Heather Faye Kahn, December 13th, 2022

The 348th meeting of the NY Comics & Picture-story Symposium, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022 at 7pm EST.

Heather Faye Kahn on the versatility & ubiquity of cartoon characters

Since at least the post-modernist 80s, “low brow” & “high brow” symbols have become increasingly interchangeable. Cartoon characters, for example, travel freely between class, social identities, spatial dimensions, & time. Because cartoon characters usually possess expressive faces & bodies similar to ours, they are relatable in a way other symbols are not. What does it feel like to be a cartoon character who can move freely between these dimensions? How do we determine the difference between fine art & an illustration when the symbols being used are the same?

Faye Kahn is based in New York. From 2011-2017 she hosted a weekly music show on WFMU, an independent radio station located in Jersey City, NJ. During this time she also created 2 risograph comic books, one self published & one published by Perfectly Acceptable Press, & made countless animated gifs & illustrations for her Tumblr “Yex.” She still occasionally makes appearances on WFMU.

Faye's arena page discussed in the talk

https://www.are.na/faye-kahn/cartoon-vernacular-in-fine-art