| Summary: | Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. === ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis explores an analysis of autobiographical illustration, as it relates directly
to autobiographical devices employed in Bitterkomix and my own visual journals. The
result is a practitioner-specific approach that frames my own work within a discourse
of comics and consequently within the larger discourse of visual narrative. These
devices are analysed in the works of artists in Bitterkomix who employ
autobiography, not only as a means of effecting more intimate interactions between
the reader and the narrative, but also as a form of legitimising narrative. A principal
deduction that I have made is that autobiographical writing operates through the filter
of memory and language translation. A divergence occurs within Bitterkomix, as well
as within my own work, between the artist as himself and the artist as his
autobiographical self - the two are never identical. I choose to define
autobiographical illustration as an interpretative and experimental visual writing
process used to affirm and negate perceived concepts of self through the filters of
memory, language translation and imagination. Imagination acts as an extension of
current memory from which perceived past, present and future identity constructs
emanate and extend. These constructs are by no means indicative of historical fact
but often appear to be so given autobiography's association as a referential text. The
visual journal as an autobiographical object, like Bitterkomix, seeks to legitimise itself
in 'naturalising narrative' by feigning to make it the outcome of a documentative
process. It is exactly the tension between autobiography's perceived characteristic as
a genre that involves 'real' experiences and its actual function as a narrative
construction of identity that merits its use as a strategic device. I argue how my visual
journals constitute autobiographical narrative objects and archives of
autobiographical illustrative form and content. This tension is amplified in my visual
journals in their association as deeply personal objects and as a result of what is
perceived to be the artist's natural process. Most importantly, these narrative objects
are placed within the public's gaze and are made to be read as autobiographical
texts, ultimately as documents of this process. === AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis ondersoek outobiografiese illustrasie wat direk verband hou met
outobiografiese praktyke wat in Bitterkomix en in my eie visuele joernale gebruik
word. Die resultaat is 'n praktisyn-spesifieke aanslag wat my eie werk binne die
diskoers van stripkuns plaas, en sodoende binne die groter diskoers van visuele
narratief. Hierdie praktyke word geanaliseer in die werk van Bitterkomix-kunstenaars
wat outobiografie gebruik, nie net as 'n manier om meer intieme interaksies tussen
die leser en die narratief te bewerkstellig nie, maar ook om die narratief legitiem te
maak. Ek maak die afleiding dat outobiografiese skryfwerk deur die filters van
geheue en taal werksaam is. In beide Bitterkomix en my eie werk is 'n skeiding
tussen die kunstenaar self en die kunstenaar se outobiografiese self sigbaar – die
twee is nooit identies nie. Ek verkies om outobiografiese illustrasie te definieer as 'n
interpretatiewe en eksperimentele visuele skryfproses wat gebruik word om
waargenome begrippe van die self deur die filters van geheue, vertaling en
verbeelding te bevestig en te negeer. Die verbeelding dien as 'n voortsetting van
huidige geheue waaruit waargenome identiteitskonstrukte van die verlede, hede en
toekoms voortvloei. Hierdie konstrukte is geensins aanduidend van historiese feite
nie, maar kom dikwels so voor gegewe outobiografie se assosiasie as verwysende
teks. My argument is dat my visuele joernale beide outobiografiese narratiewe
objekte én argiewe van outobiografiese illustratiewe vorm en inhoud is. Visuele
joernale as outobiografiese objekte, soos in die geval van Bitterkomix, probeer sigself
legitiem maak deur middel van 'naturaliserende narratief', deur voor te gee dat dit die
resultaat van 'n dokumenterende proses is. Dit is juis die spanning tussen
outobiografie se aard as 'n genre wat gegrond is op 'ware' ervaringe, en outobiografie
se funksie as 'n narratiewe konstruksie, wat die gebruik daarvan as 'n strategiese
middel die moeite werd maak. Hierdie spanning word in my visuele joernale verhoog
deur hulle diep persoonlike aard, en as gevolg van wat gesien word as die
kunstenaar se natuurlike proses. Belangriker nog is dat hierdie narratiewe objekte
binne die publiek se sigveld geplaas word om as outobiografiese tekste gelees te
word, en ook uiteindelik as dokumente van die proses.
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