This claims to be a video but only the audio is working for me. However, either way you slice it, acclaimed novelist Zadie Smith and cartoonist Chris Ware talking about stories at the New York Public Library is a fascinating team-up. For those who cannot absorb audio, there’s a write-up of their December chat here.
It was then that Smith recognized a deeply-engrained commonality between them: although both were modern artists, they did not only want to experiment with clever concepts where the reader laughed at the joke and walked away. Rather, they aimed to create innovative pieces that were emotionally stirring in the way of a Caravaggio painting or Tolstoy novel.
I got to hear Chris Ware talk on stage with Daniel Clowes at the Oakland Museum of modern art. They were both hilarious and inspiring. After that I decided to get one of Ware’s book and I picked up “Lint.” It was one of the best comics I have ever read. I really want to get his other works as soon as possible.
LINT is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever read, too. And the only reason it hasn’t gotten more attention is that every book Chris Ware makes is equally astonishing.
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