Ben Katchor

I remember as a child going to an exhibit about the Soviet Union, and every paper had this alien smell. The paper…

— Ben Katchor

In America, there's a very long tradition of a comic strip that comes in newspapers, which is not true all over the…

— Ben Katchor

There's a real connection between the history of print in Europe and nationalism, and how those two things could be formed. I…

— Ben Katchor

I never wore a watch. I always depend on public clocks, and stores have clocks, but that is strange.

— Ben Katchor

I was born Moishe Ketzelbourd but the Indians call me Maurice Cougar.

— Ben Katchor

The basis of national identity is to say, "This is authentic to me or my forebears," and is there even such a…

— Ben Katchor

I live in an apartment building built in 1925, and it hasn't been heavily renovated, so I feel very much connected to…

— Ben Katchor

You can have your own watch and always doubt it. If I had a watch I'd probably always be doubting it or…

— Ben Katchor

The funny thing is, nationalism only could have come about in Europe after the invention of printing. You could have this thing…

— Ben Katchor

You know how misleading an image is. You see an image in the newspaper, if they left the caption off, good luck…

— Ben Katchor

The click [of a light switch] is the modern triumphal clarion proceeding us through life, announcing our entry into every lightless room.

— Ben Katchor

“You see these unsold goods taking up space in busy stores and ask yourself, 'Who would ever buy such a thing? To…

— Ben Katchor

A picture story just doesn't run like a film. It doesn't have 24 frames per second. It doesn't deal with this illusion…

— Ben Katchor

The publishing industry has always wanted to make books as cheaply and as ephemerally as they could; it's nothing new.

— Ben Katchor

I think a lot of these terms, nationalistic things, somebody is an American, or somebody is a Frenchman, or somebody is a…

— Ben Katchor

I think Jewish history did away with a priesthood when the Temple was destroyed, and it became, supposedly, a religion of scholars.…

— Ben Katchor

I've wasted the last five years of my life dealing in religious articles. People today find spiritual solace in ballroom dancing.

— Ben Katchor

I always lived in old buildings, and I thought about who lived here before. You'd have to be oblivious not to.

— Ben Katchor

What sort of attractions do you think lured our coreligionists out of the ghetto and into the mainstream of European culture? Was…

— Ben Katchor

As a small kid, I came across things like these early Edward Gorey books in department-store bookstores. These were these really unusual…

— Ben Katchor

In America, there's a very long tradition of a comic strip that comes in newspapers, which is not true all over the…

— Ben Katchor

A picture story just doesn't run like a film. It doesn't have 24 frames per second. It doesn't deal with this illusion…

— Ben Katchor

Sometimes I make things that people have very strong responses to. Whether that's art, I don't know. That's one of those words…

— Ben Katchor

Certain movies that are trying to evoke history are just like being in an antique store, and all you notice is that…

— Ben Katchor

I think architectural appreciation would be a minor occupation after a nuclear war. People would just be happy to have something to…

— Ben Katchor