Date of Award
Spring 5-7-2025
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Illustration & Visual Culture
Degree Type
Thesis
Abstract
Cartooning’s greatest strength is its simplicity. This essay argues that the cartoon’s inherent modesty and accessibility are central to its philosophical utility, and that its spare visual language conveys more than meets the eye. Drawing on phenomenology, it considers cartooning as a process grounded in the body, and it investigates the bodily encounter between the viewer and the cartoon. Through an analysis of cartooning work by Saul Steinberg, R.O. Blechman, and Liana Finck - a “family of cartoonists” - it demonstrates how a line-drawn, representational cartooning language can transform the act of looking into a participatory experience that interrogates issues of self, meaning, and mortality. Ultimately, it positions cartooning as a uniquely embodied form of thinking and communicating with a significant and often overlooked role in American visual culture.
Language
English
Program Chair
John Hendrix
Recommended Citation
Attwood, Thomas, "Lines of Thought: The Cartoon as a Phenomenological Object and a Philosophical Tool" (2025). MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture. 47.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/mfa_illustration/47