The Cute Manifesto

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The Cute Manifesto

CuteManifesto.jpg

The cover of James Kochalka's The Cute Manifesto.
Author James Kochalka
Country United States
Language English
Subject Comics
Publisher Alternative Comics
Publication date
 2005
Pages 168
Preceded by American Elf
Followed by American Elf vol. 2

The Cute Manifesto is a book by James Kochalka released by Alternative Comics in 2005, containing many of his comics-format essays on the scope and impact of the comics medium, and his views on the importance of cuteness. Much of the material in The Cute Manifesto was collected from Kochalk's own minicomics and other out-of-print comics titles.

James Kochalka cartoonist

James Kochalka is an American comic book artist and writer, and rock musician. His comics are noted for their blending of the real and the surreal. Largely autobiographical, Kochalka's cartoon expression of the world around him includes such real-life characters as his wife, children, cat, friends and colleagues, but always filtered through his own observations and flights of whimsy. In March 2011 he was declared the cartoonist laureate of Vermont, serving a term of three years.

Alternative Comics is a U.S. independent graphic novel and comic book publisher currently based in Cupertino, California. In addition to publishing creator-owned titles, Alternative Comics is also a noted publisher of anthologies such as 9-11: Emergency Relief, Hi-Horse, Hickee, Rosetta, and True Porn.

Essay piece of writing often written from an authors personal point of view

An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument — but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have traditionally been sub-classified as formal and informal. Formal essays are characterized by "serious purpose, dignity, logical organization, length," whereas the informal essay is characterized by "the personal element, humor, graceful style, rambling structure, unconventionality or novelty of theme," etc.

Contents

The premise of many pieces in the book is that simplicity is desirable in comics and that "craft is the enemy" (which is the title of one of the pieces in the book.) (Beginning in 1996–1997, Kochalka had spirited public debates in print and online with other cartoonists who disagreed with his position.) [1] Kochalka's publisher coyly frames the book as Kochalka's "answer to Dianetics , calling it "a powerful mixture of philosophy and comics that can literally change your life forever. . . . Kochalka tackles all of the big issues… comics and art, birth and death, technology and joy, and everything in between." [2]

Dianetics set of ideas and practices adopted by Scientologists

Dianetics is a set of ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body created by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. Dianetics is practiced by followers of Scientology, the Nation of Islam, and independent Dianeticist groups.

The back cover of the book features short quotes from the artists Constantin Brâncuși, Pablo Picasso, James Ensor, Elaine de Kooning, and Odilon Redon on the importance of making art.

Constantin Brâncuși French-Romanian artist

Constantin Brâncuși was a Romanian sculptor, painter and photographer who made his career in France. Considered a pioneer of modernism, one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th-century, Brâncuși is called the patriarch of modern sculpture. As a child he displayed an aptitude for carving wooden farm tools. Formal studies took him first to Bucharest, then to Munich, then to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris from 1905 to 1907. His art emphasizes clean geometrical lines that balance forms inherent in his materials with the symbolic allusions of representational art. Brâncuși sought inspiration in non-European cultures as a source of primitive exoticism, as did Paul Gauguin, Pablo Picasso, André Derain and others. However, other influences emerge from Romanian folk art traceable through Byzantine and Dionysian traditions.

Pablo Picasso Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer

Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, stage designer, poet and playwright who spent most of his adult life in France. Regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he is known for co-founding the Cubist movement, the invention of constructed sculpture, the co-invention of collage, and for the wide variety of styles that he helped develop and explore. Among his most famous works are the proto-Cubist Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907), and Guernica (1937), a dramatic portrayal of the bombing of Guernica by the German and Italian airforces during the Spanish Civil War.

James Ensor Belgian painter

James Sidney Edouard, Baron Ensor was a Belgian painter and printmaker, an important influence on expressionism and surrealism who lived in Ostend for almost his entire life. He was associated with the artistic group Les XX.

Contents

  1. “Craft is the Enemy” (text, no pictures)
  2. "Craft is Not a Friend" (text, no pictures)
  3. "Sunburn" — originally published in 2000
  4. "Reinventing Everything" part 1 — originally published in minicomics form
  5. "Reinventing Everything" part 2 — originally published in minicomics form
  6. "The Cute Manifesto"
  7. "The Horrible Truth about Comics" — originally published in 2001
  8. "Spelunking for Slippery Cave Fish"

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References

  1. ↑ Dawson, Mike. "Box Brown on The Cute Manifesto and BORB," The Comics Journal (JUN 17, 2015).
  2. ↑ "The Cute Manifesto," Alternative Comics website. Accessed Jan. 7, 2017.
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