This article was downloaded by: [McMaster University]On: 30 October 2014, At: 08:14Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Journal of Graphic Novels and ComicsPublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rcom20

Abstract sequential artKym Tabuloa

a Sunshine Coast University, Queensland, AustraliaPublished online: 09 Jun 2013.

To cite this article: Kym Tabulo (2014) Abstract sequential art, Journal of Graphic Novels andComics, 5:1, 29-41, DOI: 10.1080/21504857.2013.803994

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21504857.2013.803994

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the“Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis,our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as tothe accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinionsand views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors,and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Contentshould not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sourcesof information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims,proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever orhowsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arisingout of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Anysubstantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms &Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, 2014Vol. 5, No. 1, 29–41, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21504857.2013.803994

Abstract sequential art

Kym Tabulo*

Sunshine Coast University, Queensland, Australia

(Received 22 December 2012; final version received 10 April 2013)

What is abstract sequential art? The paper contains answers to this question by definingthis genre and scrutinizing the sub-genres of abstract comics and abstract polyptychs.Such information is useful to practitioners and teachers of fine arts and comics as itmay provide other ways to understand how these two visual arts domains are similaryet different. Several theoretical issues are considered regarding the historical devel-opment of abstract sequential art, as well as the shared and unique characteristics ofabstract comics and abstract polyptychs. These include: the use of panel transitions,the involvement of reader as co-creator, and the treatment of time within the genre.Representative examples of the sub-genres are analysed to help understand how artistsuse abstract polyptych mechanisms or abstract comics devices, which may generatenew perspectives about teaching and creating abstract sequential art.

Keywords: Andrei Molotiu; comics fourth dimensional illusion; comics paneltransitions; comics as narration; comics abstraction; Pierre Alechinsky comics

Introduction

Abstract sequential art is the emerging genre that I have been investigating since 2010 inorder to identify its aesthetic properties and inherent creative possibilities. Although itgoes beyond the boundaries of comics, important aspects of the genre have roots in thisfield. Such information is useful to practitioners and teachers of both comics and fine artsas it provides another way to understand how these two visual art domains are similaryet different. To do this, a number of practical and theoretical issues are considered indepth and include: the historical development of abstract sequential art; the compositionalmechanisms of abstract polyptychs and abstract comics; the use of panel transitions; theinvolvement of the reader as co-creator; and the treatment of time in the genre. Within thisdiscourse the theories of McCloud (1993, 2006) and Molotiu (2009a, 2012) are examinedand some observations and responses are presented. To help clarify terminology the wordcomics is written as a ‘plural in form’ noun ‘used with a singular verb’ (McCloud 1993).

It can be difficult to define abstract sequential art as a genre. So far, I have identifiedseveral different subgenres, and it is possible that more remain to be found. Those identifiedare:

• abstract polyptychs/pseudo-polyptychs;• abstract comics/graphic novels;• abstract gallery comics;

* Email: kymtabulo@gmail.com

© 2013 Taylor & Francis

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

McM

aste

r U

nive

rsity

] at

08:

15 3

0 O

ctob

er 2

014

30 K. Tabulo

• abstract artist’s books;• abstract storyboard books;• abstract mini-comics/zines; and• abstract webcomics.

This paper focuses primarily on the first two, with several observations being presented anda number of existing ideas being discussed in order to understand abstract sequential artand thereby make the genre more accessible to both lay readers and engaged practitioners.During the discussion 16 sequential art works are examined. In the manner of McCloud(1993, 2006), I have made thumbnail sketches of them to illustrate their basic composi-tional qualities so that the reader may apprehend the theory that is applied to each one:Figures 1 and 2 display these sketches.

Abstract sequential art

Given that abstract sequential art is a new creative genre, a preliminary working definitionis proposed in order to allow informed discussion. For the purpose of this paper, I presenta working definition of the genre as follows: Abstract sequential art refers to a numberof sequentially juxtaposed abstract images that focus on form and technique, which mayelicit from the viewer an aesthetic response, a notional sense of narrative and/or a possibletheme. This definition was formulated as a synthesis of several scholarly theories, whichare considered in the impending discussion, but it is open to further refinement.

To understand how the genre of abstract sequential art is being transformed by comicsauthors, it is essential to unravel the deeply entwined connections between sequential worksof fine arts extraction from those of graphic arts origins. Within fine arts, the terms dip-tych, triptych, polyptych and artist’s books (Drucker 2004) are used to describe sequentialartworks, whereas in graphic arts the term sequential art primarily relates to storyboardpicture books (Spaulding 1995) and all forms of comics. However, since Eisner (1985)composed the term, it has become synonymous with the graphic arts. His definition influ-enced those of Carrier (2000), Hayman and Pratt (2005) and McCloud (1993). Later,Meskin (2007) disapproved of the ‘ahistorical’ nature of studies like these and he petitionedfor productive studies regarding the evaluation and interpretation of comics. Nonetheless,Jackson (2009, 5) addressed comics history from a pedagogical and constructivist stand-point and defined sequential art as, ‘a sequence of images that creates a visual narrativefor the purpose of conveying ideas and feelings . . . it does not always combine with textto convey meaning’. Most polyptychs and many comics have no text and depict wordlessstories.

