|
BOBC |
 |
 |
 |
|
Reingold, Matt. "James Sturm’s Market Day as contemporary commentary on the Jewish community." Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics 6. (2015): 91–99. Added by: joachim (10/22/16, 5:01 PM) Last edited by: joachim (10/22/16, 5:03 PM) |
 |
| Resource type: Journal Article Language: en: English Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1080/21504857.2014.970729 BibTeX citation key: Reingold2015 Email resource to friend View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: "Market Day", Alternative Comics, Art, Judaism, Metaisierung, Sturm. James, USA Creators: Reingold Collection: Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics |
Views: 13/887
|
| Attachments |
| Abstract |
|
This paper addresses James Sturm’s recent graphic novel Market Day (2010. Montreal: Drawn and Quarterly), which presents a single day in the life of an Eastern European Orthodox Jewish rug-weaver named Mendelman. In the span of one day, Mendelman’s life becomes unhinged as he loses his job and his ability to provide for his young family. This rupturing leads Mendelman to question his community, his God, and his sense of self. Through a semiotic analysis of text and images, the paper analyses through the lenses of Roland Barthes and Maxine Greene how Sturm’s text operates on two parallel planes as a commentary on both the historical experience of Jews in eastern Europe and the challenges for artists being recognised for their artistic crafts. Through this reading, Sturm’s text becomes simultaneously a particularly Jewish text about Jewish experiences while also being a specifically universal text. The bifurcated reading that results is itself a statement on the challenges and difficulties of contemporary Jewry and the struggles for Jews who often live in two or more physical and psychological spaces.
|