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The Summer 2008 Art Source contains articles on Mary Lee Hu, 2008 Twining Humber Award recipient; Artist Residencies; the Washington Artists Health Insurance Project; and lots more. Get a sneak peek below at a feature article about David B., graphic novelist. Become an Artist Trust member and Art Source will be mailed to you four times a year. :: DAVID B., Graphic Novelist In Seattle, the role of the graphic novel as art is a matter of pride. Not only are we home to Fantagraphics Books—one of the five most influential publishers in comics history—but 400 graphic novelists live within 150 miles of Seattle’s city center. Their talent pool enjoys a high visibility in bookstores and exhibitions across America and in stores and galleries around the world. This August, Seattle’s Alliance Française adds to those riches with La Semaine de la Bande Dessinée, a week-long, multi-venue tribute to the French graphic novel, featuring a visit by Parisian art star David B. David B., whose real name is Pierre-François Beauchard, is one of the foremost stylists of the modern bande dessinée (literally, “designed strip”). The “B.D.”, pronounced “bay-day,” is a form revered in France, where it is officially referred to as the country’s “ninth art.” Graphic novels account for one out of every eight French books sold today, and many of those purchases include Fantagraphics stalwarts such as Peter Bagge, Jim Woodring [2003 Artist Trust Grants for Artist Projects recipient], Charles Burns, Jordan Crane, Joe Sacco and others. All of them know David B. Not merely one of his genre’s most influential artists, Beauchard was also instrumental in helping Europe’s bédéistes achieve English-language success. In 1990, with six other creators, he co-founded L’Association (“L’Asso”), an independent, artist-run publishing collective that revolutionized the graphic novel’s style, subject matter and market. One of its most stunning successes is his masterwork Epileptic, which L’Asso serialized in six volumes over seven years. When finally released in a 361-page English edition, this groundbreaking achievement rocked the universe of cartooning. On the surface, it is an intimate memoir of David B.’s youth after his older brother is struck by incurable epilepsy. Yet its’ pages focus equally on his family’s desperate search for a cure and on the fantasies unleashed in his developing psyche. Far from a humorless or maudlin story of illness, Epileptic brims with incredible visual imagination. Even Time magazine hailed the artist for his ability to “visualize the invisible, visualize such elusive concepts as dreams, the forces of history and illness.” Beauchard himself notes that his aim was more than mere autobiography. “So many artists do that; but this is not just ‘my story, period.’ I wanted to create a whole new kind of family mythology and, parallel to it, show how what I lived through created my imagination.” Beauchard’s dramatically personal black-and-white style developed from his early and compulsive need to constantly draw. He says he depended on this, both as a defense against his brother’s transformations (which, at the time, remained unexplained) and as a means of “retaining” moments to sustain him: a happy dream, a favorite film, even a Pink Floyd concert attended with his parents. Although Beauchard acknowledges the influence of Franco-Belgian classics such as Tintin and Astérix, he says his true inspiration came in adolescence, with exposure to works by Jacques Tardi, Italy’s Hugo Pratt and Germany’s George Grosz. British critic Ian Samson once described Beauchard’s drawing style as “one of deep, deep darkness with luminosity… imagine Harvery Pekar drawn by Picasso.” Both David B. and L’Association (who publish Seattle’s Jim Woodring in France) have become enormously significant. The indie publisher led the way to a European revolution, one that now links unconventional new auteurs to eager viewers. Of David B.’s many acolytes, the widest-known is Marjane Satrapi, whose debut work Persepolis was both inspired and nurtured to publication by Beauchard. The work of David B. is truly art without borders. It offers a perfect focus for the exchange of ideas about the modern relationship of image, language, and culture. Cynthia Rose, 2002 Grants for Artist Projects (GAP) recipient, is a journalist and broadcaster based in London and Seattle. The curator of La Semaine de la Bande Dessinée, she can be reached at www.muchacreative.com. :: The Alliance Française de Seattle invites you all to attend any event during La Semaine de la Bande Dessinée, August 13–17, 2008. All events are free and open to the public. Main events are listed below; look for details at www.afseattle.org/bd.htm. August 13 :: “BéDé 101/European Comics 101” August 14 :: “Tintin et moi” August 15 :: Art opening with David B. August 16 :: Formal presentation with David B. August 17 :: “Romans graphique, meet the graphic novel” :: |
