Compulsive Narratives: Stories That MUST Be Told

Page 1

COMPULSIVE NARRATIVES: Â Stories that be Told T S U

M

THE NEWS of an upcoming exhibition

about graphic novels elicited palpable excitement from many people across campus and the wider community. I had expected that this kind of exhibition would reach a younger audience, one that seems to me, as an educator, to have less commitment to the printed word, at least when text stands on its own. However numerous academics had ongoing and VXVWDLQHG UHVHDUFK SURMHFWV LQ WKH ÀHOG supplementing more traditional academic pursuits, and established professionals LQ PDQ\ ÀHOGV KDG H[WHQVLYH SHUVRQDO collections of comics and graphic novels. 7KLV UHà HFWHG D EUHDGWK DQG GHSWK RI interest, revealing to me the power of popular cultural forms to reach a vast public. Guest curator Cheryl Harper, whose previous curatorial projects included graphic novels, has brought an informed eye and discerning selection to what is D YDVW ÀHOG YDVW KLVWRULFDOO\ HYHQ LI LW

LV D UHODWLYHO\ QHZ Ă€HOG DQG EURDG LQ terms of the number of contemporary practicing artists. As the exhibition DQG &KHU\O¡V HVVD\ ZLOO PDNH FOHDU KHU selection includes many kinds of personal preoccupations propelling the compulsive QDUUDWLYHV IRXQG LQ WKH FRPLFV IRUZDUG the practitioners come from varied EDFNJURXQGV DQG XOWLPDWHO\ VDWLVI\LQJ WR a visual arts gallery director, there are works from a wide range of mediums: this incredible diversity of works shares an interest in comics, bringing them together in a complex network of references. I have been using “graphic novelâ€? and ´FRPLFVÂľ LQWHUFKDQJHDEO\ WKH LQVLJKWIXO and informative essay by Andrei Molotiu that follows, traces the history of the terms and makes a convincing case for the respectable cover that the term “graphic novelâ€? gave to the enterprise of the comics, as it reached wider audiences.

Cover:  Marcus  Benavides,  Modern  Saints  Series  III  (detail),  2012. Woodcut  print  on  hand-­â€?dyed  Japanese  paper,  104"  x  42"

Cheryl Harper notes the circumstances where “comixâ€? replaced “comicsâ€?, part of an underground movement in the 1970s that challenged more mainstream values and attitudes—on many fronts—and that FRQWLQXHV WR LQIRUP WKH XVH LQ WKH Ă€HOG It is hardly surprising that my colleagues LQWHUHVWHG LQ DQLPDWHG Ă€OP ZLVKHG WR SDUWLFLSDWH LQ WKLV SURMHFW VHOHFWLQJ Ă€OPV IRU WKH Ă€OP VHULHV WKDW UXQV WKURXJK the exhibition, presenting them, and contributing to this catalog. Robert (PPRQV D Ă€OP PDNHU DV ZHOO DV D Ă€OP WKHRULVW KDV DQ RQ JRLQJ LQWHUHVW LQ WKH Ă€OPV RI 7HUU\ =ZLJRII WZR RI WKH $PHULFDQ PRYLHV LQ WKLV VHULHV -HDQ Louis Hippolyte shares his interest in French popular culture and situates WKH VHOHFWLRQ RI )UHQFK ODQJXDJH Ă€OP LQ this broader context in his essay. His colleague Alisa Belanger is presenting WKHVH Ă€OPV LQ WKH FRQWH[W RI D )UHQFK FXOWXUDO PRPHQW DW 5XWJHUV &DPGHQ $QG Ă€QDOO\ WKUHH IDFXOW\ PHPEHUV RI the Spanish language program, Ana Laguna, Prospero N. Garcia and Alejandra -RVLRZLF] ZLOO SUHVHQW Ă€OPV IURP WKH 6SDQLVK VSHDNLQJ ZRUOG PDNLQJ HYLGHQW the wide interest that comics and its related forms have around the world. The fascinating world of BD, bande dessinnĂŠe, has inspired Alisa Belanger to curate her own selection of comics and graphic novels from the wide selection SURGXFHG LQ WKH )UHQFK VSHDNLQJ ZRUOG presented in the Paul Robeson Library, thanks to the collaboration of our colleagues there, and introduced in her essay in this catalog. This selection makes evident that the reader of the JUDSKLF QRYHO FDQ Ă€QG RWKHU NLQGV RI narratives. As Alisa writes in her essay, the selected Francophone graphic novelists are looking out at the world, a counterpoint to the internal psychological monitoring characterizing the selection of works in Compulsive Narratives.

:ULWHU DQG 3URIHVVRU /LVD =HLGQHU DQG Associate Professor of English Patrick 5RVDO FR GLUHFWRUV RI WKH 0)$ :ULWHUV in Camden Series, invited Chris Ware WR VSHDN DW 5XWJHUV &DPGHQ LQ ODWH January. This renown graphic novelist is an award winning American comic book artist and cartoonist, notably for his Acme Novelty Library series, begun in 1994. He also penned the graphic novels Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth and Building Stories, and has been published in major American magazines DQG SHULRGLFDOV 5XWJHUV &DPGHQ &HQWHU IRU WKH $UWV LV SOHDVHG WR FR VSRQVRU WKLV FHOHEUDWHG JUDSKLF DUWLVW¡V YLVLW to campus and to participate in events WKDW UHà HFW D FRQYHUJHQFH RI LQWHUHVWV DFURVV WKH 5XWJHUV &DPGHQ FDPSXV Victoria Widener, the President of the Art Students League and the curator RI WKH 5XWJHUV &DPGHQ 6WXGHQWV Works Gallery, has enlisted a troupe of students and student organizations to organize and manage a one day Comic Con. The level of excitement is tangible as the campus hosts vendors, artists, and collectors who will share their enthusiasm for the world of comics. $V 'LUHFWRU RI WKH 5XWJHUV &DPGHQ Center for the Arts, I welcome the artists and thank them for generously lending their work. A project of this scope requires commitment of time and resources, and I am grateful to the many contributors to the exhibition, the public programming, and the catalog for their enthusiastic support of this project. The dedication and hard work of the staff of RCCA has assured the success of this project.

Cyril Reade Director, Rutgers–Camden Center for the Arts

HY? Wœ*UDSKLF¡

W HYœ1RYHO¡?

LIKE MANY ACADEMICS WHO TEACH COURSES ON SEQUENTIAL ART, I have been

asked, pointedly, more than once, “So, do you teach comics ... or, you know, graphic novels?� Implicit in that question is, at least, the belief of a qualitative difference between the two. That is to say: comics are still seen as infra dig reading material, while graphic novels, as witnessed by their acceptance in the pages of The New York Times Book Review or mentions in The New Yorker cartoons, are acceptable topics of discussion in polite society. I say “at least,� because from that qualitative difference often a categorical distinction is implied, as if to insulate the asker, who is PRUH RIWHQ WKDQ QRW D JUDSKLF QRYHO reader, from the taint of reading comics.

My stock answer is that there is no difference between the two. A graphic novel is a long comic book, nothing more. There is no noticeable difference between the usage in WKH WZR RI WKH YLVXDO QDUUDWLYH devices that constitute the language of sequential art (not to mention that many works offered as graphic QRYHOV WRGD\ ZHUH Ă€UVW SXEOLVKHG DV LQGLYLGXDO PRQWKO\ ´à RSSLHVÂľ 7U\LQJ to draw a distinction of essence between “comicsâ€? and “graphic

Page 4

novelsâ€? is no different from, say, drawing a distinction of essence EHWZHHQ D KDOI KRXU GRFXPHQWDU\ DQG DQ KRXU DQG D KDOI RQH 1R WKH difference is quantitative, at most: it lies in the number of pages, nothing more. $V , VDLG WKDW LV P\ VWRFN DQVZHU and this view, which is embraced by most comics scholars, critics, and practitioners, is more true than not. And yet. There must have been a reason, must there not, for WKH FRPLFV ZRUOG¡V LQVLVWHQFH RQ the term “graphic novelâ€? beginning already in the 1960s, and especially since the 1980s? First used by Richard Kyle in 1964 to designate the SRVVLELOLW\ RI D ERRN OHQJWK QDUUDWLYH in pictures and words, the term was popularized in the pages of Graphic Story Magazine beginning in 1967. $V FDQ EH VHHQ IURP WKH SHULRGLFDO¡V title, here it was the term “graphicâ€? that mattered more than the term ´QRYHO Âľ 7KH PDJD]LQH¡V HGLWRU Bill Spicer, was mainly attempting WR Ă€QG D QHZ ODEHO WR UHSODFH WKH term “comics,â€? which, besides being factually inaccurate (comics had not been exclusively focused on humorous stories and jokes since the 1920s, if QRW EHIRUH KDG DOVR EHHQ EUXLVHG by the recent unwelcome attention of Dr. Frederic Wertham and the 1954 Senatorial Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency. The epithet “graphicâ€? denoted a new level of artistic ambition for the medium, an attempt to telegraph the sentiment expressed in countless clichĂŠd

headlines that appeared later: ´&RPLFV DUHQ¡W MXVW IRU NLGV DQ\PRUH Âľ ,W LV ZRUWK GZHOOLQJ EULHĂ \ RQ WKLV historical development, because it ZDV LQ WKH FRPLFV PHGLXP¡V VHH VDZLQJ EHWZHHQ LGHQWLWLHVÂłDV DGXOW RULHQWHG PHGLXP RI DUWLVWLF VHOI expression or as disposable fodder for the kiddies—that the modern identity of the graphic novel, along with the many insecurities associated with its consumption, were forged. If comics had ever been “just for kids,â€? they had been so for a very limited period of time. The American newspaper supplements that fostered the birth of the comic strip medium in America since the 1890s were intended for the eyes RI WKH HQWLUH IDPLO\ DQG ZKLOH because of the jokes and cartoony art, they may have been seen as the part of the paper most appealing to children, references to Blondie or to Mutt and Jeff were made and understood by people of all ages. It was only with the introduction of comic books in the 1930s that that VSHFLĂ€F IRUPDW EHFDPH LGHQWLĂ€HG LQ WKH $PHULFDQ SXEOLF¡V PLQG ZLWK DQ exclusively juvenile readership. Not RQO\ FRXOG WKH WHQ FHQW QHZVVWDQG SULFH FRPH RXW RI PRVW FKLOGUHQ¡V DOORZDQFHV PRUH LPSRUWDQWO\ divorced from the larger context of the newspaper, comic books were now largely shielded from the critical DWWHQWLRQ RI SDUHQWV WKH\ FRXOG EH IROGHG DQG VWRZHG LQ FKLOGUHQ¡V EDFN pockets, or hidden under pillows and read in bed, under blankets, ZLWK D Ă DVKOLJKW 7KLV DSSHDO WR DQ audience made exclusively of children robbed the new format of a certain amount of quality control: most comic books used art and writing of such a low standard that it would never have made it in a newspaper. (Compounding the problem, the ZDJHV RI FRPLF ERRN FUHDWRUV ZHUH even lower, proportionally, than the product deserved, thereby forcing them to rush out barely acceptable

