Am I a guy who writes about himself in a comic book, or am I just a character in that book? If I die, will that character keep going, or will he just fade away?
Harvey PekarRead
It dawned on me that comics were not an intrinsically limited medium. There was a tremendous amount of things you could do in comics that you couldn't do in other art forms - but no one was doing it. I figured if I'd make a try at it, I'd at least be a footnote in history.
Interpretation
Comics hold limitless creative potential that has yet to be fully explored.
In this quote, Harvey Pekar reflects on the uncharted possibilities within the medium of comics. He realizes that comics can express a vast array of concepts and ideas that other art forms may not convey, yet few artists were taking advantage of these opportunities. Pekar’s determination to explore these potentials signifies his desire to leave a mark in the world of art, even if it means being a minor historical reference.
In practice
In a lecture about artistic innovation, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of exploring new mediums.
Am I a guy who writes about himself in a comic book, or am I just a character in that book? If I die, will that character keep going, or will he just fade away?
Many artists use their own lives as a kind of case study to examine what it's like to be human.
The moment of creative impulse is what an artist gives you. You look at a Pollock, and it can't give you the tools to do a painting like that yourself, but in doing the work, Pollock shares with you the moment of creative impulse that drove him to do that work.
Animation is different from other parts. Its language is the language of caricature. Our most difficult job was to develop the cartoon's unnatural but seemingly natural anatomy for humans and animals.
Usually, I have a lot of acquaintance with the story before I start writing it. When I didn't have regular time to give to writing, stories would just be working in my head for so long that when I started to write I was deep into them. Now, I do that work by filling notebooks.
A work of art is one through which the consciousness of the artist is able to give its emotions to anyone who is prepared to receive them.
Scorn not the sonnet. Critic, you have frowned, Mindless of its just honours; with this key Shakespeare unlocked his heart.
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