Aline Kaminsky-Crumb’s Art Bows to the Writing

At Artforum, underground comics artist Aline Kominsky-Crumb discusses the relationship between story and art in her work. “My comics are more story-driven than art-driven: The art has to bow to the writing,” she says.”When you have to coordinate the images with the writing, it’s complicated. When I get sick of doing comics, I paint, because it’s direct. Comics people read books, and the art is sometimes secondary. Which is fine—that’s how we meant to do it! We didn’t mean for it to go on walls. But when I see people appreciate the art, and they’re looking at it in a different way, how can I complain?”