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An ARCHIVE SITE for the SLOVAKIA Graphic Novel by Marek Bennett // "káva+knedľa+komiksy"
An ARCHIVE SITE for the SLOVAKIA Graphic Novel by Marek Bennett // "káva+knedľa+komiksy"
<< BEFORE: Rabbit attends service with heroes from Revolution …
NEXT: Well, what will Rabbit get into next in Bratislava? >>
Coffee+Dumpling+Komiks 
I agree with Rabbit! So much so, I shared his comments on Facebook! It is all about the story. As Robinson said – adults think they draw like 5th graders because they stopped drawing in 5th grade! Everyone can draw, everyone can tell a story. The more they do it the better they get. I know that I am not gifted in painting and photography but I do good stuff because I try and keep doing it.
I agree wth you also rabbit. When I started drawing and painting a few years ago I thought my stuff was juvenile. I kept practicing and I have gotten much better. The only lessons I had were in high school 30 years ago. I think if you stick with it you come to enjoy it, I know I do. And I have come to appreciate others artwork much more knowing that it takrs heart and soul.
Rabbit, you are a stud. Everyone can draw, but educational “standards” get in the way. I’ve subbed required middle school art classes and have shown even the most convinced they can tell a story with simple doodles transformed into caricatures.
Maybe he didn’t want an argument, but he sure can be ready for one. I think he never thought of comics as an educational tool focusing on story-telling, only as an art form, hence his getting hung up on the drawing capacity and the judgement on talent. I was also surprised that he didn’t hop on the idea, and I think your answer was spot on.
How about kids who dont want to draw?
That is much trickier to answer, Peter. In my own experience, some of my favorite things (types of music, food, activities) are things that I did not like when I first encountered them. I as a child for years fought my parents over being “forced” to take piano lessons but now all these years later piano is my favorite instrument to play and I can play it ONLY because I was forced (I mean, given the opportunity) to study it at times when I did not entirely “want” to. I believe teachers have responsibility to expose students to new ideas and skills and help them manifest POTENTIAL, regardless of what students “want” at their present stage of development.
So I suppose, to answer your question flippantly, “That doesn’t matter!” But to answer it more seriously, clearly not every student will grow up to become professional cartoonist. (Thank goodness!) However, Rabbit’s point is that every student IS CAPABLE of participating in cartooning & graphic storytelling activities, and really the most important thing (in educational sense) is not PRODUCT (comic strip, book, doodle on scrap paper) but EXPERIENCE and resulting sense of creative IDENTITY and ACCOMPLISHMENT. That is why Rabbit is willing to fight with strangers about this — because for teacher to say “Oh, they can’t do it, so let’s not make them do it,” is in some ways entirely antithetical to (at least Rabbit’s) educational mindset.