Distancies from Reality. Closeness and farness in Igort’s “Notebooks”

Authors

  • Marcello Serra Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
  • Rayco González Universidad de Burgos

Abstract

In recent years, along with the growth in documentation that characterises our society, we have witnessed the rise of the non-fiction narrative genres, which have extended their domain to territories that are historically unconcerned with the representation of reality. Comics is one of them, and its authors are frequently forced to look for original solutions to old problems.

This article focuses on two works by the Italian comic artist Igort, The Ukranian Notebooks and The Russian Notebooks, which describe the atrocities of the Holodomor and of the Russian-Chechen war. The analysis of these comic-books involves a reflection on the problem of distance (close, not close, distant, not distant) from their source and the reality, a central issue in any historical, journalistic or documentary narrative. Applying the analytical tools of structural semiotics and of the historiography of present times, this article illustrates the complex strategy of getting close and moving away carried out by Igort with the purpose of representing a specific reality. At the same time, it argues some theoretical issues concerning the use of witnesses, testimonies, and documents among the disciplines that aspire to narrate historical or cultural reality. 

Keywords

semiotics, distance, comics, document, witness, Igort

References

CHAPMAN, J. (2009). Issues in Contemporary Documentary. Cambridge: Polity Press.

CHUTE, H. (2016). Disaster Drawn: Visual Witness, Comics and Documentary Form. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

FARGE, A. (1987). Le goût de l’archive. París: Le Seuil.

FERRARIS, M. (2017). «La revolución documedial». Revista de Occidente, 434-435, 9-48.

GARCIA, P. (2010). «Histoire du temps présent». En: C. DELACROIX; F. DOSSE; P. GARCIA; N. OFFENSTADT. Historiographies, I. Concepts et débats. París: Folio, 282-294.

GONZÁLEZ, R.; SERRA, M. (2017). «El cómic y las funciones documentales». Revista de Occidente, 434-435, 169-179.

GREIMAS, A. J. (1984). «Sémiotique figurative et sémiotique plastique». Actes Sémiotiques, 60.

GREIMAS, A. J.; COURTÉS, J. (1982). Semiótica. Diccionario razonado de la teoría del lenguaje. Madrid: Gredos.

HARTOG, F. (2005). Evidencia de la historia. México DF: Fondo de Cultura Económica.

HEINICH, N. (2009). La fabrique du patrimoine: De la petite cuillère à la grande cathédrale. París: Maison des Sciences de l’Homme.

IGORT (2012). Pagine nomadi. Bolonia: Coconino Press.

JAKOBSON, R. (1975). Ensayos de lingüística general. Madrid: Ariel.

LÉVI-STRAUSS, C. (1961). Antropología estructural. Buenos Aires: Eudeba.

LOZANO, J. (1987). El discurso histórico. Madrid: Alianza.

— (2013). «El discurso periodístico: entre el discurso histórico y la fiction. Hacia una semiótica del acontecimiento». Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodístico, 1, 165-76.

MICKWITZ, N. (2016). Documentary Comics. Graphic Truth-Telling in a Skeptical Age. Londres: Palgrave MacMillan.

NICHOLS, B. (2010). Introduction to Documentary. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

SHKLOVSKI, Victor (1991). «El arte como artificio». En: T. TODOROV (ed.). Teoría de la literatura de los formalistas rusos. México DF: Siglo XXI.

WIEVIORKA, A. (1998). L’ère du témoin. París: Plon.

Published

01-06-2018

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.