Skip to main content

On a graphic novel by Kay Hartmann

Kay Hartmann, Associate Professor in Graphic Design at Columbia College Chicago, specializes in advertising and information design, and has taught in design programs in Germany and Italy. One of her recent projects included working in Cabo Verde, Africa, on branding graphics for sustainable tourism. She also became involved with the case of a Kurdish immigrant who was seeking to remain in the USA in order to escape possible persecution in Turkey. (NB: For reasons relating to a pending US Supreme Court case, the Kurdish man is referred to here as 'I.') Just this year, Kay completed a stunning graphic novel describing I.'s story. It's titled 'Dear Livia', and it's unlike any graphic novel I've ever seen. 



Kay Hartmann, from 'Dear Livia' (Click image to see more legible version of the text)


Philip: Why did you choose the graphic novel form as a way of telling this Kurdish man's story?

Kay: I wanted to present this complicated and true story by distilling and compressing the information, without dumbing it down. I figured that if I used a compelling and entertaining format like the graphic novel, more people would read it. Also, this story is about an oppressed political hero, which seems a perfect subject for a graphic novel.

Philip: What was your working process for developing the material (hand-made, photoshop, both, etc)?

Kay: I know how to draw, as I was an undergrad art major, but I am definitely not an illustrator. As an art director and  graphic designer, I work with illustrators, but I don't possess illustrator skills and techniques. So I started with writing the story, then gathered references: photos, graphic styles, textures, etc. At first, I drew the main characters in a simplified graphic style, as well as a realistic drawing style, but neither style by itself fit the content well. Once I discovered a way of combining photos with  simplified and symbolic graphics, I was happy. Of course I relied heavily on Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign.

Kay Hartmann, from 'Dear Livia' (Click image to see more legible version of the text)

Philip: How is the book going to be published and distributed? Ideally, what effect would you like the book to have?

Kay: Well, the effect I want is that this book will help keep I. safe and free, with his  legal resident status restored and/or citizenship granted.  As for publishing, I am pursuing all venues, digital, traditional and on-demand printing. I will make a decision as soon as the US Supreme Court makes its own decision in this case, which should be around about now.

Philip: Do you think you will use the graphic novel form again?

Kay: The graphic novel was a great fit for this project, but I don't think I'll do another like it. I'm currently working on an illustrated creative nonfiction piece, called "A Breast Cancer Journal," that will have an information design style.
 Subscribe to Praeterita in a reader
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Restoring my Printing Press

I've just finished restoring and assembling my large etching press -- a six week process involving lots of rust removal, scrubbing with steel wool, and repainting. Here is a photo of the same kind of press from the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative: And here is a short YouTube video of me testing the press, making sure the motor still works after nearly seven years of lying in storage:
Click here to read more

Brancusi in Plastic

Artist Mary Ellen Croteau is showing these columns made from recycled plastic cartons and lids in the window of the Columbia College bookstore on Michigan Avenue. They are a playful homage to Brancusi's "Endless Columns", with a serious environmental message for our times: Image copyright Inhabitat.com and Mary Ellen Croteau Mary Ellen also runs a wonderful experimental art gallery in a window space in west Chicago, called Art on Armitage . I will be exhibiting a mixed media piece there during August 2012.
Click here to read more

How to etch a linoleum block

Linoleum as a material for printmaking has been used for nearly a hundred years now. Normally, you cut an image out using special gouges similar to woodcut tools, cutting away the lino around the image you want to print. This is called relief printmaking, because if you look at the block from the side, the material that remains stands up in relief from the backing material. You then roll ink with a brayer over the surface of the block, place paper over it, and either print by hand or run it through a press. You can do complex things this way (for example, reduction linocuts), but the beauty of the process is that it is quick, simple, and direct. Incised lino block, from me.redith.com Etched lino block, from Steve Edwards A few years ago, I saw some prints that were classified as coming from etched linoleum blocks, and I loved the textures I saw in them. In the last few months, I've been trying to use this technique in my own studio, learning about it as one does these d...
Click here to read more