Continuing the theme of simultaneous light and depth, it occurred to me as I wandered round the crowded stalls at the Comiket Festival that this is just the blended quality I look for in comics and graphic novels. Among the impressive/exciting/daunting array which ranged from the most commercial to the most 'home-made', my friend Natalie d'Arbeloff was there with her latest work. Hindsight is a four-page graphic story that draws on memories of artistic and romantic awakening in Mexico, with a warm, subtle palette of Mexican sunshine and a rueful, equally subtle emotional palette. She's selling a set of four postcards of the original artwork (see link above). Also absolutely gorgeous is the new printed book version of her illustrated novella, La Vie en Rosé, which first appeared on her blog. Here the full-colour drawings have morphed to black and white, sometimes blended with old black and white photos. It makes a beautiful book - order from Blurb at the link above.
I also fell in love with the work of a couple of artists new to me, which I'll keep for another time since I'm trying to post something here every day in November.
3 comments:
Many thanks, Jean. Seeing you there was one of the highlights of the day for me. The place was buzzing with creativity and I wish I'd had a chance to browse the other tables but I only got a brief glimpse. Next time I'll choose to be a visitor rather than an exhibitor!
Hi Natalie. It was lovely to see you and so much of your stuff displayed together.
Yes, it was buzzing with creativity - that's the side I liked: so many interesting and creative people of all ages and types making such varied and wonderful and eccentric things. But I find such a crowded atmosphere so uncongenial that all I could manage was to focus in on a couple of people, talk briefly to them and go away with some of their work. Of course, that's still infinitely worth while if they are people whose work strikes a chord, and I was glad that your presence got me to attend the sort of thing I wouldn't usually go to.
I wondered if I would have zero'ed in on your work, which I love so much, if I hadn't known you. Perhaps, because you were near the door. And perhaps because of your NdA/Augustine banner on the wall, which is full of colour and movement, but not in the 'splat!' kind of way, which doesn't work for me. But then again perhaps not. Such big events are a bit of a lottery.
Jean, thanks for this report and the wonderful portrait of our mutual friend! Last year I went to the London Art Book Fair with NdA, so have a bit of an idea what this may have been like -- crowded, exciting, and too much to see and do. I'm glad Natalie had her work there for other people to see, since it's fantastic.
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