Chapter 7 of Agustin Fuentes' The Creative Spark discusses the early history of violence, archaeological evidence, and existential questions about whether or not violence and aggression are inborn human traits. While there may never be answers to whether or not humans are inherently violent, or why violence occurs, a creative whose work accepts the dark realities in the world comes to mind-- Jhonen Vasquez, cartoon artist and the creator of Invader Zim and Johnny The Homicidal Maniac.
The grim nature of reality is embraced in Vasquez's angular art style, with morbidly humorous plot lines following alien invasions and tulpa-like manifestations of mental illness. Vasquez has stated that a drive for him creatively is to create the "worst" thing he can, to create characters and storylines that are ugly, disturbing, and unconventional. I find this motivation of his to be a really unique and interesting pursuit in a world where art is often something people try their best to be good at, and to please others with. I loves Vasquez's creative pursuit to make art to fulfill his own desired niche, to create weird and disturbed cartoons living in dystopic and random worlds.
While Jhonen Vasquez might not be for everyone, I see a lot of beauty in his artwork and its sardonic acceptance of the world's flaws.
Hi, I really enjoyed your post! While I’m unfamiliar with Agustin Fuentes, I think the discussion around whether violence is innate to humans is fascinating. I also often wonder why violence occurs and similarly feel myself drawn to media portraying the dark reality of life rather than an inauthentic, cheery representation. I’m also unfamiliar with Jhonen Vasquez, but I have always admired the unique art style of Invader Zim and wondered why his art style was so appealing to my friends and me as kids despite its darker nature. I agree that his motivation to make the worst, most disturbing, and unconventional characters he can is truly unique and makes me want to learn more about Vasquez’s background to see how his life experiences or maybe even neurodivergence/mental illness influences his work. From my perspective, I feel that sardonic pieces like his have to come from a personal place, but who knows? Super interesting things to think about. :)
ReplyDeleteI am also reading the Fuentes book, and I also found the portions about the relationship between creativity and violence to be interesting. The comics you provided remind me of the original FortNite game, back when it was a zombie survival PvE co-op game. I think that making humor out of more grotesque and horrific material is interesting, and probably speaks to deeper volumes for humanity. We try and make light of very nasty things, such as violence, and we all seem to enjoy it. Even in horrible human actions, we can find creativity, and in some morbid way that is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this artist, I think his creative approach is really interesting. I agree that his work stands because we often think of art as reflecting the good and the perfect. I think there is a lot of merit to coming face-to-face with the less desireable parts of our society. I think there is something cathartic about works like Vasquez's becuase they allow us to do that, and I agree there is something beautiful about that.
ReplyDeleteInteresting take on creativity! Instead of striving for a positive concept, looking at how far deep you can go into the negatives is a way to explore a part of this world that no one has really gone into. I would question if this process negatively affects the artist and their perception of the world. Does it make them more cynical and later affect their creative process in a cyclical way? All things to consider! Either way, great piece!
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