I Read Comic Books discussion

It's a new year, and we're starting it off with Why Art? by Eleanor Davis!

This graphic novel about the impact of art in society should be an interesting read! What did you think of it?

As always, this thread is FULL SPOILERS for this book.

This month's episode will be available publicly on February 1st.

Where to find this book:

Available on Comixology for <$10 here: Why Art? on Comixology

Available on Hoopla here: Why Art? on Hoopla

Most of my local libraries also have copies, so that may be a worthy avenue to explore as well. looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this book!

This was such a weird ride. I'm not really sure I understand what was happening fully but it's only a short read (it took me 20 minutes) so I'm going to re-read it before the end of the month and see if I can figure it out a little more!

Andrew wrote: "This was such a weird ride. I'm not really sure I understand what was happening fully but it's only a short read (it took me 20 minutes) so I'm going to re-read it before the end of the month and s..."

Haha, I'm right there with you Andrew! This definitely isn't what I was expecting it to be. For such a short and surreal ride, I did find myself somewhat moved by the book as a whole. I also plan on giving it another re-read after a few days have passed to see what else pops out at me. Thanks for checking it out!

I really enjoyed this! Very simple and unique.
Starts off very basic and then explores the complex questions of 'What is art?' and 'What is the purpose of Art?'.

Ashleigh wrote: "I really enjoyed this! Very simple and unique.
Starts off very basic and then explores the complex questions of 'What is art?' and 'What is the purpose of Art?'."

After some further reflection on it, I agree with you Ashleigh! I was thinking it would be more of a nonfiction work like "the purpose of art is X, demonstrated by Y" but I think the little story actually illustrates the point just as effectively.

I read and enjoyed it. I'm glad it wasn't what I expected! I think I'll read again before making any other comments.

I thought this was a pretty interesting commentary. I felt like I at least picked up some of what Davis was going for. Though, admittedly, I really view myself as one of the people she describes in this book as eating a lot of the "sweet, no taste" art. I usually struggle with the heavy stuff and end up finding it too dense to be enjoyable. This felt somewhere in between....enough to enjoy it a bit but also enough that I'm left without a full understanding of everything that was meant to come across.

A short, affecting and enjoyable metaphor and commentary on art. I think I got some of what Davis was saying, but not all of it (which is very okay). I appreciated the moments of humor and how Davis balanced a meaningful commentary without taking things too seriously. She gradually shifts from "artwork" exposition to "art" allegory but I didn't feel lost or frustrated along the way, even if I didn't grab all the deeper meanings. In fact I was quite moved by the end.

Some lingering questions - why are the first couple of panels that describe color in black and white, but the pages about amulets in color? Was there a point to Dolores eating the shark, or was it just meant to be funny? Are the storm and final black pages a reference to the awful but true artwork? Sometimes I wasn't sure how far to run with the metaphor, and what was just a paper mache head - I guess that too is part of art.

Also, I love how Davis draws bodies. I love the big torsos and smaller heads, hands and feet, and how distinctive and full of personality her characters are. Even though it's not proportional there is something powerful and elegant in her style. It has echoes of but still feels very different than her memoir You & a Bike & a Road (which I highly recommend) - but in both she communicates a whole lot with very few lines. I also love how small the book is and how that let Davis play with space and perspective in a way that might have been lost in a larger format.

OK to air!

I'll save my juicier thoughts for the show, but this was a really interesting read. I always forget how abstract some of the comics from Fantagraphics and be and I think that Davis really captured something special about perception and imagination.

Weird, surreal and abstract...thus, honestly, it wasn't for me. I wanted to feel that I was creative enough to understand it but then felt bad that I obviously wasn't profound enough to get what artist Eleanor Davis was getting at, although a few panels did resonate with me. Haven't we all felt like we deeply connected with a book or a piece of art, and then felt slightly offended when someone so clearly different from us says the same piece describes them?

I have many words about this book but essentially I believe it's a well-crafted and thought-provoking book that was boring to read. The art is good, the use of empty space is done exceptionally well, there are some interesting scenarios put forth about physical and mental perception, but overall I couldn't connect with it. It wasn't bad, but I've read many books that can ask similar questions while also providing a strong narrative structure.

I think Eleanor Davis achieved what she wanted to do with this comic, I just don't vibe with the end result.

Okay to air

I think this is one of those books that sticks with one after the last page has been turned. At least it did for me.

Some thoughts:
(view spoiler)[Art changes both the creator and the viewer - like the performance artist's piece that got so many people to love/become obsessed with her that she stopped doing it.

Art is often a distillation of life, like when Dolores finds that the "I love you" piece isn't true anymore, she dives into life and has experiences that ultimately become her shark performance. She also wants to learn from art because she creates the tempest at the end of the book, asking the mini-mes to show her how to brave.

Over the course of the book, the artists create the artworks that are listed at the beginning, including container and concealment, as well as masks (they make their mini-mes into versions of themselves they'd rather be). (hide spoiler)]

Ok to air.

I love seeing how much commentary there is on the book this month!! Thank you all for posting, seeing your thoughts definitely helped me process my own reactions.

I feel like this book is highly metaphorical, sometimes so much so that the meaning is lost.

I feel like the crazy shark performance was meant to symbolize how we can have bad experiences that make us stronger, which are then apparent in who we become as a result and in our art. That tiny story was a bit of a bummer to me, as the character started as a very giving, sweet person who was first hardened by people taking advantage of her.

The use of black and white for the color section, and then the use of color later in the book was something I didn't quite follow the reason for. Although I did notice that the shapes for "blue" and "orange" were different enough that the contrast in those shapes were highlighted in the "blue and orange" panel. Perhaps the metaphor here was in pointing out the use of contrast in color selection rather than the color selection itself.

The end was a wild ride for me. I got a real "we create who we are tomorrow" sense from it, but then the character destroying what she had built just to see what would happen felt really self-destructive.

Okay to air!

This episode would normally be for Patron's only but we decided to drop it publicly! Check it out!!

January 2021 Goodreads Book of the Month: Why Art?