[...] I also believe that the majority of art, or all art, should be completely publicly accessible. It should belong to the community that it was made in and made for.
to and for the arts. Do you see that change as something that could happen for comics or that is happening now?
ej: There’s definitely a bigger push for comics to be featured in museums and studied in an art historical context— there are comic museums in existence, actually. And there are definitely a lot of working artists that incorporate things from comics into their work. So while I like working with institutions, I’d rather it be not a consideration; I don’t want the status to come at the expense of the children or everyday people who would be barred from comics in the same way they’re barred from fine art. I don’t want comics to be the new accepted art form… Though, I mean, it would be nice to make more money.
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JB: (laughs) Always a plus. Do you think there’s a way to observe comics that doesn’t undermine the opportunities that they present for art education or marginalized groups? Or should we just focus on appreciating comics as non-fine art? That last one feels more in line with the kinds of things you’ve been talking about. ej: Yeah, I think that what we should be doing is working on is not making fine art some specialized, higher strata, but making it accessible. Because then it doesn’t matter, right? Then, comics are art, but also, it’s not a big deal.
The Rhode Island School of Art and Design (RISD) museum, which is the museum I was working at for a little bit, they have worked with me in that regard. Their artist fellow for the past year, also, was Walker Mettling, who was the Comics Consortium cofounder here in Providence.7 That’s the education department, of course—there’s always that funny divide in museums between the educational department and the curatorial department, who might not have as much experience with the educational side. But I think there are definitely educators who are aware and working from the mindset of using comics as art. And a lot of comic academics do also consider them art, or literature art—there’s a funny divide there too. So, there are definitely people and spaces that exist, but it’s also an ongoing conversation. JB: A good conversation to be having, for sure. ej: Definitely. And a lot of what I’m trying to do is bring comics to the other stuff, as opposed to bringing the other stuff to comics. I like working with museums; I’m applying to graduate school to get my PhD, and the programs I’m applying to have to do with public humanities, museums and libraries and all that. And from there, I bring the comics with me, as opposed to getting a comics degree and trying to work backwards from that. I’m more interested in deconstructing the institution that way, as opposed to focusing on comics and elevating them. JB: You’re the inside man.
JB: Yeah, exactly! “It doesn’t matter if it’s art.”
ej: Definitely. (laughs)
ej: I absolutely believe that the majority of comics are art, but I also believe that the majority of art, or all art, should be completely publicly accessible. It should belong to the community that it was made in and made for.
JB: I think this is also a good place to talk about gallery and museum spaces as being accessible and inaccessible. You’ve talked about this a bit on DaD, the raise of museum prices: I think the Metropolitan Museum of Art, for one, is raising their entrance fee in March.
JB: Do you think there exists a space where comics could be both considered and respected as art but still be accessible in the way that fine art isn’t? ej: I think you see some of that with local, smaller groups. Cathy and I both operate under the premise that, “Yeah, it’s art, but we’re using it for a specific purpose.” And I think there are a lot of educators who are hip to comics who feel that way as well.
ej: The suggested donation has always been twentyfive dollars, but now they’re making it a mandatory fee for non-New Yorkers. JB: The article I read said that the decision was made “to bring it in line with its local competitors.” 8 Which, ehhh.