product if they were to stand any chance of making a living with their DUW ,QGHHG FRPSDUHG WR WKH general quality of comic books, every KDOI GHFHQW QHZVSDSHU VWULS FRXOG pass for a masterpiece. It was in WKLV SHULRG WKDW WKH WHUP ´FRPLF book,â€? used as an epithet, acquired the connotations it still has to the present, especially in journalistic shorthand: clichĂŠd or unbelievable stories, exaggerated or simplistic rendering, and so on. <HW WKLV Ă€UVW SHULRG RI FRPLF book history did not last long. By the second half of the 1940s, DOUHDG\ WKH FRPLF ERRN PHGLXP ZDV attempting to appeal to an older and more sophisticated readership. This development was based on several IDFWRUV WR EHJLQ ZLWK WKH WR 12 year olds who had discovered adventure comics in 1935, or who KDG WKULOOHG WR WKH Ă€UVW DGYHQWXUHV of Superman in 1938, had by then entered their teens, or even their HDUO\ V DQG ZKLOH VRPH VLPSO\ gave up the medium as a whole, others were primed for reading more ambitious stories in their favored medium. A whole new adult readership was also created when the U.S. military provided for the GIs, during the war, free comic books as leisure reading. In response to this new audience, the industry started to address darker themes of crime and KRUURU DW D SXEOLVKHU VXFK DV ( & (originally known as Entertainment &RPLFV LQ WKH HDUO\ V VXFK new subjects were combined with ambitious illustrative art that could rival the best of newspaper strips. Unfortunately, however, in the minds of most members of the SXEOLF WKH FRPLF ERRN¡V DVVRFLDWLRQ with children survived (and, to be fair, many children did read the new, GDUNHU FRPLFV ,JQRULQJ WKH QHZ older readership, critics such as Wertham condemned the industry for offering to kids adult themes of violence, lawlessness and sexuality, and for thereby, as they saw it, promoting juvenile delinquency—

Page 5

PLGGOH $PHULFD¡V IDYRULWH WRSLF RI hysterical handwringing during that decade. The Comics Code that, in response to these concerns, the fearful industry imposed upon itself only institutionalized the false image RI FRPLFV DV H[FOXVLYHO\ D FKLOGUHQ¡V medium, thwarting artistic ambition for a decade or more. Which takes us back to the 1960s. This is the cultural context in which the term “graphic novelâ€? appeared. The artistic ambition it denoted hearkened back not only to 1950s E.C., but also to the more artistically ambitious of the newspaper strips, VXFK DV 0LOWRQ &DQLII¡V 7HUU\ DQG the Pirates. The still notional idea RI D VHULRXV ERRN OHQJWK QDUUDWLYH in comics form was made concrete— after several false starts, such as 0DUYHO¡V OLQH RI SDJH ´JUDSKLF novelsâ€?—only beginning in the late V :LOO (LVQHU¡V ERRN A Contract with God, was the Ă€UVW VHOI GHVLJQDWHG DUWLVWLFDOO\ ambitious graphic novel to catch WKH SXEOLF¡V DWWHQWLRQ ,W ZDV VRRQ followed by the work of creators VXFK DV $UW 6SLHJHOPDQ 0DXV $ODQ Moore and his artist collaborators, or Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez /RYH DQG 5RFNHWV The term “graphic novelâ€? then, designates an ambition within the medium of comics, and an attempt to shed the opprobrium accumulated by the art form from the still reverberating resonances RI :HUWKDP¡V FRQGHPQDWLRQ %XW while much of this ambition was encoded in the adjective “graphic,â€? why should it have gone hand in hand with a consideration of page length? What would make a longer comic more liable of seriousness or artistic achievement than a shorter one? After all, the highest artistic quality can be found even in short comics pieces, as proved, for example, by many of the contributions to 6SLHJHOPDQ¡V 5DZ 0DJD]LQH WKH PRVW complex and challenging of which was SUREDEO\ 5LFKDUG 0F*XLUH¡V VL[ SDJH VWRU\ ´+HUHÂľ It seems obvious that both the introduction of the term “novelâ€? and the dream, before it was a reality, RI ERRN OHQJWK FRPLFV VWRULHV ZHUH

inspired by the cultural cachet of the prose novel. The relationship between length and seriousness may be seen as purely historically contingent, or ERUQ RXW RI DQ LGHRORJLFDOO\ LQIRUPHG IDOVH KLHUDUFK\ RI FXOWXUDO YDOXH and yet something happens when cartoonists force themselves to treat their subject in 120 or 200, let alone 500 or 3000 pages. Given room to breathe, characters become more SV\FKRORJLFDOO\ FRPSOH[ 0DQLFKHDQ struggles of good versus evil acquire VKDGHV RI JUD\ KHUPHWLF VWRULHV RI DUWLĂ€FLDO SHUVRQDJHV JLYH ZD\ WR ODUJHU considerations of political or social contexts. As dialectical materialism already told us, quantitative accumulation can lead to qualitative differences. So, this is the longer correction to my stock answer. Yes, graphic novels are comics, but in their focusing of artistic intent, in their deeper exploration of thematic material, they can raise the medium to a higher level of artistic achievement. (I should add that this higher level can also be reached through other means, which KDYH PRUH LQ FRPPRQ ZLWK DUW ZRUOG SURFHGXUHV WKDQ OLWHUDU\ RQHV

Y H Wœ*UDSKLF¡?

W HYœ1RYHO¡?

All the cartoonists in Compulsive Narratives: Stories that MUST be Told are heirs to these developments, and all bring into their work the kind of social, political and personal considerations that the rise of the graphic novel made possible. The accompanying essay by the H[KLELWLRQ¡V FXUDWRU &KHU\O +DUSHU sensitively introduces each of them alongside the other artists, who work in more traditionally accepted art forms, featured in Compulsive Narratives, foregrounding the thematic concerns they share across media. Through this commingling and commonality of interests, this exhibition demonstrates that comics have indeed achieved the height of DUWLVWLF DPELWLRQ FRGLĂ€HG H[DFWO\ KDOI a century ago—with much hopefulness but little evidence available at the time to support it—in the coining of the term “graphic novel.â€?

Andrei Molotiu

Page 6

Page 7

COMPULSIVE NARRATIVES: Â Stories that U S T be Told

M

DURING MY FORMATIVE YEARS , UHDG WKH ´IXQQLHVÂľ Ă€UVW

or at least tried to get my hands on one of the many pages of the Sunday color comics. Most girls seemed to have discovered comics through their brothers. Mine spent his paper route cash on Superman, Batman with an RFFDVLRQDO $UFKLH , HDJHUO\ ZDLWHG for him to share them. His purchases of the adventures of Supergirl and Wonder Woman assured me that even a girl could be “super.â€? As an adult, $UW 6SLHJHOPDQ ZDV WKH Ă€UVW JUDSKLF QRYHOLVW WKDW FDXJKW P\ DWWHQWLRQ LQ 2002, I was fortunate to produce an exhibition, Art Spiegelman: Not Just IRU *URZQ XSV $Q\PRUH IHDWXULQJ KLV work.1 His Maus series transformed WKH SUDFWLFH RI SRVW ZDU +RORFDXVW testimonies putting an entire JHQHUDWLRQ¡V FKLOGKRRG IUXVWUDWLRQ about the war into a sophisticated and understandable format. The two Maus ERRNV ZHUH QRW RQO\ DERXW KLV SDUHQWV¡ struggle for survival during and after WKH ZDU EXW DOVR DERXW 6SLHJHOPDQ¡V Ă€UVW JHQHUDWLRQ $PHULFDQ H[SHULHQFH as a child of Holocaust survivors. )RU PDQ\ RI WKH DXWKRU DUWLVWV LQ Compulsive Narratives, Spiegelman inspired them to tell their personal narratives, leading to the next wave of graphic novelists.

Page 8

Each drawing or object in this exhibition insists that the viewer care about its narrative, carefully honed WKURXJK WKH DUWLVW¡V PHGLXP RI FKRLFH Transgressing societal conventions, the artists tell of childhood trauma, mental illness, sexual exploration, family secrets, wild adventures, unconventional friends, and alter egos. In most cases, the events described are mined from personal experiences. These artists come from different cultural milieus in America. The international artists, including Julie Doucet, Gilad Seliktar, Arpita Singh, and Hiro Sakaguchi, are informed by the constant news cycle and universal experiences of their American counterparts, providing a shared context for their work. The original drawings of the graphic novelists, whose medium is well described in the preceding essay by Andrei Molotiu, invite you to sit down and read their IXOO OHQJWK ERRNV PDGH DYDLODEOH during the length of the exhibition. Often a graphic novelist combines his drawing style with distinct lettering that becomes part of the “on paperâ€? SHUVRQDOLW\ ZKLOH WKH VFXOSWRU¡V RU SDLQWHU¡V FKRLFH RI VFDOH DQG PDWHULDOV serves a similar purpose, coalescing into a fully developed artistic intention. The works of the painters and sculptors who share a “comixâ€? sensibility respond to each other and to the graphic novelists in this gallery setting.2

Justin Green was a contemporary of Spiegelman and R. Crumb, all part of a group considered the “underground comixâ€? movement whose epicenter was San Francisco in the early 1970s. They used autobiographical slices of life in their often sexually focused comix, but it was Green who was WKH Ă€UVW DPRQJ WKHP WR FURVV LQWR serious introspective territory and ZKR ODLG D SDWK IRU 6SLHJHOPDQ¡V 0DXV ,Q *UHHQ¡V %LQN\ %URZQ Meets the Holy Virgin Mary, he comically and disturbingly revealed KLV VHOI ORDWKLQJ SXEHVFHQFH RI VH[XDO XUJHV GLUHFWHG VSHFLĂ€FDOO\ WRZDUG statues of the conceptually chaste Virgin Mary. His neurotic behavior was diagnosed decades later as 2EVHVVLYH &RPSXOVLYH 'LVRUGHU 2&' Presented as a warped coming of DJH WDOH WRGD\¡V YLHZHU UHFRJQL]HV %LQN\¡V -XVWLQ¡V 2&' EXW DW WKH WLPH LW ZDV ZULWWHQ *UHHQ¡V ERRN ZDV considered blasphemy, something a “good Catholicâ€? would never read let alone create. Even his original cover admonished “youngsters PROHIBITED.â€? No Comics Code Authority seal on this story.4 The original long form comic book sold over 40,000 copies and gained a cult status.5 Green transferred his lettering skills into a vocation as a commercial sign painter but he never stopped drawing comics and today is IHWHG DV RQH RI WKH Ă€QHVW PDVWHUV LQ the history of the medium. Ironically, Green, the lapsed Catholic, will have an afterlife because of Binky.