Jackson was influenced by the meta-comics trilogy of McCloud (1993, 2000, 2006),who defined comics as ‘juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequenceintended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer’(McCloud 1993, 9). This is an important definition as it describes both polyptychs andcomics. When applied to each one, it denotes their affiliation. Also, it does not mention‘narrative’, which unintentionally allows abstract sequential art to refrain from narrativecontent and to concentrate on form, technique and theme. Lefevre (2011, 26) supportedthe idea that not all sequential art works are ‘constructed as a narrative’ but maintainedthat this genre encourages the viewer to see a story within the interpanel relationships,through the formal interplay of the design elements and principles, and the symbolic, fig-urative or abstract qualities of the content. As stated earlier, these theories informed mypreliminary definition of abstract sequential art, which assisted my investigation into thesubgenres of abstract comics and abstract polyptychs.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

McM

aste

r U

nive

rsity

] at

08:

15 3

0 O

ctob

er 2

014

Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics 31

Traditional comics and abstract comics

Comics are characterized by specific conventions. Focusing first on traditional comics, thebasic visual conventions of comics are page layout, panels, gutters and balloons. The basictext conventions include font style, action lines, sound effects, blurbs and captions. Thesecharacteristics vary in their function, format and use. Typically comics are drawn in pencil,inked and sometimes coloured. They are organized using storyboarding techniques andmay be created by an individual or as a collaborative work and, increasingly, computers playa key role in these processes. McCloud (2006) identified five choices artists make whencreating comics layouts: moment, frame, image, word and flow. In addition, he devoteda whole chapter to colour as part of his ‘image choice’ (McCloud 1993) and to this endJackson (2009) recommended that colour should be adopted as a sixth choice. Both Jacksonand McCloud maintained that making comics requires both fine art and graphic designskills.

That the artistic skill of abstraction is not exclusive to fine arts is demonstrated byMcCloud’s (1993) iconic abstraction theory, which explains how the process of abstractingdetail from an image might occur without removing the representational quality of the sub-ject matter thereby allowing readers to project themselves into the images subconsciously.However, none of the comics he referred to is entirely abstract. Furthermore, McCloud’s(1993, 52–53) triangulation diagram of the picture plane, reality and language displaysthe correlation between comics and abstraction. Even though his vision did not extend toworks that are totally non-iconic and non-narrative, his continual referencing of abstractionwas said by Molotiu (2009b, 2012) to suggest the theoretical possibility of abstract comics.These have since evolved, and McCloud’s trilogy is testament to the evolution of comicsand comics theory. He identified the common element that unifies all comics is their abil-ity to portray the passage of time; however, Molotiu (2009b) questioned if abstract comicsdisplay this element, ‘when time is no longer clearly represented’ in such works.

To answer this question I considered the way the passage of time is achieved insequential art, by delving deeper into the complexities of comics theory. Duffy (2009,4) succinctly stated, ‘cartoons are abstract pictorial symbolic representations of concepts’,and in his meta-comics journal article he demonstrated how ‘sequence in comics is a car-toon of the 4th dimension’ (5). This means that, because picture panels are separated bygutters, readers are allowed time to analyse the images and the type of panel transitionsused. This helps generate the impression of time passing or, based on Duffy’s terms, the4th-dimensional illusion. Panel transitions are categorized by McCloud (1993, 2006) as:moment-to-moment, action-to-action, subject-to-subject, scene-to-scene, aspect-to-aspect,or non-sequitur. Not all panels are separated by gutters, but they are an important visualcomponent of sequential art. Tensuan (2006) further examined McCloud’s (1993) obser-vation that one of the greatest achievements of comics is to keep the reader’s mind in thegutter, a place to which he referred as a ‘limbo’ where the reader perceives the narrativesequence and creates the 4th-dimensional illusion. Like Lefevre (2011), I maintain that thisinvolves the reader as a co-author who determines the passage of time at a subliminal level.Thus, time in comics is a 4th-dimensional illusion that is an abstract symbolic representa-tion of time rather than a literal map of it. This illusion is stronger in wordless sequencesbecause reading words evokes its own time map (Duffy 2009). The act of reading wordlesspanels creates a unique form of co-authored narrative that entices the reader even furtherinto the work.

At this point, some recent abstract comics theory needs to be introduced in order toconsider Molotiu’s ideas about time and McCloud’s transition categorizations, in relationto Duffy’s notion of the 4th-dimensional illusion. Molotiu (2012, 87) asked if the study of

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

McM

aste

r U

nive

rsity

] at

08:

15 3

0 O

ctob

er 2

014

32 K. Tabulo

abstract comics could transform McCloud’s categories ‘by looking beyond the diegetic andthe narrative’ to consider ‘the actual graphic functioning of comics’. (The term ‘diegetic’refers to the work’s inner verve caused by what characters experience and so surpasses thevisible.) Molotiu (2012, 88) classified abstract comics as non-narrative and states that ‘if itchronicles anything, it is nothing but the life of the graphic trace’. He did not see that this‘life’ exists in diegetic space, which means that there is no diegetic time in abstract comicsand for this reason he argued that it is not valid to apply McCloud’s temporal transitioncategories to them. In addition, Molotiu proposed that sequentiality in abstract comics isgenerated without the help of ‘represented temporality’, specifically diegetic time. Withregard to abstract comics he states:

