Interdisciplinarity (or doing what you want and getting away with it)
You are probably getting the idea by now that I didn’t expect to launch myself on the world in book-length prose, by writing about allotments. The fact that I am is a source of constant confusion and amusement to me. I had thought this confused pleasure was a strictly personal deal, until I heard Audrey Niffenegger speak earlier this week.
Niffenegger was charming and erudite with an extremely dry wit that caused the occasional delayed reaction giggling fit in the audience, and she spoke with authority about the role of interdisciplinary art and the value that being in an interdisciplinary department had brought to her writing, as well as her artistic development. She also has utterly beautiful handwriting, like art deco wrought iron.
Inspired by Audrey, I spent most of Tuesday night working out how to resurrect my long-deferred dream to write a graphic novel. I was writing one, and even had a publisher interested, and then something happened to the artist I was working with …
So I wondered if I could create an entire graphic novel myself? Insane idea. But worth trying. So I think I shall give it a go, but don’t watch this space, as it will quite likely come to nothing at all except lots of furious sketching on my part.
As I said, I never expected to be writing a book about allotments, so who knows where this could lead!
2 Comments
Found art blog
22nd October 2010Start scribbling, I say. BTW, there’s a Manga trade show up in London twice a year (May and Oct) if you want to glean more info….??
Lauraajk
22nd October 2010I thoroughly approve of both the interdisciplinary-ness and the graphic novel plans. I studied BA Interdisciplinary Human Studies purely for the chance to learn how areas of thought and study overlapped and aided each other, how knowledge of several disciplines could fit together to a more rounded insight into the world.