If art has a
lot to do with expression, cartoons, comics, and animation do as
well. They are accepted in art, and as art. Modern artists, such as
Roy Lichtenstein, moved the comic off of the strip, and on to
canvas, to hang on the wall.
Cartoons can tackle heavy subjects that make us laugh at ourselves.
Some of Picasso's paintings such as "Woman Wearing a Fish Hat",
remind me of cartoons. In the way they relate so directly and
poignantly to real life, cartoons may be close in philosophy to
early man's cave drawings.
A really good cartoon character (such as Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse)
does not evolve easily. It requires great effort. Cartoons and
caricatures rely on essential characteristics for their strong,
effective, communications.
I have heard it said that a good portrait or figure painting should
tend toward caricature, and I think this to be true.
The invention of the comic strip, by Topffer, is as recent as the
early l800's. It is also interesting to note that his `picture
stories', were more easily facilitated by lithography, a method of
printing. (120)
"'The interest we see in Hollywood' O'Sullivan told the Georgia
Straight in an exhibit tour, `is a revived interest in superheroes.'
These are the same comic superheroes who first became popular during
the great depression, in response to social and economic conditions.
Because people had so little social control of their own, cartoon
characters began to take control of other things. Or so the theory
goes." (121)
"Comic strips began as a way to sell newspapers. They have
developed into a vital, sometimes lucrative form of creative
expression in North American culture, mirroring our lifestyles,
documenting our concerns, or simply allowing us to dream and to
laugh a little." (122)
120. E.H. Gombrich, Art and Illusion, (Princeton, N.J., U.S.A.,
Princeton University Press, l972), p.p.336, 337
121. Cartoons Mirror Trends, Life, Smithsonian Show Offers A Serious
Take on Funny Papers, by Naomi Pauls, The Georgia Straight, August,
1991
l22. ibid