Can we still conceive of panels as individual moments in time, arranged along a temporalsequence? Clearly not. Our sense of sequence is derived from the graphic forces on the page,which carry us across the grid of panels: we see a movement, but this movement is onlynoticeable when we take in, visually, more than one panel at a time. (Molotiu 2012, 89)

I considered Molotiu’s new comics theory and applied it to several examples of abstractcomics, and agree that in these non-narrative, wordless, sequential images there is anaesthetic energy or movement, which draws the viewer’s sensors through the panel pro-gressions by way of the graphic trace. However, I also found that there seems to be aninnate desire to discover a narrative plot or theme, like any reader or viewer does whosuspends disbelief when engaging with a fictional work or an abstract painting, and in theprocess surrenders to the possibilities of the work’s sequentiality. This is consistent withLefevre’s (2011) theory and supports the idea that an abstract comics reader may subcon-sciously perceive a probable storyline that moves through a notional narrative arc and onto a perceived punch line, which evokes the 4th-dimensional illusion. If Duffy’s (2009)argument is correct and this dimension is an abstract symbolic representation of time, thenMcCloud’s panel transition categories may seem too literal for abstract comics. However,I also believe that his categories are relevant to this and other forms of abstract sequentialart and, if readers want to, they may generate the passage of time via a notional narrativein collaboration with the movement of the graphic trace.

Abstract comics

Molotiu’s Abstract Comics: The Anthology (2009a) is the original text that triggered myinterest in identifying abstract sequential art. Molotiu offered a collection of abstractcomics which engages readers’ visual literacy skills to help explain this subgenre. Beforehis book-based exhibition was revealed, Molotiu introduced abstract comics theoreticallyby placing them within a historical context and highlighting changes in the comics domain.Importantly, he also provided a mini manifesto, which helps define abstract comics. As pre-viously stated, they are comics that use non-representational subject matter across a seriesof non-narrative panels, with an emphasis on the formal elements of comics. In addition,abstract comics could have some representational elements if they are not used as narrativetools. The form is paradoxical and suggests myriad possibilities. It encourages artists toexperiment with and exploit the mechanisms of comics to stretch the limits of sequentialart parameters. I found that some abstract comics rely on formal narrative sequential tran-sitions and seek a discordant or harmonious resolution. These characteristics of abstractcomics emphasize its close relationship to other forms of abstract sequential art, especiallyabstract polyptychs. Abstract comics combine fine arts and comics but not like Pop Art,

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

McM

aste

r U

nive

rsity

] at

08:

15 3

0 O

ctob

er 2

014

Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics 33

in which fine artists used comics characteristics. These are the opposite because abstractcomics artists use abstract subject matter that has fine art roots.

Given its strong fine arts connection and non-conformist comics style, Molotiu’s(2009a) book has generated debate on generic blogs and book review internet sites, suchas Comicsgirls, Madinkbeard and his own Abstractcomics. He is an art academic and artistwhose work appeared in the anthology along with early pioneering and contemporaryabstract comics artists. In doing so, he combined both eminent and emerging artists togive the subgenre a high-status and cutting-edge duality. Molotiu’s brief history of abstractcomics confirmed Robert Crumb’s 1967 Abstract Expressionist Ultra Super ModernisticComic (Molotiu 2009a) as the earliest example. However, during the next four decades,comics artists who experimented with abstraction were rare. Few abstract comics, zines,books or graphic novels were published until early this century. During these formativeyears, Molotiu’s websites Blotcomics (launched in 2004) and Abstractcomics (launched in2009) have supported and recorded the development of abstract comics and also inspiredinternational creative partnerships. Artworks are exhibited online, links to relevant artistsprovided and ongoing theory generated through blog members’ discussions, which aremoderated by Molotiu.

A work that features in the anthology (Molotiu 2009a) is Trondheim’s Bleu (2003),which I regard as one of the important foundation examples of the twenty-first-centuryabstract comics movement. It is the first full-length coloured book with an unbrokensequence of abstract images across 34 pages that was intentionally identified by Trondheimas a comics book. Where as early abstract comics books like Ibn al Rabin’s Cidre etSchnaps (Molotiu 2009a) are albums of abstract comics pages which are the equivalentto comics annuals or short story collections. Badman (2006) described Bleu as an ‘extremeexample of abstracted art in comics form’. There are no panels dividing the images, whichcreates a sense of simultaneity however a practised comics reader may instinctively visu-alize them. Across the invisible panels, the graphic traces of Trondheim’s vignettes areso congruent that they generate forward-moving rhythmic energy. Similarly, the intercon-nection between the final images on one page and the first image on the next creates acontinuous rhythmic flow throughout the book. Also the 4th-dimensional illusion is pro-duced in the limbo of the imagined gutters. Further still, like Badman, I read the abstractshapes of Bleu as interactive creatures with a story to tell that generates diegetic time. As aresult, I constructed a narrative at a metaphorical level which summons themes such as‘meeting, parting, attraction, repulsion, taking in, and letting go’ (Badman 2006). WithinBleu, Trondheim created a unified narrative, which is not an aim of abstract comics, but itemphasizes the inclusive nature of abstract sequential art.

