One of the things we talked about last time was how hard it was to pull off a happy ending: how there's this overwhelming cynicism in general, but especially in comics and alternative comics in particular. Now, "Viva!", the last story in Artbabe #5 was your first attempt at a happy ending, wasn't it? Yeah, this was the first serious story with a happy ending. I've done other stories that were dorky that have happy endings. They don't really count, though, because then you still have your ironic distance from the subject matter, because you're being funny. So yeah, it was the first story with a happy ending. However, I don't at all feel like this pervasive ironic approach is exclusive to alternative comics. I feel like this is an across the board cultural phenomenon where artists of all stripes, including painters, novelists, musicians-God knows musicians everybody, find it increasingly difficult to express any of their positive feelings or any feelings at all other than depression, ennui, angst, hatred, and fear. You can expect any of the range of negative emotions, but none of the range of positive emotions unless that upbeat-ness is colored by irony.
That feeling of sarcasm? Yes, and I think this is a trend in society at large, and I find it really disturbing. And I'm totally guilty of it, I'm totally in it, and it's very, very hard for me to escape it. It's very hard for me to be honest about my feelings. It's really hard for me to be open. In life or in art. It's a serious concern of mine. On the other hand, when one does create art that is open and unguarded and expresses positive-or negative feelings for that matter-and addresses large life issues, one can be accused of being Pollyanna, or unrealistic, or too saccharine. For example, if you have this happy ending, then suddenly you're writing a romance novel, you're doing work for the lowest common denominator, and you're not really an artist. If you don't attack things from this ironic point of view, this basically negative point of view, you're not creating art, you're creating pop culture. I feel that it's a pervasive problem in society.
I scanned a Jessica Abel interview in Indy Magazine Issue #18 from 1997
I’m guilty of this too protecting your feelings and art by coating it in sarcasm and irony is even more of a problem 2day. Nonchalance won’t get U anywhere
#indymagazine #alternativecomics #altcomix #jessicaabel #artbabe
