Interview with The Holy Consumption's Jeffrey Brown

Adrian K Sanders writing for I V Y paris
Jeffrey Brown was kind enough to share his thoughts about how The Holy Consumption's showing at Galerie Anne Barrault, being an "artist" and his thoughts on French BD. If you're not familiar with Brown's work, check out Clumsy and the greatest book ever made for cat lovers, "Cat Getting Out of Bag and Other Observations."

Interview after the jump.

Jeffrey Brown 'Missing The Mountains' sketchbook, 2008, pen on paper, 10.5 cmx 14cm (21 cm x 14cm open) from Galerie Anne Barrault

I V Y How did the idea for a paris show come about?

Felicia Atkinson, who was working for Galerie Anne Barrault, had the opportunity to curate a show. She was studying here in Chicago, and met the three of us, inviting us to all have a show together. Although we're all together on The Holy Consumption (along with John Hankiewicz), we're usually working alone, so it's nice to have a new venue to present our work together, in a new context.

I V Y Is this the first type of "art show" for you guys?

I've had various works in gallery shows before, but this is the first time where my work has been one of the focal points. Before it's always been in group shows, most recently the Dave Eggers curated show 'Lots of things like this' at Apex Art in New York. A few years ago all four of us from the Holy Consumption did put together a kind of window display at a local used bookstore here in Chicago, but I'd say we've all changed quite a bit since then.

I V Y Do you consider the works on display illustrations or comics or both?

The books I'd say are comics, the drawings are drawings...I don't really worry about what they're going to be labeled as, I'll leave that for other people to decide. As an artist I just want to make the work and leave the categorizing to someone else.

I V Y In what ways do these work differ from comics, is there a different approach when you're making it?

Traditionally in comics, the final published book has been the 'art' - the drawings are just in service of the published version. In art school, I had the idea of the  original drawings being the final work, imagining the book as it's own final result. I think there's an intimacy to the real, tangible marks on paper as opposed to the printed versions, where you still can get the story but you lose a little bit of that life that comes with the actual drawings. As for approach, I pretty much approach all of my art making the same way. It's all just having an idea and finding the way to express it.

I V Y Do you consider yourself an artist or a cartoonist?

I'd say I'm a cartoonist, and also an artist, in the same way that a painter or a sculptor is an artist.

I V Y What do you think about the BD (bande dessinee or French comics) culture in France if you're familiar with it?

It's a constant thorn in my side that I can't read French, there's so many books I'd like to read that aren't translated. It seems that many French cartoonists tend to have a more solid grounding in a fine art background, and so there's a different attitude to it all.

I V Y Are there BD cartoonists you know now that you like?

Tardi and Moebius are two who I've always loved, and more recently Sfar, Larecenet, Ludovic Deberme, Frederic Poincelet, Trondheim, David B. ...there's more, but those who come to mind off the top of my head.

I V Y What are some differences between BD in France and comics in America?

I feel like the art aspect is still looked down upon in the American comics scene, even amongst the alternative comics. There's a bias toward realism, a bias toward narrative, a bias toward heavily rendered or illustrative style drawing. But maybe the bias is there in France too, and it doesn't seem like it to me because I only look for the work that I want to see.

I V Y Do you feel like more and more galleries are expressing interest in your works or do you feel like this is a one time thing? Could this be an increasing trend – for galleries to approach established cartoonists?

I think it's been an increasing trend for a while, for comics in general. I guess it's increasing for me personally, but it's hard to say if that's part of the general trend, or because my career has continued to grow.

I V Y After this show, if you begin finding that the art world is more lucrative than the comics world, will that change how you consider your work?

No, money has never been the motivating factor... I'm sure there's more money to be made in the art world, but I just hope to continue making the work I want to make, and hopefully I'll be able to make enough money from whatever that may be. Right now I have so many comics projects I want to do, it's hard for me to think of what will come next.