Cartoonmuseum Basel shows the work of comic artist Blutch
Published: Thursday, Nov 9th 2023, 17:00
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The Cartoonmuseum Basel is dedicating the first retrospective in the German-speaking world to the French comic artist Christian Hincker, alias Blutch. The exhibition spans an arc from his comic classics to his fascination with jazz.
"Music nourishes my work," said Blutch during the media tour of the exhibition. Jazz pieces from the personal playlist of the artist, who was born in Strasbourg in 1967, can be heard in the background. Jazz not only sounds here, but is also on paper.
The power of improvising musicians is immortalized both in his comic book from 2004 ("Total Jazz") and on festival posters. The constant search for adventure, the dissonances, hardly any repetition, but instead an eternal development - all this fascinates him about jazz. And this description can also be applied to his entire oeuvre.
In terms of drawing, this goes in many different directions. Each exhibition room therefore shows different facets of the comic artist. Blutch describes some of his works as "paper theater", i.e. comics that are close to theatrical in their form. His newly published graphic novel "La mer à boire" takes a different approach: "It's a long love poem," said Blutch.
Paper theater and painted poetry
The comic book began at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The illustrator used his retreat into the private sphere to work in his closest surroundings. In the same room, there are also portraits of children on display that are reminiscent of Renoir, as he himself said.
"La mer à boire" also contains many references to "Tintin" by Hergé. In general, he deliberately uses quotations and pastiches as a stylistic device. Be it in homages to the great comics from Asterix to Lucky Luke or to films by Godard, Fellini and Buñuel.
The comics about "Little Christian", who is also well-known in German-speaking countries, are autobiographical and focus on the illustrator's youth in Alsace. "La beauté", on the other hand, consists of silent scenes in pastel shades. Or in the words of Blutch during his visit to Basel: "This is painted poetry".
The exhibition "Blutch. Demain!" can be seen at the Cartoonmuseum Basel from November 11, 2023 to February 11, 2024.
©Keystone/SDA
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