Today, Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary could be part of an area of study known as “Narrative Medicineâ€? where visual and written testimonies are used to understand the nature of illness. Binky imagined he was sending out sexual rays but another artist in the exhibition, David Small, was the unfortunate recipient RI DQ RYHUDEXQGDQFH RI [ UD\V during his childhood. In Stitches: A 0HPRLU 'DYLG 6PDOO¡V V XSSHU middle class family unraveled when KLV ZHOO LQWHQWLRQHG SK\VLFLDQ IDWKHU RYHU UDGLDWHG KLP LQ DQ DWWHPSW WR cure his pediatric asthma. However, as is the case with the application of some theories in the practice of medicine, he instead delivered a serious case of thyroid cancer to his child. Following the removal of his thyroid and surrounding tissue, David OLYHG D YLUWXDOO\ QRQ YHUEDO H[LVWHQFH IRU GHFDGHV KH HYHQWXDOO\ UHFRYHUHG a speaking voice. In addition to his harrowing relationship with the hospital, young David inadvertently GLVFRYHUHG KLV PRWKHU¡V OHVELDQ WU\VWV DQG VXUYLYHG KLV GHPHQWLD DGGOHG JUDQGPRWKHU¡V GDQJHURXV DGYHQWXUHV in babysitting. Another portal into the world of anxiety is provided by sculptor Melissa Stern. She takes a multifaceted, layered approach to KHU PLVFKLHYRXV Ă€JXUHV WKDW VKH describes as “folks living in my brain,â€? comically alluding to multiple personalities or schizophrenia. Presented here is her series The Talking Cure, a term ascribed to pioneering Viennese psychiatrist Dr. Josef Breuer and further developed by Sigmund Freud as a method of healing neurosis. Stern made twelve DQWKURSRPRUSKLF SHUVRQDOLW\ GULYHQ VFXOSWXUHV VRPH DUH VLQJOH Ă€JXUHV and other have sidekicks or uninvited WDJ D ORQJV 1RQH DUH IXOO\ DQLPDO RU fully human and yet there is a sense of both. She approached twelve writers to write dialog inspired by the impish beings and then invited actors to give expression to each narrative, exponentially expanding the concept of multiple personalities. Some of the writers are relatives, some friends,

Page 9

but all were interested in breathing life into these anthropomorphic forms. Vain, insecure, needy, inquisitive, apologetic, gossipy, angry, SDVVLRQDWH Ă LUWDWLRXV DQG GDQJHURXV are just part of the emotional baggage that awaits the audience. The characters are confrontational and they will be heard. Viewers, using an MP3 player or a phone to read a QR code, can listen to each sculpture rant or confess. (OOHQ )RUQH\¡V JUDSKLF QRYHO UHODWHV her recognition of her bipolar disorder, her descent into it and her management of the chronic condition. 7KURXJK )RUQH\¡V 0DUEOHV 0DQLD Depression, Michelangelo, and Me, A Graphic Memoir, the viewer gets FORVH XS WR KHU KDLU UDLVLQJ PDQLDV DQG bottomless depressions, medications and talk therapy. Her drawings and journals are presented in the form of an installation, as if the onlooker were D Ă \ RQ WKH ZDOO RI WKH SV\FKLDWULVW¡V RIĂ€FH +HU OHYHO RI SHUVRQDO disclosure is unprecedented but she reveals her full humanity including paranoia, medications, and sexuality. By telling her story, she contributes to the normalization of mental disease as something treatable when afforded access to the health care system. &RPL[ DUWLVW &DURO 7\OHU¡V HDUO\ ZRUN tracks her limited job opportunities

Page 10

as an art school graduate which are collected in her book, The Job Thing. In the 1980s, Tyler contributed to feminist comix publications. Today VKH LV FHOHEUDWHG IRU KHU PXOWL YROXPH JUDSKLF QRYHO <RX¡OO 1HYHU .QRZ where she embarked on a journey of discovery as she investigated her IDWKHU¡V UHSUHVVHG * , -RH PHPRULHV She incorporated autobiographical stories of her struggles to function as a mother, child and wife, especially her somewhat unconventional marriage to the creator of the character Binky Brown, Justin Green, who struggled with his own demons referred to DERYH 6KH SRZHUIXOO\ SODFHV 3RVW Traumatic Stress Syndrome, earlier known as “shell shockâ€? and “battle fatigueâ€? in an everyday context, currently and continuously topical today as American soldiers return from service in Iraq and Afghanistan. R. Crumb describes her work: “There are no great heroics, no clean UHVROXWLRQV QR FOHYHU SXW GRZQV 7KH EDG JX\V GRQ¡W JHW SXQLVKHG YLFWRULHV are small, few and far between, QRERG\¡V >VLF@ D VDLQW LQFOXGLQJ WKH DXWKRU SURWDJRQLVW KHUVHOI ÂŤÂľ +HU comics and graphic novels serve as a largely reconstructed journal, helping readers recall lost details in their own lives. Julie Doucet, a QuĂŠbecoise, was recognized by the mostly male underground comix community as equally raunchy in subject matter and matched their bravado in EDUULHU FURVVLQJ VHOI SXEOLVKHG ]LQHV

Originally using a copy machine, she got her work out to the public. While the men were obsessed with their private parts, she was drawing stories about female masturbation, periods, and orgasms.7 She also published diaries in the form of graphic novels revealing her diogenic lifestyle as she confronted the realities of her limited income. Unlike Carol Tyler, whose carefully drawn serial graphic novel has been interpreted as a “rambling reminiscence,â€?8 Doucet GUHZ KHU HYHU\GD\ OLIH ZLWKRXW exercising cautious revisions. We know when she drank too much, had her period, missed a day or two of entries because of epilepsy, when her complicated relationships with family and friends intruded, or she frenetically worked to meet a deadline. Her work contributes to the long tradition of female diarists such as AnaĂŻs Nin who reveal a state of mind to the reader while leaving mountains of contemporary background information to be exhumed by scholars. Eventually Doucet decided to leave the comix world and now concentrates on making witty limited edition handmade books, collages, and short videos. Gilad Seliktar lives and works in Israel. He has a drawing style that is a powerful whisper compared to other graphic novelists in the exhibition. His feathery lines capture split second PRPHQWV VXFK DV VZHHSLQJ D Ă RRU D GRJ¡V JDLW JUDEELQJ FDU NH\V VR subtly that one hears them dragging across the table. The book, Farm 54, was produced with his sister, Gilat, whose poetic text speaks of guilt and memory. A baby died. Was another child at fault? Did the burial of a family dog and a stolen stash of porn reveal confused morality among children, with suggestions of Lord of the Flies? The Seliktars gleaned material from their idealistic kibbutz upbringing as well as from contradictory experiences and emotions lived during compulsory military service. Drawings from KLV FXUUHQW VROR SURMHFW DQ DV \HW

XQWLWOHG JUDSKLF QRYHO UHĂ HFW XSRQ KLV own military service. Arpita Singh, an Indian artist, works on paper with gouache, ink, and text. 7KH SDLQWLQJV DUH VPDOO VFDOH ZRUNV ZLWK ODUJH VFDOH LPSDFW 3DUWLFXODUO\ germane in view of the international notoriety of savage attacks on Indian ZRPHQ DUH KHU PDOH Ă€JXUHV VRPH holding guns but most suggesting power and menacing intentions. Her artwork is mature, with a perspective RI RYHU Ă€IW\ \HDUV RI H[KLELWLRQ KLVWRU\ 6LQJK¡V Ă RDWLQJ Ă€JXUHV DUH UHPLQLVFHQW RI 0DUF &KDJDOO¡V DQG KHU PDS OLNH UHIHUHQFHV KDYH WKH OD\HULQJ of embroidery work, recalling her early associations with textile art. 7KH VXJJHVWLRQV PDGH LQ WKHVH WH[W infused drawings are universal in their brooding struggles between the sexes. Not many of us can say we knew a serial killer, but John “Derfâ€? Backderf went to high school with the notorious -HIIUH\ 'DKPHU ZKRVH Ă€UVW RI PXUGHUV WRRN SODFH LQ KLV SDUHQWV¡ suburban Akron, Ohio hometown in 1978.9 Backderf gives the reader reason to ruminate upon the formative \HDUV RI RWKHU KLJK SURĂ€OH VHULDO rapists and killers such as Michael Madison, Anthony Sewell and most UHFHQWO\ VH[XDO SUHGDWRU NLGQDSSHU Ariele Castro, all from Ohio. High school is a state of mind and Backderf takes his viewer back to memories of awkwardness and interaction with social pariahs. Hitting accurate notes denoting class and regional dialect in 3XQN 5RFN DQG 7UDLOHU 3DUNV Backderf brings the viewer into a GHPL PRQGH RI VXEVLVWHQFH URFN clubs and a slacker lifestyle with unanticipated moments of excitement. Original drawings from Punk Rock and

Page 11

Trailer Parks as well as his critically acclaimed My Friend Dahmer featured in this exhibition, demonstrate his skills as writer and artist. 0HQ DQG NQLWWLQJ GRQ¡W RIWHQ JR together. Mark Newport, Artist in Residence and head of the Fiber Department at the Cranbook Academy RI $UW KDV EHHQ PDNLQJ OLIH VL]H KDQG NQLW VXSHUKHUR FRVWXPHV WKDW KDQJ RQ WKH ZDOO OLNH 0LFKHODQJHOR¡V Ă D\HG VNLQ LQ WKH 6LVWLQH &KDSHO¡V /DVW -XGJPHQW 1HZSRUW¡V KXPDQ cozies are associated with many FRPLF ERRN KHURHV VXFK DV %DWPDQ Captain America and other fan favorites. Even those cognoscenti IDPLOLDU ZLWK 0LFKDHO &KDUERQ¡V QRYHO 7KH (VFDSLVW ZLOO Ă€QG DQ DSSURSULDWH RXWĂ€W $GGLWLRQDOO\ KH KDV EURXJKW to life a group of unique alter egos, characters including Argyleman, 6ZHDWHUPDQ DQG < PDQ $ YLGHR IHDWXUHV 1HZSRUW LQ VXSHU SRZHUHG knitting mode with the accompanying background music of the William Tell 2YHUWXUH 5RVVLQL¡V RSHUDWLF RSHQHU LV an appropriate choice since the music was also the theme for “The Lone Rangerâ€? television series, featuring D ZHOO PDQQHUHG PDVNHG KHUR DQG ZDV UHJXODUO\ UHUXQ GXULQJ 1HZSRUW¡V childhood. Peter Kuper, Lance Tooks, and Sandy Jimenez have worked together on .XSHU DQG 6HWK 7RERFPDQ¡V SROLWLFDOO\ charged journal, World War 3 ,OOXVWUDWHG :: .XSHU¡V HDUO\ autobiographical graphic narratives DUH VHOI REVHVVHG WDOHV RI \RXWKIXO sexual exploration. Known for his over \HDU VWHZDUGVKLS RI ´6S\ YV 6S\Âľ in Mad Magazine, he also publishes his travel sketchbooks, most recently Diario de Oaxaca, where Kuper inadvertently discovered political upheaval in the quotidian Mexican landscape. His graphic novel from 1996, The System, is renown for its clever wordless approach where plot is sustained by posters, newspaper headlines, news crawls, building