Badman’s 2006 review of Bleu (Trondheim, 2003) was one of the first abstract comicscritiques. He identified some successful characteristics, which include using amusingvisual twists, puns, image variety and novelty. These are stimulated by the skilful appli-cation of a range of elements and principles of art and design such as colour, size, shape,form, movement and balance. The work moved me to remember the aesthetic and literaryrules of ‘less is more’ and ‘show, don’t tell’. In fact Bleu was described by Badman as mini-malist because it was created with the minimal use of comics conventions, which ultimatelyadvances the subgenre’s significance as a way of looking sequentially and simultaneouslythrough the synchronization and resolution of the abstract comics techniques in bookform.

Abstract graphic novels and comics are increasing in number. Rosaire Appel, DerikBadman, Anders Pearson and Nina Roos have all published one or more. All four usetheir websites or book-cover blurbs to describe their work. Pearson referred to his 50-page

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

McM

aste

r U

nive

rsity

] at

08:

15 3

0 O

ctob

er 2

014

34 K. Tabulo

Figure 1. Displayed here are eight thumbnail sketches which illustrate the basic compositionalqualities of the featured abstract comics and abstract polyptychs, so that the reader may apprehendthe theory that is applied to each one.

book, Error and Annihilation (2007), as an experimental mini graphic novel. Appel did notclassify her work Where In: A Series of Events (2010), but called it 68 pages of ‘abstractdrawings based on a series of unnamed events’ (Appel 2010). Roos described her 100-pagebook Narrative in Abstract Drawing (2010) as a graphic novel that explores the bound-aries of storytelling; while Badman used the term ‘comics poetry’ to describe his 24-pageabstract comics book Badman’s Cave (2011). He calls himself a web developer and comicsartist/critic. Roos is a fine artist, illustrator and author. Appel is a photographer, graphicartist and artist’s book author. Pearson is a computer programmer, artist and writer. All areidentified as abstract comics creators on the Abstractcomics blog. It should be noted thatcreating abstract comics is often only part of an artist’s repertoire, therefore many artists

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

McM

aste

r U

nive

rsity

] at

08:

15 3

0 O

ctob

er 2

014

Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics 35

do not identify themselves as abstract comics artists. I suggest that a more accurate termfor such multifaceted practitioners is ‘abstract sequential artist’.

Cole’s (2009) report asks more questions about abstract comics. She said that read-ers give meaning to a non-narrative comic through its juxtaposition of colour and shapeswhich are displayed across a series of panels to create the narrative rhythm. Cole believedthat abstract comics evolved now because they are responding to the sentimental autobio-graphical graphic novels that are currently popular. She perceived that abstract comics putform before the story and therefore focus on the medium and not the human, thus targetingthe technique and not the emotion in order to communicate atmosphere and movement.Cole explained that Molotiu’s (2009a) book is for those who are interested in readingcomics and researching sequential art history, but importantly it signifies a new divisionin the comics domain which forces people to consider exactly what constitutes the comicsform.

Traditional polyptychs and abstract polyptychs

In comics theory McCloud (1993) used the term polyptych to describe the continuousbackground that is divided into panels, in which a figure moves to convey the passing oftime. This differs from the original fine arts meaning of polyptych but, in fact, I failed todiscover a contemporary fine arts definition for polyptych that I regard as helpful. Hence,for the purpose of this paper, I offer the following working definition to allow informeddiscussion about the subgenre. As such, a polyptych is a series or sequence of imageson separate surfaces that can cause narrative progression and unite as a whole display toconvey a story and/or a theme. In European culture these multi-panelled works were pop-ular during the Renaissance. They then virtually disappeared, remerging in the nineteenthcentury as romantic statements by some Pre-Raphaelite painters (Plagens 1990). Modernpolyptychs vary in style, technique and theme and are rarely joined, unlike their altarpieceancestors.

The 1432 Ghent Altarpiece by Jan Van Eyck (Gombrich 1995) consists of 24 hingedpanels of representational religious art that depicts nature and marks a thematic andphilosophical shift from the idealized world to real concepts. By contrast, the JapaneseUkiyo-e printmakers of the Edo period (1620–1867) produced polyptychs portrayingscenes of pleasure to distract the viewers from the harsh reality of their world. ToyoharaKunichika’s 1863 polyptych The Gang of Five Coming Home Like Wild Ducks (ReigleNewland 1999) portrays a Kabuki skit about such themes. It has been established thatthe Ukiyo-e style influenced twentieth-century manga artists (Bryce, Davis, and Barber2008; Wheeler MacWilliams 2008) as well as western abstract artists. This was madeevident by the 2009 Guggenheim Museum exhibition The Third Mind: American ArtistsContemplate Asia, 1860–1989, which illustrated the influence of Asian art on Americanartists and included Jackson Pollock’s 1950 polyptych Red Painting 1–7 (GuggenheimMuseum 2009).

