Stripburger 46

Tematske strani Stripburgerja št. 46 so nastale na pobudo 13. mednarodnega festivala sodobnih umetnosti Mesto žensk. Festivalovo poslanstvo, pa tudi osrednji namen pričujoče številke Stripburgerja, je promocijo žensk v umetnosti, pri čemer je bistven poudarek, da ženske ne delajo ženske ali celo ženstvene umetnosti, ampak umetnost.

V izbor smo poleg še neobjavljenih stripov uvrstili dve starejši deli avtoric, ki se v stripovskem mediju že več desetletij borita za lastno vidnost in s tem za pravico do ustvarjanja. Obe, škotsko-kanadska karikaturistka Cinders McLeod in med feministično in lezbično publiko že legendarna ameriška ustvarjalka Roberta Gregory, se v stripih šaljivo spopadata s stereotipi, ki ženskam, posebej tistim, ki se izpostavljajo kot umetnice ali, bognedaj, feministke, očitajo, da nimajo smisla za humor, da ne znajo risati stripov, da stripi tako ali tako niso namenjeni ženskam ipd. Ta težka prtljaga stoletij med drugim vsebuje v celofan zavite primerke stripov, ki so jih moški risali za moške v trdnem prepričanju, da so prepoteni mišičnjaki v pajkicah, kot se heca Dunja Janković, zanimivi za »vse«. Bralke, izključene iz namišljene celote, so z bujno domišljijo ali branjem med vrsticami idealne superheroje sicer lahko priredile lastnim potrebam; v še tako mizoginem stripu je vedno na razpolago tudi namig, da neidealne ženske, kot sva jaz in ti, obstajajo in so, še več, pogumne, pametne in lepe. A najbrž ni treba poudarjati, kako naporno in dolgočasno je tovrstno »navzkrižno zasliševanje« medija, ki je v prvi vrsti namenjen sprostitivi. Od tod ni težko razumeti, zakaj sta se najbolj znana lika Roberte Gregory, jezna in napadalna vešča Bitchy Bitch ter zakompleksana in v slavo preteklih lezbičnih bojev zagledana Bitchy Butch, bralkam tako zelo priljubila. Namesto »vseh« nagovarjata publiko skrajno različnih spolov in seksualnih nagnjenj, skratka vse, razen mačotov v pajkicah.

Stripburger #46 special feature pages Laugh Out Loud! were prepared in collaboration with City of Women, the Ljubljana-based international festival of contemporary arts. The festivals' mission and the main purpose of this issues’ feature pages is promotion of women in art.

The selection includes previously unpublished comics and two older comics made by artists who have been fighting for their visibility and their right to create for decades. Both the Scottish-Canadian political cartoonist Cinders McLeod and American comic artists Roberta Gregory (legendary among feminist and lesbian readers) use sharp wit to fight stereotypes which accuse women, especially artists and feminists, that they have no sense of humor, that they don't know how to draw, that women have nothing to do with comics anyway etc. This ancient beast of burden consists of, among other things, comics wrapped in cellophane, written by men for men who believed that stories about muscular guys in tights, as Dunja Janković.

Contributors: Andreja Kladnik, Saša Kerkoš (Slovenia), Maja Veselinović (Srbia), Anna Ehrlemark (Sweden/Slovenia), Malin Biller, Karolina Bång (Sweden), Ludmilla Bartscht, Claire Lenkova, Ulli Lust (Germany), Kati Kovács (Finland), Chiquinha! (Brasil), Dora Dutkova (Czech Republic), Cinders McLeod (Canada), Roberta Gregory, Fly, Mary Fleener (USA) and Dunja Jankovic (Croatia/USA) who also contributed the cover and answered annoying questions about women, feminism, comics and work. Other featured artists in Stripburger #46 are: Kati Rapia (Finland), Laurent Dandoy (Belgium), Jakob Klemencic and Koco (Slovenia). puts it, are interesting for »everybody«. Female readers, who were excluded from this imaginary totality, have used their imagination or read between the lines in order to appropriate superheroes to their own needs. Even the most misogynist comic can be read against itself, suggesting that non-ideal women like I and you not only exist but happen to be brave, smart and beautiful. Needless to say, such »cross-examining« of a medium that is supposed to relax you is quite tiresome and boring. This makes it easier to understand why Roberta Gregory's most famous characters, bitter and cynical Bitchy Bitch and frustrated dyke Bitchy Butch were so warmly received by female readers. Instead of addressing »everybody«, her characters speak to a specific variety of genders and sexual preferences – just about everybody except machos in tights.