Architecture and the Graphic Novel

North, Laurence ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6578-1771 (2019) Architecture and the Graphic Novel. Journal of Illustration, 6 (2). pp. 341-364. ISSN 2052-0204

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Abstract / Summary

Abstract
Richard McGuire’s Here (2014) and Chris Ware’s Lost Buildings (Glass et al. 2004) are
discussed as examples of graphic novels that demonstrate a synergistic relationship with
architecture. The synergistic relationship is examined through its use of decorative forms
and the use of architectural reference as a narrative device and a signifier of space and
time. The article goes on to explore the potential for architectural structures to function as
graphic novels. The late medieval frescos attributed to the architect and painter Giotto,
that decorate the chapels at Assisi and Padua, are used as examples of illustrations that
rely on their architectural context. Giotto’s work is explored as a model to inform the
development of the graphic novel into an architectural form. Laura Jacobus’ and Jenetta
Rebold Benton’s analysis of Giotto’s works at Padua and Assisi provide us with an
understanding of Giotto’s work and the importance of decorative features in relation to
the audience’s perception of real and pictorial space, experienced time and narrative time.
Jacobus’ and Rebold Benton’s analysis is then applied to two of London’s Art on the
Underground projects by Wallinger and Trabizian and also The Factory, Hong Kong. At
these contemporary architectural sites, images have been installed to rehabilitate
mundane structures and enrich the users experience. The installed imagery allows users
to become immersed in narratives by eroding barriers between real and pictorial space,
experienced time and narrative time. These contemporary examples describe the graphic
novel’s potential to be authored and read as an architectural form.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number:	10.1386/jill_00018_1
ISSN:	2052-0204
Subjects:	Arts > Architecture Arts > Illustration
Courses by Department:	The Falmouth School of Art > Fine Art The Falmouth School of Art > Architecture
Depositing User:	Laurence North
Date Deposited:	11 Nov 2019 16:06
Last Modified:	11 Nov 2022 16:24
URI:	https://falmouth-test.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/3681

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