Pollock’s abstract polyptych is a rare early example, and literature concerning thisabstract subgenre is limited. I propose that a gap may have occurred in cultural theorybecause there seems to be no focused studies about abstract polyptychs. Perhaps this isbecause they are not regarded as a united subgenre and, like abstract comics, they are onlypart of an artist’s repertoire. This was so for Pollock, whose Red Painting 1–7 (GuggenheimMuseum 2009) demonstrates how abstract polyptychs use selected elements and principlesof art and design to encourage the progression of abstract images across panels and gutters.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

McM

aste

r U

nive

rsity

] at

08:

15 3

0 O

ctob

er 2

014

36 K. Tabulo

Figure 2. Displayed here are eight thumbnail sketches which illustrate the basic compositionalqualities of the featured abstract comics and abstract polyptychs, so that the reader may apprehendthe theory that is applied to each one.

These may have a discordant or harmonious relationship that can unify as a whole com-position to create a hyper-image. I use the term hyper-image to denote the overall imagethat forms when panels coalesce. Pollock’s panels record ‘sequential movements in space’(Cernuschi 1992, 105) in a gradual action-to-action panel transition, that is ‘a single form ina series of actions’ (McCloud 2006, 15). This helps reveal the red forms’ altered states overa period of time and supports the view that McCloud’s transition categories are relevant tofine art forms of abstract sequential art.

Sequential transitions are used in abstract polyptychs to generate rhythmic energy, the4th-dimensional illusion and something that Kuechenmeister (2009) calls ‘inner coher-ence’. This is what I classify as the polyptych mechanism of continuity. These sequentialand temporal progressions are created when panels visually connect through the interplay

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

McM

aste

r U

nive

rsity

] at

08:

15 3

0 O

ctob

er 2

014

Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics 37

of images, which, if effective, can merge them simultaneously into a hyper-image withor without a unifying theme. I identify this process as the polyptych mechanism of unitywhich is affiliated with the Gestalt principle that regards the sum of the whole is greaterthan its parts. Bettley explained that this happens when:

The left brain looks at things consecutively, chronologically, sequentially, in series, the rightbrain looks at things simultaneously, in a Gestalt, perceiving the complete form. This activitymakes it possible to perceive two opposites at once. (Bettley 2001, 166)

For example, the Australian indigenous artist Shane Pickett’s 2007 painting Calling forRain – The Wanyarang Suite (Art Gallery of Western Australia 2012, 9) has eight panelswith individual illustrations that are connected harmoniously by his use of line, tone andmovement, which generates sequential rhythmic energy and the 4th-dimensional illusionowing to the action-to-action panel transition. This is the polyptych mechanism of conti-nuity. Next they unite as one balanced hyper-image of dark and light resembling a visualclimax, which may convey a subliminal theme. This is the mechanism of unity. Eliciting atheme pictorially is like writing a narrative resolution or comics punch lines. A work’s titlemay also influence the theme that the artist and the viewer co-produce.

Elizabeth Murray’s 2001 painting The Lowdown (Storr 2005) demonstrates anotherway abstract polyptychs can be presented. Her panels are canvas-covered wood. Each oneis painted differently in bright cartoon colours that suggest comics humour. The randomlyshaped floating panels may seem slapstick, but continuity and unity are achieved by colourrepetition and the slim connecting panels, which also frame and unite the whole image. Theviewer discerns that the individual panels have their own meaning yet simultaneously workin unison, thus evoking the Gestalt principle. The panels’ meanings may alter when theunifying theme is resolved. Perhaps The Lowdown suggests a hectic life that is ultimatelyfull of joy.

The abstract polyptych mechanisms can be also observed in the works of MarionBorgelt (McGillick 2001), which show very different ways continuity and unity occur.First, the 1995 Primordial Alphabet: Time Figures I-IX (McGillick 2001) is a seriesof images that are discordant due to the different gutter widths, panel images and thesubject-to-subject panel transition, which is ‘a series of changing subjects within a scene’(McCloud 2006, 15). This discord weakens the progression, the sequential rhythmic energyand the 4th-dimensional illusion, but the horizontal panels and vertical gutters are regularand support the lineal reading and the continuity of the work. Order and balance are main-tained by the common panel size and shape, and through the repetition of the limited colourpallet. The hyper-image emerges slowly. Unity is the dominant mechanism.

