Keywords
Contemporary art, postmodern, visual culture, graphic novels
Abstract
The postmodern condition of contemporary art is characterized by appropriation, layering of styles, recontextualization, interaction between text and image, and a willingness to embrace multiple meanings (Fehr, 1997; Gude, 2004). As the high school teacher contemplates the world of contemporary art and the expanse of visual culture, an insistent question comes to mind: What work of art or artifact of visual culture will provide the richest educational experiences for adolescent students? One viable answer is the graphic novel. Graphic novels have a postmodern flavor in that they are often ironic, playful, self-referential, and contain multiple narratives (Congdon & Blandy, 2003; Hellman, 2003). Contemporary art and popular visual culture intersect in graphic novels and create opportunities for teachers to connect students to postmodern notions of picture making while giving them a rich and diverse medium for personal and social exploration.
Original Publication Citation
Graham, M. A. (2008) Graphic Novels as Contemporary Art? Art Education, 61(2), Special Issue on Art Education and Contemporary Art.
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Graham, Mark, "Graphic Novels as Contemporary Art? The Perplexing Question of Content in the High School Art Classroom" (2008). Faculty Publications. 7555.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/7555
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
2008
Publisher
Art Education
Language
English
College
Fine Arts and Communications
Department
Art
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