David Heatley took time to respond to the recent Comics Comics critical roundtable of his new book, My Brain Is Hanging Upside-Down:
I used to do this a lot, but I no longer spend time wishing works of art were something they’re not. I don’t wish Stan Brakhage made commercial Hollywood films. Or that Kanye West would do something more stripped down, personal and emotionally revealing. I try to accept art for what it is and decide if it has anything of value to offer me. If I take a stance against it, especially if it’s accompanied by a righteous feeling of being sure of my opinion, I’ve found that I’m using someone’s work to further my own unhappiness, discontent and irritability and ultimately it has nothing to do with the artist on whom I’ve fixed my angry gaze.
I admire Heatley for attempting to rebut some of the criticisms hurled at him in a polite, respectable manner, though I think he comes off as just a wee bit defensive and passive-aggressive, though perhaps that’s inevitable given that people are attacking his baby.
Anyway, Tom Spurgeon, Frank Santoro and Noah Berlatsky take him to task on a few points in the comments section before it all gets ugly and the thread gets shut down, so be sure and read those as well.
