the earth

Venice Biennale curated by Okwui Enwezor

Venice and politics in a post-colonial world

Non western aesthetics: Japan

Japan 2

Robert Morris: Blind Time Drawings

Exhibition view of Blind Time Drawings (Grief) 2009

Robert Morris is a very important figure in relation to how we now think about drawing.  His Blind Time Drawings, were done over a long period between 1973 and the year 2009. The fourth series, was a group of works inspired by the writings of the philosopher Donald Davidson and because of this fact this series is often looked at more closely than the rest because it is easier to unpack in relation to the driving force behind the process. As the title of these drawings implies, they were made by the artist with his eyes covered. However the drawings are anything but haphazard, he followed a strict plan when making them, and his writings, which describe the process, are vital to an understanding of how and why he set about making them.

Morris used predetermined sets of guidelines and usually covered his hands with graphite, often mixed with oil or ink in order to have a very hands on approach to the mark-making. He would spread, smear, press and rub the marks into the paper, often whilst inside a specially constructed environment, so that it was impossible for him to see what he was doing.

Both these drawings from (Grief) 2009

You can just about see the notations at the bottom of this drawing. He would have set a time for how long this drawing would take and a set of directions, such as, '‘With eyes closed, graphite on the hands and estimating a lapsed time of 3 minutes, both hands attempt to descend the page with identical touching motions in an effort to keep to an even vertical column of touches. Time estimation error: +8 seconds.’ Which was the task of one of the first drawings of the Blind Time I works from 1973. 

In series II (1976), the artist gave verbal instructions to a thirty-year old blind-from-birth woman, known only to us by the initials A.A., who followed a similar procedure to how Morris was working. Texts near the drawings’ lower edge or on adjacent panels record the method of their making as well as the difference between the estimated and actual amount of time used. For example, “With the eyes closed the ten fingers move outward from the center making counting strokes,” is the text to accompany Blind Time I (1973), which consists of a densely layered field of short vertical marks. He added to the text a note about time, “Two thousand strokes are made in an estimated two minutes. Time estimation error: +45 seconds.”

These drawings of atmospheric graphite marks, are about process as well as product. If you look at his early work such as ‘A Box with the Sound of its Own Making (1961), you can get an idea of how he was thinking. These drawings are self-referential and are attempts to make drawings about the way drawings are made. These "Blind Time" drawings point to a disjunction between estimated and actual times, a disjunction also foregrounded through the juxtaposition of intention (as described by the texts) and result (as manifest in the drawings). This disjunction is something we all experience when involved in making drawings. Time always seems to flow more quickly when I’m lost in drawing, but I know for others it goes more slowly. The point being, that our experience of time is subjective.

From (Grief) 2009

 Morris would sometime define areas to work within, but of course he could only guess if he was able to get the marks where he had directed, his closeness or distance from the indicated areas is very easy to see as he has indicated the areas with geometric precision, thus highlighting the nature of the hand made marks. He takes us back to first principles, some of our earliest drawings are the imprints of people's hands left on cave walls and therefore often done in the dark. 

These drawings also act as records of performances, his work holding a line so to speak, between performance art and drawing. 

From: Blind Time I, 1973

From: Blind time IV (Drawing with Davidson) 

From: Blind time V (Melancholia), 1999

From: Blind time III 1985

Because of the central position that these drawings take within recent drawing theory there is a fair amount of writing available in support of the theoretical issues surrounding these drawings. Therefore they could make a useful COP3 subject. For example see

Drawing as a blind performance was just one opening into the wider world of art as theatre, another artist dealing with time in a very different way but just as influential was Laurie Anderson.

'This is the time. And this is the record of the time'. 

Laurie Anderson 'From the Air' 

From Big Science 1982

References

Morris, M (2005) Robert Morris: Blind Time Drawings, 1973-2000 Steidl Dap

Tate interview

Bodyspacemotionthings

Moving Imagination: Explorations of gesture and inner movement by Helena De Preester

See also:

More on performance drawing
Richard McGuire's 'Here'  Using cartoon languages to articulate complex layers of time. 

Drawing and time in comparison to verbal language 
The imprint and the trace 

More thoughts on drawing time

New Contemporaries

Don't forget it's nearly deadline time for the New Contemporaries. Link here
This is open to all third year art students.

Barbara Hepworth's drawings

Barbara Hepworth is an ex Leeds College of Art student, but she has often been in the shadow of Henry Moore. She is though really worth looking at closely, especially when she is drawing. I have always felt that these drawings of surgeons operating are wonderful examples of an artist being able to focus on the essentials of a moment. They take key elements that are central to an understanding of an activity and almost carve them in stone. 

The drawings are done on gessoed panels. This allows her to scrape and scratch into the surface. The gesso also gives a surface texture for her pencil marks to 'bite' into. The gesso layer can also be stained and colour either wiped away or sanded off. The brushstrokes left from applying the white gesso, also make a texture for colour to hold onto, in this case adding an almost stone like quality to the drawings. 

As she sands away the colour she begins to draw with light. The heads being modelled with an almost Renaissance simplicity of form, the surgeons' masks allowing us to concentrate on the eyes, the lower part of the faces often being modelled almost as direct extensions of the figures'  bodies.  When people work, the relationship between their eyes and their hands is of course essential, and Hepworth provides us with a wonderful example of how when drawing we can select out those elements which are most important to the event. This is something only hand made images can do, a photograph would simply record everything. 

Fenestration of the Ear (The Hammer) 1948

Tibia Graft. See the original in the Hepworth, Wakefield

Barbara Hepworth: Studies of surgeons' hands

These drawings of hands holding medical instruments were done as part of Hepworth's visual research for the compositional drawings further above. Notice how in the finished drawings she uses a lot of the hand shapes she has identified in her studies, however the hands were slightly simplified but not enough to lose sight of the delicate way that the surgeons were handling their instruments. Again Hepworth teaches us a useful lesson, detailed studies need to be integrated into larger compositions very carefully, not just 'copied' in. 

You can use Hepworth's example yourself. Try looking at any situation, and then see if you can picture it in your mind. Think about how your mental picture starts to simplify reality and then try and record this through drawing. As you build the drawing try and emphasise those elements that are most important and de-emphasise inessentials. 

See also:

Drawing hands