By turning those stories into comics, real-life accounts are made
more accessible to younger readers, who are typically more at risk, as
well as to those with little or no education. Archer, a celebrated
graphics journalist, is also a John S. Knight Journalism Fellow whose
works have often been seen in the American Public Media, the BBC and
Poynter Institute among others. He has spoken at length about the power
of visual storytelling at the Online News Association, Savannah College
of Art and Design, Stanford D. School, University of Hawaii-Hilo, and
Eurasia Foundation (Moscow). He received an MFA in cartooning from
the Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont and taught graphics novel at
Stanford University for three years.
Archer spent the last six months in Nepal working on a combination
of graphics journalism and illustrated reportage to investigate human
trafficking. Scant employment opportunities, low education rates and a
fierce determination to provide for their families at any cost has left
huge portions of the population vulnerable to traffickers posing as
employment brokers promising lucrative jobs in Kathmandu or abroad. The
open border with India has been a key asset for traffickers for their
operations across the border. Following Archer’s recent exhibition at
the Image Ark Gallery, Fr!day caught up with him for a sneak peek into
his vivid world.
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| Storytelling in Graphics |
Dan Archer: Graphic Journalist
My eye-opener was seeing a Spanish copy of Joe Sacco’s ‘Palestine’
during my gap year while studying languages at Cambridge. That really
woke me up to the possibilities of this art form. But it was a
frustrating experience during jury service at the old bailey in London
that was my first foray into graphic journalism as I wanted to represent
what was going on in the court without using a camera. I looked into
journalism schools offering any sort of drawn component but couldn’t
find any. So I chose to do an MFA at the Center for Cartoon Studies to
learn the craft of visual storytelling and then apply it in a
journalistic context. I soon began doing research on local stories and
putting together interviews in the form of comics for local
publications.
Inspiration and concept behind your work…
My inspiration came from doing my first full length investigation of
trafficking in 2009 in collaboration with the Fulbright Program.
Fulbright fellow Olga Trusova and I worked on adapting the testimonies
of human trafficking survivors from Ukraine into comic format for
translation and distribution in risk areas. The project was also
supported by the International Organization for Migration, translated
into Russian Ukrainian and English with over 10000 copies distributed to
local schools and youth centers. That success as well as the attention
my graphic history of the Honduran coup in 2009 received got me a place
on the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship at Stanford University, the
first graphic journalist to be recognized. There I met Madhu Acharya,
the founder of the Antenna Foundation in Nepal and now a good friend and
colleague. He and I discussed the potential for collaboration in Nepal
and the power comics have to reach out to Los literacy communities and
to youth at risk. Rather than merely raising awareness of the issue back
home in the UK and the US, I wanted to create preventative materials in
Nepal that would work at the ground level in reaching out to the next
generation of vulnerable young adults.
Blending Art and Journalism…
I think they should have similar goals – using techniques and creative
avenues of their field to address social issues in the name of the
public good, to give voice to those who would typically not be heard.
All writing or photography is an art in the same way image making is,
involving degrees of editorial control, cropping, composition and
framing. I see graphic journalism as a nod to the illustrated presses
that preceded photography, when sketch artists were dispatched to
battlefields to capture the action, or the courtroom sketches of today.
Illustrated reportage has immediacy, a vitality to it that I think is
easily lost in photography by a dint of barrier immediately created when
you pull out a camera. That separation of photographer and subject,
viewer and viewed is all the more painfully felt in traumatic
situations. I believe sketching helps dismantle that hurdle, allowing
the subject a chance to see their likeness and the story it forms a part
of, defined in a way otherwise impossible through video footage that
would be edited and broadcasted in a different country.
Comics for depiction…
I see comics as the distillation of a number of visual communication
devices – diagrams, info graphics, maps, sketches, graphs. It’s an
extension of the back of the napkin or whiteboard-style visual explainer
that many people would use if they were giving directions or telling an
elaborate story. I am simply applying another layer of immersion to
that style of storytelling, creating a credible world where readers can
relive the testimonies of those I interview. I also like to experiment
with the potential of the form, such as the option to abandon linear,
chronological storytelling and present simultaneously contrasting
testimonies in the same visual space, such as my interactive comic on
the 2007 Nisoor Square shootings in Baghdad. I always want to continue
pushing the envelope of what is simply not possible in text alone.
What next…
I’m rolling out the first project to measure the effectiveness of
different forms of awareness-raising media in the field together with my
colleagues over this summer. We’re also putting out graphic novels
chronicling my experiences as I do so, which interested readers can
pre-order at www.archcomix.com. I’ve also been commissioned by local
NGOs to produce comics as part of their outreach campaigns, and featured
in the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons report for
innovative approaches to covering trafficking.
Graphic Voices From Nepal: In nutshell…
Working with the dedicated and professional staff at the Image Ark was a
pleasure and they did a great job of transforming the space into a
beautiful venue for showcasing my work. Their creativity for tailoring
the stories to the decor was great, and it has garnered a great response
from the locals from what I hear, who were my primary target audience.
Prospective Perspective…
I’m always eager to focus on human rights stories that might otherwise
be overlooked. One future project might involve looking at migrant
laborers and the risks they take in search of work as well as looking at
the potential links between human trafficking and the drug trade in the
Americas.
Minus graphics journalism…
I am a vegetarian and a follower of Buddhism. I am a motorcycle fanatic
and also a kick boxer. What I love – the blues sax, eating more than
what I probably should and making my wife laugh.
Those interested can sign up for his newsletter at
http://bit.ly/archsignup or visit www.archcomix.com/comicsarchive and
www.graphicvoices.com for more details. !
