Introverts Illustrated. Scott Finch. Sold in Bundles of 5 ($25) at Partners & Son.
I turn to ambient music when I need an added kick of focus. Usually, it’s when I’m writing. I would never have a show or a podcast on in the background. No, I need something stripped down that will allow me to actually think when I’m writing or reading. Complete silence is quite nice too. Ambient music can be ideal at times. That’s what I did for this most unusual work by the artist Scott Finch. It helped in just the way it was intended to do: a means to push back all the added noise and clutter in life. Finch’s new work, Introverts Illustrated, is a collection of 21 mini-comics, meant to be accepted as a whole and, most likely, read in one sitting . . . or as many as you feel like, no pressure.
INTROVERTS ILLUSTRATED!
That’s the way it worked for me: to have the whole collection by my side and just dive in. I wouldn’t say it’s like reading through 21 issues of King Cat or even Superman. The experience is something different and, in its own way, a bit groundbreaking. I mean, you don’t usually see a creator presenting a whole series of individual works all at once. The tried and true method is to parcel them out one by one, just like the big mainstream comic book companies. Reading this work, in sections, I believe adds to its mystique, a work already in a full embrace with the sort of ambiguity you traditionally find in poetry and painting. In other words, take this more as a high art piece and less as anything resembling a traditional comic, indie or otherwise.
Diving into the work.
Scott Finch is a pure artist: someone who loves to experiment; who will create work just to see what happens; who will treat a project as something sacred that may end up never to be viewed by anyone else. That kind of commitment is what gives you something like Introverts Illustrated. Now, there’s a lot of things that can be said about this work and one of the most important is to just enjoy it and reach your own conclusions. There are a number of so-called gatekeepers and experts with their own theories as to what this project is about or isn’t about. I sincerely hope that I don’t fall into that group–or maybe I do–but I do my best to be self-aware. Anyway, I sense that what excites those of us deep in the comics cognoscenti is the sense that this is indeed one of those unicorns we keep hoping for: a work that you can really claim to be something different. Once a work of that sort is spotted, it’s like throwing chum into the waters where sharks await. Within seconds, the water spreads out a bloody spew of pontificating. Lucky for me, and you, I have taken the time to get to know the work and the artist. After this review, we proceed with an interview with Scott Finch.
Dig in!
One key concept, in all honesty, is ambiguity. Scott freely admits that he followed his muse and did it his way. His first priority wasn’t clarity. In fact, during our chat, I point out one fragment of text that is every bit as enigmatic as the art it accompanies. Now, that can be beautiful–and it is. But, like I’ve already stated, don’t expect this to be a typical work–but, oddly enough, don’t expect it to be cryptic either! It’s more like a series of dreams and, I believe you’ll agree, dreams do follow their own logic and often can be very lucid and highly accessible.
Issues of Introverts Illustrated.
Another key concept, to be sure, is the creative process. At its core, the backbone to this project, is automatic drawing. That’s where Finch started: one drawing after another, without thinking too much, just drawing. That’s the beginning of the process. Where you go from there is the next level of engagement. It can involve making numerous copies of various elements and arranging them, see what you get. Cut here. Paste there. Trace this. Redraw that. Things emerge, unexpected things.
Finally, I would add one more important concept: structure. You begin with the raw and make your way to the cooked. At some point, you add text, all the while staying true to what you’ve done before and letting it guide you. Getting back to dreams, there are a lot of paths following various dreams to be found here, all engaging, and delightful. If I had to be pinned down as to what is going on in this free-spirited tableaux, I would say this is a series of meditations on the human condition, especially the human who aspires to something different, to something artful, to something like this most unusual work.
When we talk about such matters as comics being an art form, something that’s been well established over the years, it can still be elusive to pin down. Sometimes, it’s found within more commercial work. And, sometimes, it is not found within indie comics. Within the rough and tumble world of any given comic arts festival, the reality is that it is as much a marketplace as a more obviously corporate-heavy major comics convention and it can be a challenging arena, even for unicorns. I sense that Finch is modest about the whole thing and will find his way. As an artist, first, he is more interested in some good old-fashioned artistic problem-solving and that will serve him well. Perhaps he’ll find the most success within a gallery space or whatever other venues and platforms may arise in the future. Finch will most likely follow the words in his own work regarding his career: “I make space for it. I do not seize it.”
“I make space for it. I do not seize it.”
Alright, we’ll end the review there. I encourage you to check out my conversation with the artist. During our talk, Scott not only explains what’s going on in this project but really opens up about his process which will undoubtedly resonate if you folks, whatever kind of creative work you happen to do.
ONTEMPORARY CRITICS’ RECOGNITON of “Outsider Art” can be said to have come early to its precursor, Underground Comix of the late 1960s and 1970s. “Recognition,” that is, in the best way: publication—albeit with a real if fleeting audience—far from any recognized, official art scene. Thus artist/nonartist Michael McMillan. A leftover from those days and now past 90, he fairly inhabits this book of his past drawings and sculptures, with a standout introduction by Crumb biographer Dan Nadel and supportive blurbs from the likes of Gary Panter and Bill Griffith.