Page 12

VLJQV DQG VXEZD\ JUDIĂ€WL WKURXJKRXW the book.10 The words on such surfaces are clues to the action in the narrative. David A. Beronä likens this approach to the tradition of silent movies.11 Incorporating murder mysteries in the gritty underbelly of New York, the imagery in The System FDQ¡W EH VHSDUDWHG IURP .XSHU¡V everyday experiences in the city, with names of familiar people and sites. The missing Betty Russell is the name RI .XSHU¡V ZLIH $ VXESORW DERXW D child accidentally killed by a good cop LV QDPHG QRW XQFRLQFLGHQWDOO\ 6DQG\ Jimenez, a frequent contributor to WW3 whose work appears in this show. 6DQG\ -LPHQH] LV D Ă€UVW JHQHUDWLRQ American of Dominican heritage and grew up in the Bronx badlands. Sandy was by raised his mother, whose husband decided not to emigrate PLGZD\ WKURXJK KLV ZLIH¡V SUHJQDQF\ Instead of naming her son for an American founding father, she chose Brooklyn Dodgers star Sandy Koufax, evidence of a baseball obsession she brought with her to New York. -LPHQH] ZDV DPRQJ WKH Ă€UVW VWXGHQWV selected for the Columbia University sponsored “Prep for Prepâ€? program that brought high scoring achievers from poor neighborhoods into top New York City private schools. His narratives speak to the dichotomy EHWZHHQ KLV EDFNJURXQG DQG KLV ´Ă€VK out of waterâ€? situation that continued though his college years at the prestigious Cooper Union. Jimenez was well aware that comix were not a

recognized art form at the program and developed his style outside of the curriculum. He met Peter Kuper in the late 1970s and in time became a regular editor and contributor to WW3. In 2001 Jimenez published “Skipsâ€? in WW3. It is a morality tale set in the culture of the South Bronx, EDVHG RQ SHHU SUHVVXUH DQG PHWKRGV RI YLROHQW DFTXLVLWLRQ RI KLJK SULFHG designer brands among children, a state of affairs that continues to plague youth culture. Lance Tooks is celebrated for the graphic novel featuring his lovely IHPDOH DOWHU HJR 1DUFLVVD D QDPH WKDW VWURQJO\ LQIHUV WKH FKDUDFWHU¡V VHOI LPDJH RI JUDQGLRVLW\ 7KH narrative incorporates an array of psychological states and sociological concepts: misogyny, atheism, racism, colonialism, dreams, lifecycles, friendship, sexuality and fear of failure. According to Michael Chaney, 1DUFLVVD LV D GRXEO\ PDUJLQDOL]HG Ă€JXUH LQ KHU YRFDWLRQ DV D EODFN IHPDOH Ă€OP GLUHFWRU PXFK OLNH 7RRNV as a black artist working in the predominantly white comix world.12 The plot device of a terminal disease FKDQJHV 1DUFLVVD¡V VKRUW WHUP JRDOV IURP HGLWLQJ KHU Ă€UVW IHDWXUH Ă€OP to a serendipitous escape to the Alhambra in Spain, a country where Tooks has lived as an expatriate for over twenty years. At the time he wrote Narcissa, there were very few $IULFDQ $PHULFDQV ZRUNLQJ EHKLQG the camera. Today we see black KLVWRU\ EDVHG PRYLHV EHLQJ GLUHFWHG DQG SURGXFHG E\ PLQRULW\ Ă€OPPDNHUV including The Butler and 12 Years a 6ODYH 7RRN¡V 1DUFLVVD PLPLFV WKH Ă€OP H[SHULHQFH ZLWK LWV XQGXODWLQJ linearity and wordy conversational banter. Every page is set against a black border as if the reader were sitting in a darkened movie theater. Even the last page fades to black. It is a black comedy, which as Narcissa notes, never included black actors. Tooks has developed a parallel career DV DQ DFWRU GLUHFWRU IXUWKHU OLQNLQJ WKH ODG\ DQG JUDSKLF QRYHOLVW DV DOWHU ego.

3KLODGHOSKLD EDVHG +LUR 6DNDJXFKL¡V SDVWHO FRORUHG ODQGVFDSH SDLQWLQJV UHFDOO KLV VHFRQG JHQHUDWLRQ SRVW nuclear youth in Tokyo, Japan where he regularly watched Godzilla movies IHDWXULQJ VFL Ă€ PRQVWHUV DQG VSDFH ships. Paintings by Sakaguchi contain dreamlike imagery associated with childhood but they are also haunting LQ VXJJHVWLRQV RI W\SKRRQV Ă€UHV DQG military hardware. When I asked how he learned about the atomic bombings in Japan, he recalled seeing Barefoot Gen in middle school, based on Keiji 1DND]DZD¡V DXWRELRJUDSKLFDO PDQJD series and commented that he learned much Japanese history from graphic QRYHOV 1DND]DZD¡V PDQJD DUH based on his survivor experience, and complement the power of Maus. In Barefoot Gen, a young boy witnesses his family being burned to death in Hiroshima and observes walking corpses, a concept known as “hungry ghostsâ€? in Buddhist culture. Sakaguchi FRPELQHV PDQJD LQVSLUHG VXEMHFW matter, with ephemeral drawings and SDVWHO KXHG ZDVKHV XVXDOO\ DVVRFLDWHG with traditional Japanese scroll painting and woodcuts but applied to :HVWHUQ VW\OH VWUHWFKHG FDQYDVHV +H sees his work as a fusion of Eastern and Western cultures. Marcus Benavides is a Texan recently settled in Philadelphia after graduate VFKRRO LQ :LVFRQVLQ +LV OLIH VFDOHG black and white woodcuts reference the style of R. Crumb and suggest the saintliness of street people. According to Benavides, they are all based on people he has known personally. Benavides gives us a QLPEXV KHDGHG EDUHIRRW VKRSSHU ZLWK an appendectomy scar and a haloed KXQFKEDFN DORQJVLGH KHU MXQN ORDGHG FDUW 7KH ODWWHU HFKRHV D FRQVXPHU driven society with a trashed brand IDVW IRRG FXS WKDW PDWFKHV D OLW XS sign on a skyscraper. A man sporting a crown of light rides a subway and has a stump for a hand. In another woodcut, a longshoreman modeled on his grandfather, whom the artist

Page 13

closely resembles, is fascinated with KLV KDORHG UHĂ HFWLRQ 7KHVH ´0RGHUQ Saintsâ€? bring to mind Caravaggio, who used street indigents as models for the venerated, upsetting his GRQRUV ZLWK D EORDWHG FRUSVH OLNH 0DU\ RU Ă€OWK\ UDJ GUDSHG -RKQ RU Paul. Benavides reconsiders who is saintly, providing what he believes is a correction to canonization, and offering a counterpoint to Justin *UHHQ¡V UHVSRQVH WR &DWKROLFLVP ,W LV LQWHUHVWLQJ WR QRWH WKDW %HQDYLGHV¡V DQG *UHHQ¡V UHDFWLYH HSLSKDQLHV WRRN place at about the same age, when WKH\ ZHUH LQ WKHLU PLG WZHQWLHV All of the artists in Compulsive Narratives indeed have stories that MUST be told. They search for answers through their medium of choice, revealing what most leave at ZRUN KRPH RU WKH WKHUDSLVW¡V RIĂ€FH By sharing their angst, they inform us about our own journeys through life. Whether they reference personal history, groundbreaking psychiatric theory, popular culture, religion, politics, or sexuality, they all explore what is usually hidden. In the world of the graphic novel, Justin Green RSHQHG D GRRU WKDW FDQ¡W EH FORVHG 7RGD\ \RX FDQ Ă€QG DQ LOOXVWUDWHG VWRU\ WKDW FRQIURQWV QHDUO\ HYHU\ GLIĂ€FXOW subject. This exhibition of artists and works presents a very small sampling IURP WKH ZRUOG RI FRPL[ IRU WKH most part the medium of the graphic novel provides an enjoyable read, one that is, in fact, fun. The painter, sculptor, knitter, and printmaker

complement these stories with larger scale subtle narratives. The nature of their mediums allows for the audience to bring his or her own experience to the work, expanding possible interpretations. Have a seat, lean back, and enjoy some of the graphic novels but be forewarned: giggles, tears, and wry smiles while reading them may be good for your health.

Cheryl Harper Guest Curator

(QGQRWHV

$UW 6SLHJHOPDQ 1RW -XVW IRU *URZQ XSV $Q\PRUH %RURZVN\ Gallery at the Gershman Y, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (October 1RYHPEHU &R FXUDWHG E\ &KHU\O +DUSHU DQG 1DWDOLD Indrimi. $ UHYLHZ RI GHĂ€QLWLRQV RI WKH ZRUG ´FRPL[Âľ FDQ EH FRPELQHG to mean: an adulteration of or alternative to the use of the word ´FRPLFV Âľ VHOI SXEOLVKHG ERRNV RU FRPLF VWULSV RU SURGXFHG E\ VPDOO presses, especially for underground adult audiences and, according to WKH 0LULDP :HEVWHU RQ OLQH GLFWLRQDU\ ZLWK D Ă€UVW XVH GDWLQJ WR Comix can be considered any short illustrated story that is outside of the mainstream press with raunchy, sexual, or unconventional content when compared to comics. The reading audience is mostly male but has a female contingency and begins in early youth, especially with the expansion of graphic novels in Young Adult Literature sections in public libraries. 3 Art Spiegelman, in his forward to Binky Brown Meets The +RO\ 9LUJLQ 0DU\ 6DQ )UDQFLVFR 0F6ZHHQH\¡V %RRNV VWDWHV ´ , UHDGLO\ FRQIHVV WKDW ZLWKRXW KLV >*UHHQ¡V@ ZRUN WKHUH ZRXOG EH QR Maus.â€? 7KH &RPLFV &RGH $XWKRULW\ ZDV D VHOI JRYHUQLQJ ERG\ founded in 1954 to designate good societal values and desexualized content in comic books. Its approval took the form of a seal designed to look like an attached stamp on the covers and was found on most major published titles through the 20th century. The original code is D IDVFLQDWLQJ UHĂ HFWLRQ RQ SRVW ZDU $PHULFDQ FXOWXUDO YDOXHV 6HH IRU instance, http://www.comicartville.com/comicscode.htm. 5 Justin Green, afterward to Binky Brown Meets the Holy 9LUJLQ 0DU\ 7KH DIWHUZDUG LV D SURVH HVVD\ RI VHOI HYDOXDWLRQ DQG FRQWH[W LQ WKLV UHSULQW RI WKH FRPLF ERRN ,W ZDV GLIĂ€FXOW for Green to top the notoriety of Binky. He credits his studies of Carl -XQJ¡V 0DQ DQG +LV 6\PEROV DV KLV URDG WR VHOI DQDO\VLV DQG UHFRYHU\ 6 R. Crumb, forward to Carol Tyler, Late Bloomer (Seattle, WA: )DQWDJUDSKLF %RRNV )RU LQVLJKW LQWR 'RXFHW¡V FRPL[ VHH IRU H[DPSOH VHH $QGUHD -XQR¡V LQWHUYLHZ ZLWK -XOLH 'RXFHW $QGUHD -XQR 'DQJHURXV 'UDZLQJV 1HZ <RUN -XQR %RRNV DQG WKH QHZ FRPSLODWLRQ -XOLH 'RXFHW )DQWDVWLF 3ORWWH 0RQWUHDO /¡2LH GH &UDYDQ 'RXJODV :RON¡V UHYLHZ RI <RX¡OO 1HYHU .QRZ %RRN , E\ &DURO Tyler, “What Did You Do in the War, Dad?â€? The New York Times, June 7, 2009. 9 “Jeffrey Dahmer, Multiple Killer, is Bludgeoned to Death in Prison,â€? The New York Times, November 29, 1994.

