…it doesn’t have to be by a well-known artist. A child can do an archetype, maybe probably does more type of [archetypal] images than artists do. They spontaneously arise.
Thomas Singer, Jungian Analyst
I was arrested by this bit on a recent This Jungian Life Podcast. It seems to harmonize with something I’ve been trying to capture in my classroom; that a comic’s resonance is not dependent on the quality of its images. In other words, you don’t have to be a great illustrator to be a great storyteller. Anyone can make a comic that moves an audience, even if the author doesn’t identify as an artist. But this discussion on archetypal images adds another dimension to that idea. Maybe there’s something about art that emerges from a place of spontaneity that carries more charge with it. A practiced artist can do this, of course, but it’s a combination of the spontaneity and skill at work. It’s not just the skill.
I’m going to think about this and how I can more thoughtfully impress this on my students.