Nick Wirtz' Show

Artist Statement

I would posit that the comic, as a modern art form, shares notable historical similarities with film, the other narrative medium of the age. Both have struggled for legitimacy as an art form, but I believe that comics now lag behind. There are precious few works in the comic world that are recognized for their vision, and even fewer of these are known for their artists, and I do not believe that this is due to a lack of recognition, but a lack of vision.

But, I hope for a change in the medium. In the same way that image in film is as important as the dialogue, I believe that comics, as a visual narrative medium needs not a hierarchy of aspects, but a more thorough and even synthesis. I believe that the comic medium needs a shift towards Lazslo Moholy-Nagy’s concept of the Typophoto. He envisioned an experimental medium in which text and image were not only equally relevant to communication, but were inseparable and, in some cases, indistinguishable from each other. I strongly believe in the spirit of his proposal. In short, it is high time that the visual language of comics evolves.

I chose the mode of adaptation as an experiment in passing down a text. When one retells something, it is naturally transformed: tthere is another voice and another experience added to the narrative. Ray Bradbury’s work has always affected me on a very visual level, and it was this personal visual experience that I attempt to evoke in my retelling of his work. What I connect with are his worlds, his atmosphere, his pacing, and I want to pass on this experience. The text creates the narrative, and the images make the world.

Note: These are intended to be included in a collection of somewhere between half a dozen and a dozen short stories, making a rough chronology of humanity, from the late Nineteenth Century onward.

Images from "Kaleidoscope"

Pages from "The Scythe"

Installation Photos