COMPULSIVE NARRATIVES: Â Stories that be Told T S U

M Page 14

.XSHU LV LQĂ XHQFHG E\ DQ $PHULFDQ JUDSKLF QRYHOLVW ZLWK WLHV to New Jersey, Lynd Ward. The original wood engraving blocks for his wordless novel, Vertigo, are in the John DePol Collection of American Wood Engravings, located at Rutgers University Library in New %UXQVZLFN 6HH ZZZ ]LPPHUOLPXVHXP UXWJHUV HGX O\QG ZDUG JDOOHU\ 11 David A. Beronä, “Wordless Comics: The Imaginative Appeal RI 3HWHU .XSHU¡V Âś7KH 6\VWHP¡¾ LQ :RUGOHVV %RRNV 7KH 2ULJLQDO *UDSKLF 1RYHOV 1HZ <RUN $EUDPV 0LFKDHO &KDQH\ ´'UDZLQJ RQ +LVWRU\ LQ 5HFHQW $IULFDQ American Graphic Novels,â€? 0(/86 QR )DOO 13 Manga is a term for Japanese cartoons, comic books, and DQLPDWHG Ă€OPV 3RSXODU ZLWK DOO DJHV PDQJD KDV LWV RULJLQV LQ WKH WK century and covers a wide range of subject matter.

Page 15

JOHN BACKDERF IS KNOWN PROFESSIONALLY AS “DERF.�

He has spent most of his professional career in &OHYHODQG 2KLR $Q DZDUG ZLQQLQJ political cartoonist, he is best known for his weekly comic strip “The Cityâ€? that has appeared in newspapers nationally and is available in a web format compatible with FXUUHQW WDEOHWV +LV Ă€UVW JUDSKLF QRYHO ZDV Trashed that appeared in 2002, a book about his adventures as a minimum wage garbage man in his suburban hometown, 5LFKĂ€HOG 2KLR +LV QH[W ERRN ZDV 3XQN 5RFN DQG 7UDLOHU 3DUNV DERXW D VHOI DSSRLQWHG %DURQ D VODFNHU ZKRVH FRQĂ€GHQW attitude abets his success as a peripheral enabler of the punk rock scene in 1980s Akron.

Born: 1959 Education: B.S. Journalism, Ohio State University Resides: Cleveland, Ohio

Marcus Benavides TO UNDERSTAND MARCUS %(1$9,'(6¡6 %$&.*5281' it

helps to know that his grandparents were of Mexican heritage. They worked in the FDQQHULHV RI /RQJ %HDFK KLV SDUHQWV ODWHU settled in Corpus Christie, Texas. His relationship with the Catholic Church during his teens consisted of deep indoctrination and embrace, complete with catechism OHVVRQV DQG FRQĂ€UPDWLRQ %HQDYLGHV ZDV DQG FRQWLQXHV WR EH LQĂ XHQFHG E\ WKH indigenous mysticism of the Mexican Church, including belief in magic and in local saints who were worshipped but not necessarily recognized by Rome. He began to question dogma and today considers KLPVHOI DQ DJQRVWLF %HQDYLGHV¡V ´0RGHUQ Saintsâ€? series of 2012, is witness to a catharsis he had concerning Catholicism. He questions who is venerated in contemporary culture and he considers who may be a false saint. This series is also commentary on the current culture of celebrity, one that is fascinated with movie stars, sports Ă€JXUHV DQG HQWHUWDLQHUV 0DMRU LQĂ XHQFHV RQ %HQDYLGHV LQFOXGH WK DQG WK FHQWXU\ German wood engravings of saints by the Master E.S. and Martin Schongauer, whose few extant wood engravings include Saint Anthony Tormented by Demons. He is also inspired by the witchcraft imagery of Hans Baldung Grien, the prints of German Expressionists, the wood engravings of American artist Lynd Ward, as well as the FRPL[ RI 5 &UXPE %HQDYLGHV¡V ZRRGEORFNV WDNH FRQVLGHUDEOH WLPH WR FDUYH PDQ\ WLQ\ GHWDLOV DUH XVHG WR DFWLYDWH XQXVXDOO\ ODUJH scaled prints.

'HUI DQG KLV FLUFOH RI VHOI GHVFULEHG JHHNV befriended Jeffrey Dahmer in middle school and again at Revere High School, both located just outside of Akron, Ohio. In the pecking order of public school culture, even among boys that were banned from popular circles, Dahmer was DQ RXWVLGHU 'HUI¡V JURXS KHOG 'DKPHU XS as their ridiculous mascot, embracing his eccentricities, egging him on to behavior that would embarrass most, but that was appreciated by this small coterie. Dahmer disappeared shortly after his 1978 graduation, never to contact his school IULHQGV DJDLQ 'HUI IRXQG KLP \HDUV later as a headline. My Friend Dahmer XQIROGV XS WR WKH WLPH RI 'DKPHU¡V Ă€UVW NLOOLQJ DIWHU ZKLFK 'HUI FODLPV KH lost interest in his gruesome activities. Many artists draw from their past, but in penning My Friend Dahmer, Derf used his unique skill set, as a journalist and artist, to bring the formation and evolution of a serial killer to the public in a sympathetic manner. The book began as short comic ERRN VWRULHV WKHQ DV D VHOI SXEOLVKHG VKRUW comic book and evolved over more than a decade. The extended graphic novel, with the Abrams ComicArts imprint, expanded 0\ )ULHQG 'DKPHU¡V GLVWULEXWLRQ LQWR WKH mass market and reaped critical success for Backderf. It has since been translated and printed in French and German.

Recent exhibitions include Expressing the Social Conscience at John Jay College Gallery, New York City, Cold Drink III at the Du Mois Gallery in New Orleans, and Next: Print Matters, Montrose Gallery, Houston, all in 2012. Benavides completed a .LFNVWDUWHU IXQGHG UHVLGHQF\ DW WKH 9HQLFH Printmaking Studio in Venice, Italy in 2012.

Website: www.derfcity.com From  Punk  Rock  and  Trailer  Parks,  n.p.,  2010,  pen  and  ink,  14â€?  x  10â€?

Page 16

John “Derf� Backderf

Modern  Saints  Series  V,  2012,   woodcut  print  on  hand-­â€?dyed  Japanese  paper,  104â€?  x  42â€?

Born: 1985 (GXFDWLRQ % ) $ 7H[DV $ 0 8QLYHUVLW\ &RUSXV &KULVWL 0 $ 3ULQWPDNLQJ 8QLYHUVLW\ RI :LVFRQVLQ 0DGLVRQ 0 ) $ 3ULQWPDNLQJ University of Wisconsin, Madison Resides: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Website: www.marcusbenavides.com

Page 17

JULIE DOUCET WAS BORN IN MONTREAL where she attended all

JLUOV¡ &DWKROLF VFKRROV 6KH FRPSOHWHG D degree in printmaking at the UniversitĂŠ du QuĂŠbec Ă MontrĂŠal. Doucet developed an LQWHUHVW LQ FRPL[ DQG KHU ZHOO NQRZQ VHULHV “Dirty Plotteâ€? began as a photocopied fanzine in Montreal. The word “plotteâ€? is D )UHQFK &DQDGLDQ HXSKHPLVP IRU IHPDOH JHQLWDOLD LW LV DOVR VODQJ IRU SURVWLWXWH In her comix drawn during the 1980s DQG V VKH UHĂ HFWHG XSRQ KHU GDLO\ routines, fears, sexuality, and fantasies. The Canadian comix publisher Drawn and Quarterly began to publish “Dirty Plotteâ€? as a comic book for which she received the Harvey Award for Best New Talent in 1991. Her work has been included in many scholarly books and articles on feminist comix and graphic novels. Doucet is considered to be one of a handful of KLJKO\ UHVSHFWHG ZRPHQ LQ WKH KLVWRU\ RI the genre. She left Montreal for New York City for a year of sex, drugs, and career growth that she recorded in her compilation My New York Diary, followed by a move to Seattle, a hub of comix activity, where she lived for an extensive period. She lived in Berlin for three years, during which time she established a relationship with the )UHQFK SXEOLVKHU /¡$VVRFLDWLRQ 5HWXUQLQJ to Montreal in the late 1990s, she made statements that suggested an end to her engagement with the medium of comix in order to concentrate on printmaking, collage, and book arts. Her videos combine words, collage imagery and sound. All of her DUWLVWLF RXWSXW PL[HV ODQJXDJHV VRPH DUH published in multiple languages including her most recent bilingual compilation of some of her “Dirty Plotteâ€? comix in Fantastic 3ORWWH SXEOLVKHG E\ /¡2LH GH &UDYDQ LQ Doucet says she likes to “work, work, work,â€? and as someone who seemingly never stops producing, she released a limited edition FRPSLODWLRQ RI KHU YLGHRV IURP this year. >ĞǀĹ?ƚĂĆ&#x;ŽŜÍ• ϭϾϴϾÍ• Ĺ?Ŝŏ ŽŜ ĆŒĹ?Ć?ĆšŽů Ć‰Ä‚Ć‰ÄžĆŒÍ• ĎľÍ&#x; dž ĎłÍ&#x;

Julie Doucet

Born: 1965

Ellen Forney ELLEN FORNEY GREW UP IN 0(78&+(1 1(: -(56(< a

Born: 1968 Education: B.A. Psychology, Wesleyan University Resides: Seattle, Washington Website: www.ellenforney.com

childhood she revisits in her book, Monkey Food: The Complete “I Was Seven in ‘75â€? Collection. At age 12, her family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she attended Masterman High School. She has lived in Seattle since 1989. At Wesleyan University, she majored in Psychology, which may have prepared her for a journey to understand her diagnosis and treatment options years later. As is the case with many patients suffering from chronic bipolar disorder, she can chart a genetic family tree of depression. Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me, A Graphic Memoir, was a sensation when it was published, with reviews, features and interviews in newspapers, journals, and other outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian, National Public Radio, /RV $QJHOHV 7LPHV DQG 3XEOLVKHU¡V :HHNO\ In Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me, A Graphic Memoir, Forney incorporates sequential comic strip panels that advance the narrative, sketch book drawings, diagrammatic pages RI LQIRUPDWLRQ DUW KLVWRULFDO Ă€JXUHV she sees as kindred spirits sharing her disease, wordy pages of thought balloons and photographs—an intriguing balanced mix that explains a disease known for its imbalance. Marbles spent weeks on The New York Times Best Seller List. Forney received The Stranger Genius Award in Literature in 2012 and a National Book Award with Sherman Alexi for 7KH $EVROXWHO\ 7UXH 'LDU\ RI D 3DUW 7LPH ,QGLDQ LQ /LWWOH %URZQ Her other books include Lust in 2008 )DQWDJUDSKLFV DQG , /RYHG /HG =HSSHOLQ LQ )DQWDJUDSKLFV 6KH KDV ORRNHG WR Alison Bechdel, Michael Dougan, and Matt *URHQLQJ DV LQĂ XHQFHV )RUQH\ WHDFKHV DW the Cornish College of the Arts. She is a popular lecturer appearing at numerous colleges and universities, book festivals, and literary events. From  Marbles:  Mania,  Depression,  Michelangelo,  Ä‚ŜĚ DĞ͕ ĎŽĎŹĎ­ĎŽÍ• Ć‰Í˜ Ď­Ď­ĎŽ ÍžWĆ?LJÄ?ĹšĹ?Ä‚ĆšĆŒĹ?Ć?ƚ͛Ć? ŽĸÄ?Ğ͕ ĨĆŒĆľĆ?ĆšĆŒÄ‚ĆšÄžÄšÍ˜ Íž/ ŚĂƚĞ ƚŚĂƚ / ŚĂǀĞ ƚŽ ĎŜĚ Ä?Ä‚ĹŻÄ‚ĹśÄ?ÄžÍ&#x;Ϳ͕ Ĺ?Ŝŏ ŽŜ Ć‰Ä‚Ć‰ÄžĆŒÍ• Ď­ĎłÍ&#x; dž Ď­ĎŽÍ&#x;

