‘Re·flex·ive’

Adjective- Denoting a pronoun that refers back to the subject of the clause in which it is used, e.g.,myself, themselves.

Reflexivity refers to circular relationships between cause and effect. A reflexive relationship is bidirectional with both the cause and the effect affecting one another in a situation that does not render both functions causes and effects. In sociology, reflexivity therefore comes to mean an act of self-reference where examination or action “bends back on”, refers to, and affects the entity instigating the action or examination (Cited in Wikipedia)

I’m not sure exactly which of these terms my methodology can be referred to as being, they both seem quite similar.  I can say at least that my Research will feed my Studio work, and the Studio work will inform the Research.  This work will then be presented in this blog, which in turn feeds back into both Studio and Research output.

After review with Andi I will revises my Ideal typing/Matrix to include the following categories:

Themes-Audience-Context-Panel style-Pacing-Deduction required-Font/Type-Visual style-Colour/Treatment-Narrative structure

The literature review will also include a personal evaluation of something completely subjective- my own opinion of the text.  I discussed my opinions of Harvey Pekar’s work- I find his stories boring and non engaging. We theorised that it could be due to a number of factors, namely that I don’t relate to him, and there is no deduction required- the narratives amble aling in a linear manner and spell out everything for the reader.  There is no manipulation of codes or conventions, and for this reason these stories were perhaps easier for a mainstream audience to comprehend.  But for someone like me with years of experience in decoding complicatied, multi level narratives, his stories are just too simple.

My homework is to “copy the masters’; namely to draw over the top of th illustrations of those I admire and try to pick up some new tricks in terms of style and line quality.  Not an easy job for someone who has spent a lifetime drawing from imagination.  The aim is to investigate technique and also research how these works are done- basically looking at digital vs analog/traditional modes of production.

Also need to look at Comixoligy- a new online course is out investigating gender roles in comics.  Check it out here