uncomics (lowercase)

The neologism “uncomics” was coined by Allan Haverholm in his 2018 thesis about abstract and nonlinear modes on the periphery of comics. The implication is that “comics” in both a colloquial and scholar sense overwhelmingly refers to products of the industrial mainstream such as it exists. This means that experimental works venturing outside of that mold to expand on the potential of the art form are summarily dismissed as “not comics” or, in a slight spin to dodge the air of gatekeeping — “uncomics”.

While acknowledging the history and scholarship of comics as a mass medium and its largely literary qualities, uncomics as a field of artistic research and practice is concerned more with the expansive periphery of the art form, and relating it to contemporary visual art movements of the 20th and 21st centuries. Crucially, uncomics is not concerned with “high” or “low” arts, but only with bridging the respective frameworks and allowing them to inform each other to mutual benefit.

Uncomics (uppercase)

As the masthead says, Uncomics is a project to explore the intersection between comics and contemporary art — in practice and theory. It currently consists of three complementary subprojects: A print anthology, the Uncomics podcast, and the site you are currently browsing.

The purpose of this site is to further develop the concept of lowercase-uncomics, to shine a light on artists working in that interdisciplinary field, and to serve as a platform to bring together both scholars and creatives in that pursuit.

Contribute

Want to contribute to the work? Excellent, we* welcome thoughtful and incisive contributions, whether they be analyses of the interplay between comics and modern art, artistic research into that field, or comments to published articles.

Send yours to submissions@uncomics.org!

(* the royal “we”)