In Borgelt’s 1999 Primordial Alphabet and Rhythm (McGillick 2001) the panels arehung vertically but hover horizontally and create conflict because: they are the same widthbut different heights; the gutters fluctuate in size; the sequence of panel transition couldstart at either end; the monumental size is astonishing; and there are 10 different cir-cular forms, which create vertical predellas (a predella is a strip of panels that create aborder). The polyptych’s continuity is diminished but the unity is enhanced by the jux-taposition of these conflicting elements. Unity is also strengthened by the symmetricalbalance of colour, panel width and shape repetition. Such strength creates a hyper-image.This work and the previous one demonstrate the need to have sufficient continuity in polyp-tychs to achieve the essential beat required by sequential art forms. The main problemis Borgelt’s use of vertical, aspect-to-aspect panel transition, which is ‘a transition fromone aspect of a place, idea or mood to another’ (McCloud 2006, 15). My research hasfound that vertical panels, subject-to-subject, scene-to-scene, aspect-to-aspect and non-sequitur transitions do not create strong sequential energy and 4th-dimensional illusion

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

McM

aste

r U

nive

rsity

] at

08:

15 3

0 O

ctob

er 2

014

38 K. Tabulo

in abstract polyptychs and abstract comics because each panel is too self-contained. Thisdoes not mean that they should not be used, but moment-to-moment and action-to-actionare the most helpful transitions styles if the artist wants to produce powerful sequentialeffects.

These can be seen in Borgelt’s 2000 Bloodlight Series: Arabesque No.1 (McGillick2001). It has eight panels with only long, narrow vertical gutters that evenly intersect theimage, which could have easily been displayed as a single panel. Indeed many modernpolyptychs are a divided single image and, unless done with an aesthetic purpose, canbecome kitsch or futile. In Arabesque No.1 Borgelt perfects this format and generatesimpressive continuity through the congruency of panel and gutter lengths combined withspiralling shapes that are dissected and subtly appear again in the next panel. These effectsalso create unity but have the initial ability to distract the viewer from the hyper-image byinducing strong sequential energy and 4th-dimensional illusion with moment-to-momentpanel transition (McCloud 2006). It is possible that as the smoky swirls link, a hypnoticclimax is achieved, an intention is resolved and a theme is revealed. This movement may beseen as either slow motion or brisk arabesques, reminiscent of Pollock’s seven red forms.

Abstract pseudo-polyptychs and abstract comics

The same Pollock polyptych was selected by Molotiu (2009a) when, in his seminal text,he scanned history of abstract fine art for any connections to abstract comics. He seemedreluctant to ascertain strong links but believed that a relationship began when early abstractartists engaged with the notion of series and produced abstract polyptychs, although he didnot use this term. The examples Molotiu cited extend the parameters of polyptychs froma suite of panels to include single artworks with panels embedded in the picture surface,which may be separated by gutters and predellas. For the lack of another word, I proposethe term abstract pseudo-polyptychs to describe such works. Created on a single surface,they closely resemble an abstract comics page.

Pierre Alechinsky’s abstract pseudo-polyptychs were created at the same time as under-ground comics provocateur Robert Crumb was flirting with abstract comics. Alechinsky’swork (Alechinsky, Chichac, and Quignard 2005) resembles comics with sequential abstractpanels, which often form predellas around a central image like a Renaissance polyp-tych. As does his 1975 lithograph Chapeau Fort (Alechinsky, Chichac, and Quignard2005). When Molotiu (2009a) saw Alechinsky’s art he realised the potential of creatingan abstract comics style. Perhaps by referencing such works Molotiu unwittingly provideda stronger connection between abstract comics and abstract polyptychs than he intended.Some comics conventions that he identified in his fine arts examples were: images withideogrammatic graphic quality; narrative arcs; last panel punch lines; popular culture ref-erences; black and white compositions; and panel placement and page layouts with therhythmic beat of a comics page. Molotiu also stated that it is a lack of this beat or sequen-tial drive in abstract polyptychs that defines the difference between these types. I agreeand suggest that the idea could be extended by asserting that their differences are rootedin the distinction between the abstract polyptych mechanisms of continuity and unity, andthe abstract comics mechanisms of sequential dynamism and iconostasis (Molotiu 2012).Sequential dynamism is described as:

the formal visual energy, created by compositional and other elements internal to each paneland by the layout, that in a comic propels the reader’s eye from panel to panel and from pageto page, and that imparts a sense of sustained or varied visual rhythms. (Molotiu 2012, 89)

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

McM

aste

r U

nive

rsity

] at

08:

15 3

0 O

ctob

er 2

014

Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics 39

Molotiu also explained that iconostasis is:

the perception of the layout of a comics page as a unified composition; perception whichprompts us not so much to scan the comic from panel to panel in the accepted direction ofreading but to take it at a glance, the way we take in an abstract painting. (Molotiu 2012, 91)

He stated that in abstract comics, even though dynamism and stasis seem to be oppositeforces, ‘iconostatic perception, rather than conflicting with sequential dynamism is a pre-requisite for it; the two go hand in hand’ (Molotiu 2012, 93). He declared that a coreaesthetic consequence of abstract comics is the ‘harmonization and reconciliation’ of thesetwo mechanisms.

How do these mechanisms help differentiate abstract comics from abstract polyptychs?I suggest that sequential dynamism creates narrative drive to entice abstract comics bookreaders to the final panel or to turn the page, while polyptych continuity connects panelswith the intention of inducing inner cohesion within the picture plane. Another differenceis that this cohesion creates polyptych unity in order to produce a hyper-image finale byenticing viewers to absorb the whole work of art, producing a Gestalt closure, whereasin abstract comics iconostasis draws viewers into its compositionally unified page but notso far as to detract from the work’s sequential dynamism or to generate a gestalt closure;although it may prompt a theme.