Education: UniversitĂŠ du QuĂŠbec Ă MontrĂŠal Resides: Montreal, Canada Website: www.juliedoucet.net

Page 18

Page 19

Justin Green

Born: 1945 Education: B.F.A. Rhode Island 6FKRRO RI 'HVLJQ 0 ) $ VWXGLHV Syracuse University Resides: Cincinnati, Ohio Blog: justingreencartoonart. blogspot.com

Sandy Jimenez

JUSTIN GREEN WAS RAISED ,1 &+,&$*2 Illinois where he

attended Catholic schools. During his years at RISD, he majored in painting and went to Italy as part of an exchange program where he was in constant contact with religious art. Abandoning his graduate studies at Syracuse University in upstate New York, he migrated to the West Coast to seek out the San Francisco comix scene. Once there, he became part of that underground comix movement with R. Crumb and Art Spiegelman. During this period he wrote Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary in 1972, and its follow up, Sacred and 3URIDQH DSSHDUHG LQ 0F6ZHHQH\¡V Books reissued Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary in 2009 with a forward by Art Spiegelman and an extensive afterward by Green, generating a new cohort of cult followers. The drawings for the entire Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary were displayed at the Vancouver Art *DOOHU\ LQ DW WKH .5$=< H[KLELWLRQ they appeared at the Festival International de la Bande DessinĂŠe in AngoulĂŞme, France LQ DQG VHOHFWHG SDJHV ZHUH VKRZQ DW the 23rd Festival International de Banda Desenhada da Amadora, Portugal in 2012. *UHHQ¡V %LQN\ %URZQ JUDSKLF QRYHOV KDYH been analyzed by numerous scholars in dozens of books and articles. In 1998, Green moved to Cincinnati where he made a decision to become a professional sign painter, building on his agility with fonts and a steady hand. In the 1980s and 1990s he penned a comic VWULS FDOOHG ´6LJQ *DPHÂľ IRU WKH LQGXVWU\¡V monthly magazine, Sign of the Times. As WKH QHHG IRU SURIHVVLRQDO KDQG SDLQWHG signs was eclipsed by the onset of the digital age, Green developed a second cult IROORZLQJ DV DQ DUW VLJQ SDLQWHU *UDIĂ€WL DUW VLJQ SDLQWHU 6WHSKHQ 3RZHUV IRXQG Green in Cincinnati during a mural painting project and has since included him in his FRWHULH $ OLYH VLJQ SDLQWLQJ SHUIRUPDQFH by Green took place during the opening of ,&< 6LJQV 6WHSKHQ 3RZHUV ,&< 6LJQV Perfection is Standard, Mistakes Cost Extra at the Joshua Liner Gallery in New York City on October 24, 2013. &ĆŒŽž Ĺ?ŜŏLJ ĆŒĹ˝Ç ĹśÍ• ϭϾϳώÍ• ĨÄ‚Ä?Äž ƉĂĹ?Äž Íž ŽŜĨÄžĆ?Ć?Ĺ?ŽŜ ƚŽ žLJ ĆŒÄžÄ‚ÄšÄžĆŒĆ?Ϳ͕ ƉĞŜ ĂŜĚ Ĺ?ŜŏÍ• ÄžůͲsĹ?ŜLJů Ç ĹšĹ?ƚĞ͕ ÇŒĹ?ƉͲ a-­â€?tone  on  500  series  Strathmore  paper,  20â€?  x  15â€?,  Ä?ŽůůÄžÄ?Ć&#x;ŽŜ ŽĨ 'ĹŻÄžŜŜ ĆŒÄ‚Ç‡

SANDY JIMENEZ ATTENDED THE PRIVATE CALHOUN SCHOOL on the Upper West Side in

New York City from 7th grade through high school. He was the second student to complete the “Prep for Prepâ€? intervention program. According to Jimenez, comic books were responsible for his strong reading comprehension scores on standardized tests that opened doors to better opportunities. He considers himself an autodidact as a comix artist because every art teacher and most of his professors at Cooper Union discouraged that art form. As part of his Ă€QDO VKRZ DW WKH FROOHJH KH SUHVHQWHG four experimental comics along with his sculptures to the disdain of the dean and his department.

Born: 1968 Education: B.F.A. Cooper Union Resides: New York, New York Twitter: twitter.com/sandyjimenez

As the child of an immigrant he regularly considers the role of an outsider in KLV ZRUN &KDUDFWHUV LQ HDUOLHU VHOI published work included Marley Davidson, a South Bronx vampire hunter and exorcist who roamed the streets with an Imam, a Catholic priest, and a Rabbi as sidekicks. For the last decade, Jimenez has concentrated on tales inspired by his youth in which young Sandy, LGHQWLĂ€DEOH E\ KLV RYHUVL]HG EODFN VDXFHU eyes, is the protagonist. In the South Bronx setting, Jimenez fondly recalls community characters such as the Italian pizza maker, and his landlord, a Rabbi, conjoined in updated morality tales, and dedicates his WW3 Illustrated stories to old friends and professors. Recurring WKHPHV DUH LGHQWLW\ VHOI DZDUHQHVV DQG DV -LPHQH] GHVFULEHV LW ´ WKH FRQYHQLHQW LQWHQWLRQDO PLVLGHQWLĂ€FDWLRQ and assignation of heroism and villainy to all kinds of people for all kinds of reasons DQG PRWLYHV ÂŤ Âľ -LPHQH] Ă€QGV VRXUFH material in people who considered his PRWKHU VLPSOH PLQGHG EHFDXVH RI KHU faulty English, and in relatives who were treated like criminals or loiterers as they shopped or asked for directions. Jimenez met the founders of WW3 Illustrated through a Cooper Union professor. A year later he began editing issues of the magazine as well as producing comix for it. He also writes scripts and animates video shorts. &ĆŒŽž ^Ĺ?ĹśĹ?ĹŻÄž >ĞŜĆ? ZĞŇĞdž͕ ĎŽĎŹĎ­ĎŻÍ• Ĺ?Ŝŏ ŽŜ Ć‰Ä‚Ć‰ÄžĆŒÍ• Ď­ĎłÍ&#x; x  14“

Page 20

Page 21

Peter Kuper %251 ,1 6800,7 1(: -(56(< 3(7(5 .83(5 029(' TO &OHYHODQG DQG OLYHG WKHUH IURP

Born: 1958 Education: Studies at Kent State University, Arts Student League of New York, and Pratt Institute Resides: New York, New York Website: www.peterkuper.com

1977. Seth Tobocman, his childhood friend and lifelong collaborator, grew up on the next block in his Cleveland QHLJKERUKRRG WKH\ PRYHG WR 1HZ <RUN City around the same time. Shortly after their relocation, Tobocman and .XSHU FR IRXQGHG WKH SROLWLFDO JUDSKLF journal WW3 Illustrated in 1979. The magazine, now preparing for its 35th anniversary, features prose, poetry, DQG FRPL[ WKHPDWLF LVVXHV VXFK DV a 9/11 memorial theme appeared in ´7KH )RRG &KDLQÂľ ZDV SXEOLVKHG LQ DQG ´([SUHVVLRQ 5HSUHVVLRQ Revolution!â€? came out in 2012. Kuper took what knowledge was useful from the colleges he attended as his work progressed rather than graduating with GHJUHHV KH QRZ WHDFKHV DW WZR RI WKH most prestigious institutions of higher learning, Harvard and The School of Visual Arts. Kuper, through a balance of teaching, illustrating, cartooning, publishing, and sales, is able to support his New York City lifestyle, travel, and political journalism.

Two wordless book artists, the Belgian printmaker Franz Masereel and the American illustrator Lynd Ward inspire Kuper. Among German Expressionists, Kuper admires the work of George Grosz and Otto Dix. Kuper expresses his political commitments through WW3 Illustrated. A overview of his recent activities includes: an animation on the disposal of nuclear waste, an upcoming graphic novel called Ruins, a new anthology anniversary of WW3 Illustrated, and his continued association with MAD Magazine as the man drawing WKH MDGHG SRVW FROG ZDU VWULS RI ´6S\ vs. Spy.â€? Kuper illustrated two books by an author he sees as a kindred spirit, Franz Kafka, as well as a limited edition VFUHHQ SULQWHG KDQJLQJ ERRN EDVHG RQ WKH &]HFK DXWKRU¡V VKRUW VWRU\ 7KH 7UHHV He has received several awards from the Society of Illustrators. WÄ‚Ĺ?Äž ĨĆŒŽž dŚĞ ^LJĆ?ƚĞž͕ ϭϾϾϲÍ• Ä?ĹŻÄ‚Ä?ĹŹ ĂŜĚ ĆŒÄžÄš spray  paint,  watercolor,  color  pencil,  12â€?  x  22,â€?  Ä?ŽůůÄžÄ?Ć&#x;ŽŜ ŽĨ ^Ä?ŽƊ ÄšÄžĆŒ

Page 22

MARK NEWPORT WAS 5$,6(' ,1 3,776),(/' MASSACHUSETTS where during cold

New England winters his mother made him warm handmade sweaters. According to Newport, his maternal grandmother LQWURGXFHG KLP DQG KLV EURWKHU WR FURVV stitching and knitting. As he evolved as an artist, he made baskets and worked ZLWK RWKHU Ă€EHUV EXW GXULQJ D WHDFKLQJ position in the Phoenix area, he began to think about border security and how those large expanses of desert could be compromised after 9/11. His imagination ran to superheroes to protect American LQWHUHVWV $W Ă€UVW KH HPEHOOLVKHG FRPLF book pages with embroidery. His wife, 3DWULFLD &KDQGOHU 1HZSRUW KHOSHG KLP UHGLVFRYHU KLV ORQJ QHJOHFWHG NQLWWLQJ VNLOOV and contributed to raising his appreciation Born: 1964 IRU SDWWHUQ PDNLQJ 7KLV LV KRZ WKH PLOG mannered crafts professor became a Education: B.F.A. Kansas City Art ,QVWLWXWH 0 ) $ 7KH $UW ,QVWLWXWH RI knitting superhero. He concentrated on Chicago traditional male comic book superheroes Resides: Keego Harbor, Michigan DV ZHOO DV OLWHUDU\ FKDUDFWHUV DQG Ă€JXUHV Website: marknewportartist.com drawn from other sources. He then began to invent his own heroes. Newport VRPHWLPHV SHUIRUPV LQ WKH KDQG NQLW costumes as in the video Heroic Efforts. He DOVR PDNHV WDEOHWRS Ă€JXUDWLYH ZRRGFDUYLQJV and narrative quilts. 1HZSRUW¡V UHFHQW RQH SHUVRQ VKRZV LQFOXGH Sweaterman at the Art Association of Jackson Hole in Jackson Hole, Wyoming LQ DQG LQ ,Q $FWLRQ DW WKH Downtown Gallery at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and Alter Egos at the Fairbanks Gallery at Oregon State University at Covallis. His work has been included in over 80 national group shows. Upcoming venues include Crafting a Continuum at Arizona State University Art Museum in Tempe, Arizona and Humor in Craft at the Kendall College of Art in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is an DUWLVW LQ UHVLGHQFH DQG KHDG RI FUDIWV DW &UDQEURRN $FDGHP\ RI $UW LQ %ORRPĂ€HOG Hills, Michigan. His work is represented in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and several regional museums.

