“My futile idea was that action in comics, as in any art, doesn’t end with one person pounding another person in the jaw. There’s also the action of emotion, psychology, character and idea. I yearned to have stories which dealt with more reality and people’s feelings and thoughts . . . a kind of literary form, let’s say even a Chekhovian form, where one could delve into real people and real feelings.” – Kringstein
Even though his proposal to illustrate Bill Gaines’ and Al Feldstein’s story of “Master Race” was cut from 12 to 8 pages, Kringstein’s panels are never cramped. The compositions are well balanced and well paced. Drawing from observation, his disdain of comic shortcuts and easy symbolic solutions such as sweat marks and action lines pushed him to articulate action and emotion by using a painter’s language of expressive figure studies within “high brow art” ideas of composition and form.
The work of Kringstein had a strong influence on more recognizable names such as Art Spiegelman, and Frank Miller.
Dark Knight Returns (1986)
So if you have ever looked at a comic and admired the visual storytelling, you likely have Krigstein to thank.
As Spiegelman put it in the New Yorker, “Krigstein began to vibrate with the inner language of comics, to understand that its essence lay in the ‘breakdowns,’ the box-to-box exposition that breaks moments of time down into spatial units.”
Inspired to draw but want a little guidance? We have a great Comics workshop happening at the League this weekend, open to all ages and skill levels. This is a new genre for the League, and we are hoping to expand it. Gap assistance available. If you are a new (or previous) fan of Krigstein, apply the coupon code KRIGSTEIN to receive 20% off.
Exercise your creativity This SAL Challenge is a vocabulary based creative challenge every day for January. Materials are artist’s choice. You can draw, paint, collage, sculpt your food, anything you want. Make something today! UNGUIFORM The previous challenge words were urceiform and unciform. Today’s word is unguiform. Urceiform is vase-shaped. Unciform is hook shaped, and if it’s unguiform then …
Between 1914 and 1917, Matisse made a series of 69 monotypes, the only monotypes of his career. Matisse created his black-and-white monotypes by covering a copper plate with black ink and then lightly and swiftly scratching into the pigment with a tool, so that the linework emerged through the dark ink ground. To transfer the …
I have a guest V. Note today from our printmaking instructor Nikki Barber. Back in April 2020, Nikki interviewed Sam Davidson, of Davidson Galleries in Seattle. Nikki asked Sam about his favorite works in the Davidson collection. This is a delightful interview about a variety of printmaking artists around the globe, with interesting work I …
Today is the first part of a two part drawing. You can catch up tomorrow if you miss today, but don’t throw out your drawing for today! Thursday is Vocabulary day, and the word is sesquipedalian. The rare time this unusual word is introduced into conversation, it is to describe someone or something that overuses …
The single most analyzed page in comics history
Detail
“My futile idea was that action in comics, as in any art, doesn’t end with one person pounding another person in the jaw. There’s also the action of emotion, psychology, character and idea. I yearned to have stories which dealt with more reality and people’s feelings and thoughts . . . a kind of literary form, let’s say even a Chekhovian form, where one could delve into real people and real feelings.” – Kringstein
Even though his proposal to illustrate Bill Gaines’ and Al Feldstein’s story of “Master Race” was cut from 12 to 8 pages, Kringstein’s panels are never cramped. The compositions are well balanced and well paced. Drawing from observation, his disdain of comic shortcuts and easy symbolic solutions such as sweat marks and action lines pushed him to articulate action and emotion by using a painter’s language of expressive figure studies within “high brow art” ideas of composition and form.
The work of Kringstein had a strong influence on more recognizable names such as Art Spiegelman, and Frank Miller.
Dark Knight Returns (1986)
So if you have ever looked at a comic and admired the visual storytelling, you likely have Krigstein to thank.
As Spiegelman put it in the New Yorker, “Krigstein began to vibrate with the inner language of comics, to understand that its essence lay in the ‘breakdowns,’ the box-to-box exposition that breaks moments of time down into spatial units.”
Inspired to draw but want a little guidance? We have a great Comics workshop happening at the League this weekend, open to all ages and skill levels. This is a new genre for the League, and we are hoping to expand it. Gap assistance available. If you are a new (or previous) fan of Krigstein, apply the coupon code KRIGSTEIN to receive 20% off.
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Exercise your creativity This SAL Challenge is a vocabulary based creative challenge every day for January. Materials are artist’s choice. You can draw, paint, collage, sculpt your food, anything you want. Make something today! UNGUIFORM The previous challenge words were urceiform and unciform. Today’s word is unguiform. Urceiform is vase-shaped. Unciform is hook shaped, and if it’s unguiform then …
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Between 1914 and 1917, Matisse made a series of 69 monotypes, the only monotypes of his career. Matisse created his black-and-white monotypes by covering a copper plate with black ink and then lightly and swiftly scratching into the pigment with a tool, so that the linework emerged through the dark ink ground. To transfer the …
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I have a guest V. Note today from our printmaking instructor Nikki Barber. Back in April 2020, Nikki interviewed Sam Davidson, of Davidson Galleries in Seattle. Nikki asked Sam about his favorite works in the Davidson collection. This is a delightful interview about a variety of printmaking artists around the globe, with interesting work I …
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