HIGH ART/LOW ART

wherefore art thou

Art: what is it good for? Absolutely… things. Jason here, curating this week’s early autumnal ToonStack. Did you know that in the Renaissance preliminary sketches on paper for paintings were called cartoons? In Italian, “carta” means paper. That’s right, Michelangelo made cartoons. Also, he was funny! Check out this letter he wrote griping about painting The Sistine Chapel.

We modern day cartoonists are constantly referencing the art historical cannon, from things that are and aren’t pipes to Frasier. All that and more is so much grist for the mill, an expression I don’t even pretend to understand.

In sum, my favorite line from 30 Rock: We know what art is, it’s paintings of horses.

Hilary Campbell 

Which part do you think is high art????

Ellis Rosen 

There’s an old saying: “High art is when you fall down a manhole, low art is when I stub my toe.” Now, a lot of people think Da Vinci said that, but it was actually Caravaggio. And it wasn't really Caravaggio who said that, he just wrote it down first. According to Liechtenstein’s memoir Liechting Out Loud, it was actually Caravaggio’s friend who actually said it first. That friend? You guessed it, Albert Einstein. 

Of course, you wouldnt learn any of this in Art School these days because everything is fucked. Have you seen the average tuition for one year of art school? I would rather fall down a manhole. 

Does anyone else smell gas?

Jason Adam Katzenstein

I think it doesn’t not speak or not speak for itself. Or not.

Navied Mahdavian

Back when my cat, Ursula, was alive, my home was like the Museum of Modern Art.

Especially the Pollock wing.

Amy Kurzweil

When NFTs (sorry*) became a thing (*whenever I mention NFTs I feel I need to apologize to someone— I’m either sorry for mentioning NFTs, or I’m sorry for myself not personally being an NFT (actual physical human bodies so annoying amirite?)) I redrew the above low-art-cartoon-about-high-art as follows:

…transforming my initial low-art-cartoon-about-high-art into a low-art cartoon-about-high-art-being-transformed-ironically-into-low-art-as-a-performance-ie-high-art. But I didn’t actually post this cartoon, which makes it not a low-art-cartoon but rather a private-performance-about-cartooning’s-relationship-to-high-and-low-art ie a high-art-cartoon. The secret to transforming your cartoon from low art to high? Either make a bajillion dollars on it… or make no money at all.

ToonStack NewsStack

• Catch Hilary and other New Yorker cartoonists at The New Yorker Festival’s Cartoon Improv Event on October 8th!

• Want a crash course on comics? Sofia’s teaching a 2-day comics workshop (online) through the Center for Fiction, October 7th and 8th!

• Check out Erika Sjule’s delightful Substack, Shit for Breakfast!

• Amy Kurzweil’s new book, Artificial: A Love Story, is available for preorder!

• Navied Mahdavian’s graphic memoir, This Country: Searching for Home in (Very) Rural America is out, and it’s getting rave reviews!

• Ellis Rosen’s DINK! is the perfect gift for the pickleball enthusiast in your life!

• Check out Jason Katzenstein’s Patreon!

• Amy Kurzweil teaches cartoon classes on Patreon! Sign up now to get the recording of every past class!

• Be sure to check out Shelby Lorman’s newsletter, Please Clap!

• The same goes for Sofia Warren’s advice newsletter, You’re Doing Great!

• See more cartoons from Ellis Rosen’s weekly Junk Drawer!

• Also! Hilary started a film club here on Substack!

• Wow even more comedy… if you’re in Pennsylvania, Emily Flake’s St. Nell’s is hosting it’s unagural comedy festival Nell’s Bells in October!

  TIME FOR THE BUTTONS