The vertical or horizontal linear decoding of comics may distract people from seeingwith iconostatic perception, but decoding generates 4th-dimensional illusion in abstractcomics. In abstract polyptychs this illusion is manipulated by the Gestalt effect and mayhold the viewer’s attention longer. This means that, if reading an abstract comics page frompanel to panel is like blinking slowly in order to see ‘all’ and iconostatic perception is likeglimpsing a vision, then creating a polyptych hyper-image is the wide-eyed realization ofseeing something for the first time or having a new idea that is not fleeting but enduring.Each of these responses is an ‘enlivened aesthetic experience’ (Molotiu 2012) and all relyon the artist’s intention to influence others, and the viewer’s willingness to participate.

Both abstract comics and abstract polyptychs rely on their unique mechanisms toreach an ending in order to convey their concepts. When people apprehend and interpretnon-objective, non-narrative works they become active co-creators of the abstract visualintentions and themes that may be conveyed (Boichel 2003). This engagement is intendedto promote their appreciation of the work and have a transformative effect on both creators,which are often aims of all types of art. However, Meskin (2007, 370) rightly warned thatit would be inappropriate to ‘assume a priori that the author or authors of a comic intendeither to convey information or to produce an aesthetic response’. Therefore it is possiblethat abstract sequential artists may or may not deliberately manipulate others’ aestheticperception of time and theme.

This returns the discussion to Molotiu’s (2012) new comics theory that is based on theabsence of diegetic time in abstract comics, which in turn renders McCloud’s (1993) tem-poral transition categories redundant. I propose that Molotiu failed to address the conceptof the viewer as a co-author who subconsciously creates a notional narrative and determinesthe 4th-dimensional illusion by intuitively interpreting panels and applying McCloud’s cat-egories. I urge the reader to look at examples of the genre and decide if he/she became theco-creator of a story and experienced the 4th-dimensional illusion. Look for the mecha-nisms of continuity and unity, sequential dynamism or iconostasis and finally decide if theartist used panel transitions to generate 4th-dimensional illusion and notional narrative orthemes.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

McM

aste

r U

nive

rsity

] at

08:

15 3

0 O

ctob

er 2

014

40 K. Tabulo

Conclusion

‘Closure for blood, gutters for veins’ was McCloud’s (1993, 73) rallying call to comicsartists, but it seems the abstract comics exponents are making their own truisms andentering new frontiers with some fine artist counterparts. Just as comics culture wasappropriated by ‘hip’ Pop artists, today some ‘off-beat’ comics artists are deliberatelyappropriating fine arts abstract techniques, thus narrowing the gap between these domainsat the same time as broadening the scope of both. Also, just as the Pop Art movement wasregarded as radical 60 years ago, today abstract comics bemuse the contemporary comicscommunity.

To explain abstract sequential art to the wider arts community I have altered my pre-liminary working definition to include the new subgenre theories. Therefore, it is possiblethat abstract sequential art could be regarded as: sequentially juxtaposed abstract imagesthat focus on form and technique to induce continuity and unity or sequential dynamismand iconostasis, which may elicit from the viewer an aesthetic response, a notional narra-tive and/or a possible theme. This means that all forms of abstract sequential art presentabstract subject matter across a series of panels, often with the intention of creating nar-rative rhythm rather than an identifiable story. However, it is noted that the artist cannotcontrol viewers’ intuitive desire to invent narratives, themes and the passage of time. Manyworks traverse subgenre boundaries and manipulate conventions to generate sequentialdynamism or continuity, and iconostasis or unity, depending on the format and the artist’sintention. All of these affect the way panel transitions generate 4th-dimensional illusionand the possibility that others may intuitively become co-authors. Finally, it is anticipatedthat as novice or professional artists continue to explore new themes, media, techniquesand forms, they will stimulate innovative practice and theories about abstract sequentialart, which I regard as an authentic twenty-first-century phenomenon.

Notes on contributorKym Tabulo is full time doctoral candidate and a part time art teacher and a practicing artist. As partof her practiced-based research project she is creating a 150 page sequential abstract composition,recording the process and writing an exegesis. Kym is based at the University of the Sunshine Coastin Queensland, Australia.

ReferencesAlechinsky, Pierre, Céline Chichac, and Marie-Françoise Quignard. 2005. Les impressions de Pierre

Alechinsky. Paris: Bibliotheque Nationale de France.Appel, Rosaire. 2010. Where In: A Series of Events. Accessed March 3, 2012. http://rosaireappel.

blogspot.com.au/search/label/bookArt Gallery of Western Australia. 2012. AGWA Schools Program: Investigate, Create, Educate

2013. Accessed November 20, 2012. http://www.artgallery.wa.gov.au/education/documents/AGWA_Schoolsbrochure2012_2013_000.pdf

Badman, Derik. 2006. Bleu by Lewis Trondheim. Accessed May 8, 2012. http://madinkbeard.com/archives/bleu-by-lewis-trondheim

Badman, Derik. 2011. Badman’s Cave. Accessed December 20, 2012. http://madinkbeard.com/archives/badmans-cave/

