THEORETICAL WORKING PROCESS FOR STEREOTYPICAL ARTIST(2016)
The word “stereotypical” is near racist. We can stereotype groups of people, e.g. stupid blonde, rich Swedish-speaking Finn, donut-guzzling cop. The stereotypical artist would then be one provided of by society or lazy bum living on grants. In the eyes of society, and people in general, us artists, musicians, writers and others in the cultural field are often a stereotypical group of people subject to prejudice. In the graphic novel I have used satire as a stylistic tool, which have allowed me to work with serious matters in a light-hearted manner while being able to express my opinion and criticize. Frederik Turner writes in his essay On Satire in the Arts (http://www.nccsc.net/essays/ satire-arts )“Satire is laughter that reveals the truth, and human truth is, among many other things, essentially ridiculous. If we stand back and consider the splendor of the human soul, the dignity of our political and intellectual roles, the beauty of our ideal human images, and then juxtapose with them the spectacle, sound and smell of our ways of eating, disposing of what we have eaten, reproducing ourselves—and add the endless embarrassment of negotiating our social obligations—we must either laugh or despair.” My graphic novel is not meant as comedy, even though it is made with a smile. The problems and difficulties depicted are real, and the guidelines I’ve added can actually help us in creating a career. I’ll end my foreword to the graphic novel with the masterpiece of satire, Monty Pythons Life of Brian(1979) in which the final scene Brian, together with the other crucified is singing the song Always look at the bright side of life. We, the artists, can actually find success!
Always look on the bright side of life. Some things in life are bad.They can really make you mad Other things just make you swear and curse When you’re chewing on life’s gristle. Don’t grumble, give a whistle And this’ll help things turn out for the best... And......always look on the bright side of life... Always look on the light side of life...
