Sierra Gault ARTD 250 Ty Warren The Vocabulary of Comics. McCloud Summer­ MW 2­4pm
Self­Centered
Humans must find meaning in what they see; they must see something of themselves in an object to be interested and they must have both to be moved by it.
Whether the “it” is a car, everyday accessory or art we want to find a connection to ourselves in the object. McCloud says
“We humans are a self­centered race”(32) as he stands next to an electrical outlet; our brain automatically sees a face; we are programed from birth to identify faces, but why was it made that way? Why do design manufacturers make simple outlets look like faces? They could have chosen any other pattern and the function would not be hindered. Why is it we want to see ourselves in everyday objects? …show more content…
A typical pastoral scene which was nothing new to the public viewers of the late 19th century. Yet the masses responded harshly to his work, called it vulgar. But why would this nude be received any differently than the thousand other naked lady paintings? Because he painted an individual. She was an identifiably person. Not just a pretty face reclining in the grass, but an actual person.
This changed the face of romantic era paintings into the modernist period. Not idealizing a person, I would even say “cartoning”, seemed a harsh reality that the general public did not like. Being able to see yourself as the beautiful girl lounging in the grass was comforting, it let you into the painting in a way that Manet’s portraits do not.
McCloud speaks to this a lot in his book, his argument hits a point when he asks “Would you have listened to me if I had looked like this?”(36). He has drawn his character at this point more lifelike than the previous; made himself an individual not just a cartoon. McCloud is saying we do not easily accept things from an individual, but without thinking we listen to a cartoon.