Bettley, James. 2001. The Art of the Book. London: V&A.Boichel, Bill. 2003. “Toward an Understanding of the Unique Relation of Manual Image Making to

Temporality.” The Daily Davis. Accessed September 26, 2012. http://homepage.mac.com/bem/1DailyDavis/ManualImage.html

Bryce, Mio, Jason Davis, and Christie Barber. 2008. “The Cultural Biographies and Social Livesof Manga: Lessons from the Mangaverse.” Scan Journal 5 (2). Accessed May 25, 2012.http://scan.net.au/scan/journal/display.php?journal_id=114

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

McM

aste

r U

nive

rsity

] at

08:

15 3

0 O

ctob

er 2

014

Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics 41

Carrier, David. 2000. The Aesthetics of Comics. University Park, PA: Penn State University Press.Cernuschi, Claude. 1992. Jackson Pollock: Meaning and Significance. New York: Harper Collins.Cole, Sara. 2009. Abstract Comics. Accessed February 4, 2011. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/

feature/110024-abstract-comics/Drucker, Johanna. 2004. The Century of Artists’ Books. New York: Granary.Duffy, Damien. 2009. “Learning from Comics on the Wall: Sequential Art Narrative Design in an

Museology and Multimodal Education.” Visual Arts Research 35 (1): 1–11Eisner, Will. 1985. Comics and Sequential Art. Tamarac, FL: Poorhouse.Gombrich, E. H. 1995. The Story of Art. London: Phaidon.Guggenheim Museum. 2009. The Third Mind: American Artists Contemplate Asia, 1860–1989.

Accessed December 8, 2012. http://www.guggenheim.org/images/content/pdf/new_york/press/thirdmind_presskit.pdf

Hayman, Greg, and Henry Pratt. 2005. “What Are Comics?” In A Reader in Philosophy of the Arts,edited by David Goldblatt and Lee Brown, 419–424. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Jackson, Donald. 2009. Cognitive Comics: A Constructivist Approach to Sequential Art. AccessedSeptember 18, 2012. http://cognitivecomics.webs.com/CognitiveComics_2ndEdition.pdf

Kuechenmeister, Bobby. 2009. “Reading Comics Rhetorically: Orality, Literacy, andHybridity in Comic Narrative.” Scan Journal 6 (1). Accessed June 11, 2012.http://scan.net.au/scan/journal/display.php?journal_id=132

Lefevre, Pascal. 2011. “Some Medium Specific Qualities of Graphic Sequence.” Substance #124 40(1): 26–30.

McCloud, Scott. 1993. Understanding Comics. Northampton, MA: Kitchen Sink.McCloud, Scott. 2000. Reinventing Comics. New York: Harper Collins.McCloud, Scott. 2006. Making Comics, Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels.

New York: Harper Collins.McGillick, Paul. 2001. “Illusion as Metaphor – The Art of Marion Borgelt.” Art and Australia 39

(1): 74–83.Meskin, Aaron. 2007. “Defining Comics?” Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 65: 369–379.Molotiu, Andrei, ed. 2009a. Abstract Comics: The Anthology. Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics.Molotiu, Andrei. 2009b. “Unexpected Precursors: Scott McCloud, Part 2.” Abstractcomics Blog.

Accessed November 12, 2012. http://abstractcomics.blogspot.com.au/2009/10/unexpected-precursors-scott-mccloud.html

Molotiu, Andrei. 2012. “Abstract Form.” In Critical Approaches to Comics: Theories and Methods,edited by Randy Duncan and Matthew Smith, 88–100. Oxford: Routledge.

Pearson, Anders. 2007. Error and Annihilation. Accessed July 13, 2012. http://www.lulu.com/shop/anders-pearson/error-and-annihilation/paperback/product-2008158.html

Plagens, Peter. 1990. “When Once Is Not Enough.” Newsweek 116 (2): 62–23. AccessedSeptember 30, 2011. http://ezproxy.usc.edu.au:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=heh&AN=9007091201&site=ehost-live

Reigle Newland, Amy. 1999. Time Past and Time Present, Images of a Forgotten Master, ToyoharaKunichika (1835–1900). Leiden: Hotei.

Roos, Nina. 2010. Narrative in Abstract Drawing. Accessed December 12, 2012. http://ninaroos.wordpress.com/boekpresentatie/abstract-comic-preview-pages/

Spaulding, Amy. 1995. The Page As a Stage Set: Storyboard Picture Books. Metuchen, NJ:Scarecrow.

Storr, Robert. 2005. Elizabeth Murray. London: Thames & Hudson.Tensuan, Theresa. 2006. “Comic Visions and Revisions in the Work of Lynda Barry and Marjane

Satrapi.” Modern Fiction Studies 52 (4): 947–964.Trondheim, Lewis. 2003. Bleu, L’Association. Accessed December 18, 2012. http://www.youtube.

com/watch?v=eUO_3d6hAlYWheeler MacWilliams, Mark, ed. 2008. Japanese Visual Culture: Explorations in the World of Manga

and Anime. Armonk, NY: Sharpe.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

McM

aste

r U

nive

rsity

] at

08:

15 3

0 O

ctob

er 2

014