Sunday, March 18, 2012

WHITHER MOEBIUS



It's been a week since the death of Jean "Moebius" Giraud. He was arguably the best living artist (by which I mean "creator", as he rarely worked with other writers) using comics as a medium. Which may sound like damning with faint praise, but the public perception of comics, especially in North America, is limited. Kind of like thinking Fast Five or Transformers represent what movies are, or are capable of.

In France his death was front page news. There has been an outpouring of accolades from around the world by artists, writers, filmmakers etc of every stripe. His influence can be (easily) seen in the work of others, in comics, film, video games; there's probably stuff you like which you weren't even aware owe him a debt. I said to someone last week: "Attempting to collate his influence would be an endless exercise in futility. He has been absolutely crushing it for 50 years. Peerless." 


Lines and Colors post observing his passing, featuring his artwork.

Quenched Conciousness is a blog dedicated to his artwork. It is awesome; it is vast.

Remembrances by people in his industry.

A look at some work for film and gaming.

Here's a blog where artists have been posting work in tribute.

Images of last year's 5 month Moebius exhibition at the Fondation Cartier pour l'art Contemporain in Paris.

The Comics Reporter's roundup of industry reaction to the death of Moebius.

Some video:





"We artists can only go so far as the people can follow us. We are not alone, we are part of the system. We can take risks, but if you want to go to the peak of your consciousness, you may very well find yourself alone. Even if you know how to translate what you see, maybe only ten people will be able to understand what you tell. But, if you have faith in your vision, and retell it again and again, you will start noticing that, after a time, more people will begin to catch up with you."

"They said that I changed their life, ‘You changed my life. Your work is why I became an artist.’ Oh, it makes me happy. But you know at same time I have an internal broom to clean it all up. It can be dangerous to believe it. Someone wrote, ‘Moebius is a legendary artist.’... A legend — now I am like a unicorn."

People never really got over his work. I doubt they'll get over his death.