The Studio (commune)
The Studio was the name of a small artists' loft commune formed in 1975 by four comic book artists/commercial illustrators/painters in Manhattan's Chelsea district. These artists were Barry Windsor-Smith, Jeff Jones, Michael Kaluta, and Bernie Wrightson — known colloquially as the "Fab Four".[1] The purpose of The Studio was to provide the group with a space where they could pursue creative products outside the constraints of comic book commercialism.[2]
| Type | Comics studio |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1975 |
| Founders | |
| Defunct | 1979 |
| Headquarters | Chelsea, , U.S. |
The studio space was a converted machine shop with high ceilings.[1]
Industry journalist Tom Spurgeon commented on the broader significance and influence of The Studio in his 2011 obituary of Jones at The Comics Reporter:
- The legacy of that much talent doing what was collectively very good work at a point of almost monolithic and degrading corporate influence over the kind of art they wanted to do has provided The Studio with a legacy that can be embraced even by those that didn't particularly care for the artists' output. The idea of a dedicated workplace that would allow for coercive influence one artist to another has been carried over into very nearly ever cartoonists' collective space initiative since.[2]
By 1979, the "Fab Four" had produced enough material to issue an art book under the name The Studio, which was published by Dragon's Dream.[3] That same year the members of The Studio moved on to independent projects and separate work spaces.
See also
References
- Daudt, Ron E. "Joe Barney Interview (Pt. 2)," The Silver Age Sage: A Tribute to the Silver Age of DC Comics. Accessed May 18, 2013.
- Spurgeon, Tom. "Jeffrey Catherine Jones, 1944-2011", The Comics Reporter, 19 May 2011.
- Jones, Jeffrey; Kaluta, Michael; Windsor-Smith, Barry; and Wrightson, Berni. The Studio (Dragons Dream; First edition Apr. 1, 1979), ISBN 978-9063325817.