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Lines, backgrounds, and balloons
In chapter 5 of his book, McCloud talks about lines and backgrounds and word balloons and the various emotions they carry (McCloud, 1993, pp. 118-137). Eisenstein uses all three of these elements in her memoir effectively.
Fig. 9. Eisenstein, B, (2006). [painting]. From I was a child of Holocaust survivors (p. 33), by Bernice Eisenstein, 2006, Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Ltd.
Fig. 10. Eisenstein, B, (2006). [painting]. From I was a child of Holocaust survivors (p. 34), by Bernice Eisenstein, 2006, Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Ltd.
McCloud states: “In truth, don’t all lines carry with them an expressive potential” (McCloud, 1993, p. 124). This is definitely the case in Eisenstein’s memoir. Her lines can give off a certain feeling from an individual, for example: on pages 30-31 (Fig. 1) she uses stippling on her father which emotes sternness. She also varies her line depending on the mood she wants to get across. For example: on page 33 (Fig. 9) both illustrations contain very bold line work. Yet on the very next page (p. 34, Fig. 10) the line work is so soft and faint. In comparison to the previous bolder illustration (of her father playing cards), this illustration comes across more soft and gentle which is quite suitable considering the content (her father is holding a baby in the softer one). Her lines vary beautifully from bold and animated, to soft and small, wiggly and wobbly, to strong and controlled.
Fig. 11. Eisenstein, B, (2006). [painting]. From I was a child of Holocaust survivors (p. 10), by Bernice Eisenstein, 2006, Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Ltd.
McCloud states that “Backgrounds can be another valuable tool for of indication invisible ideas…particularly the world of emotions” and that “ A distorted or expressionistic background will usually affect our ‘reading’ or characters’ inner states” (McCloud, 1993, p. 132). Again, Eisenstein uses background(s) quite effectively in simply representing a place and especially when representing an emotion. For example: on page 10 (Fig. 11) Eisenstein’s character is seen thinking with just a black background. It becomes quite apparent early on that Eisenstein’s memoir has its setting in thought and she represents this setting in a clever and emotional way: she uses bold dark backgrounds throughout her drawings to place emphasis on the characters voice. When Eisenstein remarks on her use of black and white she gives some insight into the intuitive nature or her black backgrounds: “The black and white is seeing/hearing me think” (personal communication, 2011).
Fig. 12. Eisenstein, B, (2006). [painting]. From I was a child of Holocaust survivors (p.18), by Bernice Eisenstein, 2006, Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Ltd.
Fig. 13. Eisenstein, B, (2006). [painting]. From I was a child of Holocaust survivors (p.32), by Bernice Eisenstein, 2006, Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Ltd.
Fig. 14. Eisenstein, B, (2006). [painting]. From I was a child of Holocaust survivors (p.140), by Bernice Eisenstein, 2006, Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Ltd.
McCloud states: “By far, the most widely used and most versatile of comics’ many synaesthetic icons is the ever-present, ever- popular word balloon” (McCloud, 1993, p. 134). Eisenstein does use word balloons in almost all of her comics as well as thought balloons. She uses a few interesting variations on them on pages 18 (Fig. 12), 32 (Fig. 13), and 140 (Fig. 14).
Eisenstein, B. (2006). I was a child of Holocaust survivors. Toronto, On: McClelland & Stewart Ltd.
McCloud, S. (1993). Understanding comics: the invisible art. New York, NY: HarperCollins books.
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1 comments:
The drawing in figure 12 reminds me a lot of some of the drawings done by Holocaust survivors. Some survivors were actually artists, for example Komski. Take a look at his drawings
http://remember.org/komski/komski-drawings1-002.html
-Amy
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