Mark Newport

ĆŒĹ?LJůĞžĂŜ͕ ώϏϏϳ͕ ŚĂŜĚ ĹŹĹśĹ?Ćš Ä‚Ä?ĆŒÇ‡ĹŻĹ?Ä? Ç‡Ä‚ĆŒĹś ĂŜĚ Ä?ƾƊŽŜĆ?Í• Ď´ĎŹÍ&#x; dž ĎŽĎŻÍ&#x; dž ϲÍ&#x;

Page 23

HIRO SAKAGUCHI WAS BORN IN THE NAGANO AREA OF JAPAN and lived in Tokyo from ages

WR 6DNDJXFKL¡V GHVLUH WR EH DQ artist was so strong that he moved to the United States after four unsuccessful attempts to be admitted to the prestigious but highly competitive Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music (today NQRZQ DV 7RN\R 8QLYHUVLW\ RI WKH $UWV He migrated to Wooster, Massachusetts to learn English and then relocated in Philadelphia where he completed all of his art studies. According to Sakaguchi, KLV VW\OH LV VLJQLĂ€FDQWO\ LQĂ XHQFHG E\ Western art: he copied Renaissance paintings, Post Impressionists, and German Expressionists. He also admired Japanese artists from the Edo period such as wood block artist Hokusai and the Showa period artist Shiku Munakata.

Gilad Seliktar %251 ,1 5(+2927 ,65$(/ GILAD SELIKTAR IS AN ,//8675$725 comics artist,

and graphic novelist. his works UHJXODUO\ DSSHDU LQ LVUDHO¡V OHDGLQJ GDLO\ newspapers and magazines as well as in anthologies around the world. Farm 54 )DQIDUH 3RQHQW 0RQ ZDV LQFOXGHG DV DQ $QJRXOrPH ERRN DZDUG RIĂ€FLDO selection in 2009, and was on the 2011 OLVW RI EHVW ERRNV RI 3XEOLVKHU¡V :HHNO\ One of the most unusual aspects of his working method is that he collaborates with his poet sister, Galit, seven years his senior. In an online interview in the Graphic Novel Reporter, the two discuss how they worked on Farm 54. For Gilad, his memories were fainter so he could be objective in his approach. He knew the eponymous kibbutz well and recalled angst over the childhood incidents she described in her writing. In the last story in the book, he thought his sister was participating in an organization like the Girl Scouts, not WKH ,VUDHOL DUP\ +H GLGQ¡W NQRZ VKH was politically uncomfortable in some of her assignments in the Palestinian territories, including demolishing a IDPLO\¡V KRPH DV FROOHFWLYH SXQLVKPHQW 7KH WZR GRQ¡W DJUHH SROLWLFDOO\ RQ HYHU\ issue but they are able to work together VXFFHVVIXOO\ Ă€QGLQJ EDODQFH LQ WKHLU Ă€QDO RXWFRPHV

7KH Ă RZHUV LQ KLV ZRUN KDYH FRQQRWDWLRQV drawn from the East and the West. Crocuses in a photograph of the Swiss Alps reminded him of beauty in a world where there is constant war and GHVWUXFWLRQ WKH FURFXV LV DOVR D V\PERO RI UHQHZDO $ Ă€UH WKDW PRUSKV LQWR D chrysanthemum has multiple meanings, not the least of which is the hypnotic nature RI Ă DPH 7KH Ă RZHU LV WKH V\PERO RI Imperial Japan, longevity and autumn, and UHFDOOV FKLOGKRRG PHPRULHV RI KLV XQFOH¡V chrysanthemum farm in Japan. Recent RQH SHUVRQ H[KLELWLRQV LQFOXGH 9DSRU 7UDLO of Debris at Gallery Heubner & Heubner in Frankfurt, Germany in 2013 and No Particular Place to Go in the Morris Gallery at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 2010. 'Ä‚ÇŒĹ?ĹśĹ? &Ĺ?ĆŒÄž ΡώÍ• ĹšĆŒÇ‡Ć?ĂŜƚŚĞžƾžÍ• ĎŽĎŹĎ­ĎŻÍ• Ä‚Ä?ĆŒÇ‡ĹŻĹ?Ä? ŽŜ Ä?ĂŜǀĂĆ?Í• ϲϹÍ&#x; dž ϹϰÍ&#x;

Born: 1965 Education: B.F.A. The University RI WKH $UWV 0 ) $ 3HQQV\OYDQLD Academy of the Fine Arts Resides: Lansdowne, Pennsylvania Website: hirosakaguchi.com

Born: 1977 Education: Shenkar College of Engineering and Design, Ramat Gan, Israel Resides: Alfei Menashe, Israel

Page 24

Hiro Sakaguchi

Website: seliktar.carbonmade.com

The story “The Substitute Lifeguardâ€? ZDV Ă€UVW SXEOLVKHG LQ 0DVPHULP Literary Magazine in 2007 and the VWRU\ ´+RXVHVÂľ ZDV SXEOLVKHG LQ 0LWD¡DP A Review of Literature and Radical Thought in 2007. Gilad Seliktar is currently working on his next book, an autobiographical story about his military service that will be published in France by Editions çà et lĂ in 2014. Gilad Seliktar teaches comics and illustration at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. From  Farm  54,  pen  and  ink,  washes  on  paper,  ϴЍÍ&#x; dž Ď­Ď­Đ°Í&#x;

Page 25

ARPITA SINGH WAS BORN IN A WEST BENGAL VILLAGE IN INDIA. Her work provides a strong

Born: 1937 Education: Delhi Polytechnic, New Delhi, India Resides: Nizamuddin East, New Delhi Website: www.dcmooregallery.com

female voice in a country where women DUH HQFRXUDJHG WR EH VLOHQW +HU FDQG\ colored watercolors look like collages, with mismatched scale and layered imagery. They are densely packed with, at times, PHQDFLQJ RU GLVHPERZHOHG Ă€JXUHV Ă RDWLQJ LQ PDS OLNH EDFNJURXQGV PDGH XS RI FLW\ VRXQGV LQFOXGLQJ WUDIĂ€F DLUSODQHV DQG repetitive text. In a 2012 interview with Kathryn Meyers, Singh speaks in short associative phrases that match her work: “memory is a bridge,â€? “two strokes become a word,â€? and “my own logic.â€? Within these SDLQWLQJV RI VPDOO Ă€JXUHV GLPLQXWLYH written words and tiny details become empathetic codes, a response to what she has experienced. She mentions upheaval in the streets of her country during the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, the Sikh Riots in 1984, and the Gujarat Riots in 2002, all of which she either personally experienced or that was part of her consciousness, giving her a sense of insecurity. Many of these incidents involved Hindu and Muslim intolerance, pogroms, and raping of women. In expressing a motivation IRU KHU VXEMHFW PDWWHU VKH VD\V ´$UHQ¡W ZH all waiting for something to happen to us?â€?

TO UNDERSTAND 0$5&86 %(1$9,'(6¡6 %$&.*5281' David Small was

She draws from Eastern and Western sources. The Eastern elements come from KDYLQJ ZRUNHG LQ D ORFDO ZRPHQ¡V WH[WLOH cooperative shortly after college, and her WH[W DQG RXWOLQHG Ă€JXUHV KDYH D YLVXDO quality of ethnic embroidered fabrics. One can see her admiration of early Modernism LQ WKH Ă RDWLQJ Ă€JXUHV RI 0DUF &KDJDOO 3DXO .OHH¡V GHOLFDWH OLQHV FXELVP¡V FROODJHV DQG )HUQDQG /pJHU¡V VHQVH RI WKH FLW\ +HU allusions to the power of men over women and the traditions of women in her culture also bring Frida Kahlo to mind. Her work was most recently exhibited in Arpita Singh: Men in Isolation at the Cleveland Art Institute in Cleveland, Ohio in 2013. She has won numerous awards and her works are found in museum collections worldwide.

2QH QLJKW ZH >'DYLG DQG KLV ZLIH@ VDW GRZQ LQ D UHVWDXUDQW DQG I felt my neck swelling up beneath my hand. I was hoping it was a hallucination but then Sarah looked DW PH DQG VDLG ´:KDW¡V ZURQJ ZLWK \RX"Âľ ZLWK WKLV KRUULĂ€HG H[SUHVVLRQ , drank down my wine and went into the bathroom to look in the mirror. The swelling in my neck looked exactly as it had when I had cancer at the age of fourteen, and as I looked at myself in the mirror, it sank back down again in a matter of moments. I knew then that my body was expressing WKLQJV WKDW , ZDVQ¡W DOORZLQJ P\VHOI to express emotionally, and I also NQHZ LW ZRXOG NLOO PH LI , GLGQ¡W GR something about it. I went home that night and resolved to do this book, if for no other reason than to face these things.

ZŽĂĚžĂƉ ĆŒÄžÄžĆ‰Ć? Ĺ?Ĺś ƚŚĞ WÄ‚Ĺ?Äž ŽĨ DLJ EŽƚĞÄ?ŽŽŏÍ• ĎŽĎŹĎ­ĎŽÍ• Ç Ä‚ĆšÄžĆŒÄ?ŽůŽĆŒ ŽŜ Ć‰Ä‚Ć‰ÄžĆŒÍ• ϭϲÍ&#x; dž ϭϭСÍ&#x; ŽƾĆŒĆšÄžĆ?LJ ŽĨ DŽŽĆŒÄž 'Ä‚ĹŻĹŻÄžĆŒÇ‡Í• Ez

Arpita Singh Page 26

born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He is well known as a writer and LOOXVWUDWRU RI RYHU FKLOGUHQ¡V books, often collaborating with his wife, Sarah Stewart, and other writers. He is a winner of numerous medals, awards and prizes including WZR &DOGHFRWW PHGDOV IRU FKLOGUHQ¡V books. His political caricatures have appeared in several magazines. Since 2009, he has also worked as a graphic novelist. Because of his IDFLOLW\ ZLWK FKLOGUHQ¡V LOOXVWUDWLRQ LW was no surprise that he reconnected with the inner child of his youth as a character, whose asthma had isolated him. When Stitches: A Memoir appeared, it quickly rose to #1 on The New York Times Best Seller List and ZDV D 1DWLRQDO %RRN $ZDUG Ă€QDOLVW In a 2009 interview with Sasha :DWVRQ LQ 3XEOLVKHU¡V :HHNO\ 6PDOO described the phantom physical pain he continued to feel years after his pediatric cancer surgery:

David Small

Born: 1945 Education: B.F.A. Wayne State 8QLYHUVLW\ 0 ) $ <DOH 8QLYHUVLW\ Resides: Mendon, Michigan Website: www.davidsmallbooks.com

