Understnading Comics The Invisible Art

I absolutely loved this book. Scott McCloud uses comics as a medium in addressing such topics as semiotics and art. He captures ideas that seemed familiar but I had never fully grasped. For instance, he talks about how obsessed human begins are with themselves, that we see out image in nearly everything; and its true! Human beings see a face in objects such as light sockets, or cars. I remember when I was little I would look at cars as they passed by and determine whether they were male or female cars based on the shape of their headlights, and the shape of the hood. So when I read this in Understanding topics, it was interesting how McCloud explained that human beings focus on specific details in order to strip that image to its essential meaning. McCloud explains, through realistic art and abstract cartoon art, how human beings decipher a message. A realistic drawing of a face can only be interpreted as a certain face, where two dots and a line, :|, can be interpreted into anyones face. I found many of McClouds concepts so interesting because he was so accurate in describing something obvious, yet, I have not taken the time to think about. I found myself agreeing with everything he said, and realized how sensitive we really are to symbols and pictures, and because he explained his ideas in a comic book he was able to use images and symbols to relate words to pictures.
I love the way McCloud described art. He says that art is anything that human beings do that do not cater to their essential needs; survival and reproduction. Also, he explains how art has transformed our culture. Because of its "independence from our evolution-bred instincts, art is the way we assert our identities as individuals and break out of the narrow roles nature cast us in." Art provides exercise for both the body and mind, art provides an emotional outlet, and has provided us survival as human beings. From art we evolved, coming up with new and great ideas to improve and simplify our existence. The creation and discovery of language, tools, or the wheel, evolved into products of today such as washer machines, watches, glasses and so on. These objects may not seem like art per say, but man has created them. McCloud shows how our actions lead to new discoveries, and how this is interpreted as art.

I love how the book was presented. McClouds ideas translate into one another, and flow with ease. Each idea was the offspring of the idea before. He covered so many aspects of art and culture that I couldn't possibly reflect on all the ideas. After reading this book I have a whole new perspective on how I interpret art, and why I interpret images and symbols the way I do.