Healing himself through this art form attracted the attention of Columbia 8QLYHUVLW\¡V 1DUUDWLYH 0HGLFLQH SURJUDP 6PDOO VSRNH DW WKHLU Ă€UVW International conference in London, (QJODQG LQ DQG LV QRZ DIĂ€OLDWHG with the program. &ĆŒŽž ^Ć&#x;ĆšÄ?ŚĞĆ?Í• Ć‰Í˜ Ď­ĎŻĎ­ ÍždĞĞŜĂĹ?Äž Ä‚Ç€Ĺ?Äš Ć?ƚĂŜĚĹ?ĹśĹ? Ä‚Ćš džͲĆŒÄ‚Ç‡ žĂÄ?ĹšĹ?ŜĞͿ͕ ĎŽĎŹĎ­ĎŽÍ• ƉĞŜ ĂŜĚ Ĺ?Ŝŏ ĂŜĚ Ç Ä‚Ć?Ĺš ŽŜ Ć‰Ä‚Ć‰ÄžĆŒÍ• Ď­ĎŽÍ&#x; dž ϾЪÍ&#x;

Page 27

Lance Tooks

MELISSA STERN GREW 83 ,1 3+,/$'(/3+,$ PENNSYLVANIA where she

attended Masterman Middle School and an experimental high school in Chestnut Hill, the Miquon Upper School, today known as the Crefeld School. Stern describes the days when she attended as a “hippie VFKRRO WKDW QR ORQJHU H[LVWV ÂŤ D WRWDO V V VRFLDO H[SHULPHQW Âľ 7KDW school may have contributed to her IUHH DVVRFLDWLYH DSSURDFK WR DUW making. With anthropology and studio majors at Wesleyan University, her work displays an understanding of visual and human culture, but retains the feral sense of animal instincts and childlike playfulness. In a recent feature written by Julie Burstein on Stern in Wesleyan Magazine 2FWREHU 6WHUQ WDONV DERXW advice her father gave her about her path to being an artist: “He said, ‘If you want to be an artist, learn about history, learn about science, learn about religion, learn how to ZULWH ¡ 7KH JUHDWHVW JLIW KH HYHU gave me was to force me into that.â€? Stern says her work has been deeply affected by every city she has OLYHG LQ KHU RXWVLGHU VWDWXV DOORZHG her to observe unfamiliar points of view, to be visually stimulated and WR OLVWHQ WR ODQJXDJHV VKH GLGQ¡W understand, particularly during three years in Belgium. She has lived in San Francisco and a few cities in the Northeast.

Born: 1958 Education: B.A. Wesleyan 8QLYHUVLW\ 0 ) $ &HUDPLFV 6WDWH University of New York at New Paltz Currently: New York, New York :HEVLWH ZZZ PHOLVVD VWHUQ FRP

The Talking Cure, the twelve sculptures featured in Compulsive Narratives, was presented at the Smart Clothes Gallery in New York City and at the Fetherston *DOOHU\ LQ 6HDWWOH LQ 6WHUQ¡V solo exhibitions include Step Right Up at the Bahdeebahdu Gallery in Philadelphia in 2007 and Life During :DUWLPH +HDGV DW WKH %DUEDUD Archer Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia in 2012. Residencies include the Washington School of Glass, the Serenbe Institute in Serenbe, Georgia, and the Kohler Foundation in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. In addition to her activities as a sculptor, she regularly exhibits her drawings and is a contributor and reviewer for The New York Press/City Arts newspaper.

LANCE TOOKS TAKES GREAT PRIDE THAT HE HONED HIS DRAWING skills in high school. There

ZDV QR QHHG WR JHW DGGLWLRQDO WUDLQLQJ he just had to get to work. At age 18, he began a career as an assistant editor at Marvel Comics, learning at the feet of legendary artists such as Stan Lee. His comix work is included in compendiums of black comix artists and his style is easily recognizable. His artwork has appeared in PRUH WKDQ WHOHYLVLRQ FRPPHUFLDOV Ă€OPV and videos including those of Madonna, == 7RS ,JJ\ 3RS DQG WKH 5HG +RW &KLOL Peppers. Narcissa, the graphic novel that secured his reputation as a unique voice, was published in 2002 and was among those named as one of the best books of the \HDU LQ 3XEOLVKHU¡V :HHNO\ 1DUFLVVD KDV EHHQ WKH VXEMHFW RI VFKRODUO\ DUWLFOHV WKH character also reappears from time to time in different guises, such as a bartender LQ SXUJDWRU\ LQ 7RRNV¡V JUDSKLF QRYHO Between the Devil & Miles Davis published by Nantier, Beall, and Minoustchine in SDUW RI KLV ´/XFLIHU¡V *DUGHQ RI Versesâ€? graphic novel series. He won two Glyph Comics awards, in recognition for his excellence as an artist and writer of color. He collaborated with Harvey Pekar in The Beats: a Graphic History and on an illustrated version of Studs Terkel ‘s Working. His work illustrating classic tales can be seen in the Graphic Classics VHULHV )DQWDV\ &ODVVLFV DQG LQ $IULFDQ American Classics. Recent exhibitions of his work include: Black Comics at the Swiss &RWWDJH /LEUDU\ LQ /RQGRQ (QJODQG 2XW RI Sequence at the Krannert Art Museum at WKH 8QLYHUVLW\ RI ,OOLQRLV DQG H[KLELWLRQV in Madrid, Spain, where he has lived for over ten years. He is also a bilingual actor, DSSHDULQJ LQ QXPHURXV Ă€OP VKRUWV

Born: 1962 Education: High School of Art and Design, New York, New York Resides: Madrid, Spain and New York, New York

&ĆŒŽž EÄ‚ĆŒÄ?Ĺ?Ć?Ć?Ä‚Í• ĎŽĎŹĎŹĎŽÍ• ƉĞŜÄ?Ĺ?ĹŻÍ• ĹľÄ‚ĆŒĹŹÄžĆŒĆ?Í• ƉŚŽƚŽĆ?Í• Ď­Ď°Í&#x; dž Ď­ĎłÍ&#x;

Blog: lancetooksjournal.blogspot.com

Friends,  2012,  clay,  graphite,  paint,  objects,  ϭϴЪÍ&#x; dž Ď­Ď°Í&#x; dž Ď­ĎŹÍ&#x;

Page 28

Melissa Stern

Page 29

CAROL TYLER GREW UP IN &+,&$*2 Illinois with detours

to Syracuse, New York City, and Sacramento, before she landed in Cincinnati. She contributed to underground feminist comix in the 1980s and 1990s in titles such as :LPPLQ¡V &RPL[ DQG FRPSLODWLRQV VXFK DV 7ZLVWHG 6LVWHUV DQG 5DZ¡V Narrative Corpse. She considers herself a “late bloomer,â€? distracted by motherhood and her teaching career in the Cincinnati public schools. Today she teaches at the University of Cincinnati School of Art.

Born: 1951 Education: B.F.A. Middle 7HQQHVVHH 6WDWH 8QLYHUVLW\ 0 ) $ Syracuse University Resides: Cincinnati, Ohio Website: www.bloomerland.com

Page 30

Carol Tyler

7KH WKUHH ERRNV RI <RX¡OO 1HYHU Know evolved over several years, with one section appearing in an earlier publication. Part autobiography, ELRJUDSK\ KRZ WR UHVHDUFK PDQXDO and homage to veterans, it has been roundly appreciated as expanding the range of the graphic novel. Using a variety of techniques, Tyler LQFRUSRUDWHG FXVWRP PL[HG LQN colors, scrapbook facsimiles, splash pages, and panel strips. Sometimes the reader is directed to read sequentially, and at other times there ZLOO EH D VLQJOH SDQHO GUHDP SDJH such as one with metaphoric animals representing her parents, a nod to $UW 6SLHJHOPDQ¡V FDWV DQG PLFH DV Nazis and Jews. Other pages convey WKH GHHS VSDFH RI KHU IDWKHU¡V ODUJH workshop or a move of an entire house lifted from its foundation, ZLWK D SDLQWHU¡V VHQVH RI H[SDQVLYH scale. One page compressed her PRWKHU¡V \RXWK LQWR ROG DJH DQG LQ yet another, all childhood summers converge simultaneously. Reviewed to critical acclaim, her trilogy has garnered awards and was nominated for the prestigious Eisner Award. <RX¡OO 1HYHU .QRZ PDGH KHU D VRXJKW after speaker to veterans groups WKDW DSSUHFLDWH KHU WKUHH YROXPH ORYH letter to them. Her current projects LQFOXGH D JUDSKLF QRYHO LQ SURJUHVV about attachment and loss, a book about the Beatles, and a monthly comic strip for Cincinnati Magazine about her life there. Íž'ƾŜĆ?Í— dŚĞ ĹľÄžĆŒĹ?Ä?Ä‚Ĺś tĂLJÍ&#x; ĨĆŒŽž >ĂƚĞ ůŽŽžÄžĆŒÍ• ƉĂĹ?Äž ϾϭÍ• ϭϾϾϯÍ• ĹľĹ?džĞĚ žĞĚĹ?Ä‚Í• Ď­Ď°ĐŞÍ&#x; dž Ď­Ď­ĐŞÍ&#x;

Public programming

COMPULSIVE NARRATIVES: Â Stories that U S T be Told

M

French Animation: An Overview $PRQJ )UDQFH¡V PDQ\ ZRUOG FODVV FXO tural productions, animation has never stood very tall, even though the French laid out some of the major landmarks LQ WKH KLVWRU\ RI Ă€OP IURP WKH Ă€UVW pictures ever produced by the Lumière Brothers to the poetic realism of the 1930s or the New Wave in the 1960s, which still plays a major role in the HODERUDWLRQ RI FRQWHPSRUDU\ Ă€OP HV thetics, from Stanley Kubrick to Quen WLQ 7DUDQWLQR %XW DQLPDWHG Ă€OPV KDYH always been considered minor cultural REMHFWV E\ SURGXFWV RI D GRPLQDQW FRPLF ERRN LQGXVWU\ OD %' IUDQFR belge, that established itself as the paradigm by which every other global culture set their standards, from the U.S. to Japan. As a consequence, )UHQFK DQLPDWHG Ă€OPV KDYH EHHQ SUL marily adapted from very successful graphic novels series like AstĂŠrix and Tintin. There were of course a few no table exceptions, like the ethereal Le URL HW O¡RLVHDX ZLWK D VFHQDULR by French poet Jacques PrĂŠvert, or )DQWDVWLF 3ODQHW E\ 5HQp /DORX[ a surprisingly successful mix of sur realism and hard science. But overall, )UDQFH QHYHU GRPLQDWHG WKH Ă€HOG OLNH American and Japanese animation, with Walt Disney and Hayao Miyazaki. And yet, in the last two decades, French animation underwent a small renaissance of sorts and started pro ducing a growing number of animated works. Strangely enough, the U.S. com ic book industry went through a similar evolution at roughly the same time, VWDUWLQJ ZLWK )UDQN 0LOOHU¡V VHPLQDO 'DUN .QLJKW 5HWXUQV ZKLFK Ă€QDOO\ JDYH its lettres de noblesse to the graphic novel in the U.S. For the French, it was /XF %HVVRQ RQH RI )UDQFH¡V IRUHPRVW postmodernists and one of its most un

DSRORJHWLFDOO\ FRPPHUFLDO Ă€OPPDNHUV who gave a new impulse to a dormant genre with the very successful mixed live action/animation Arthur and the Minimoys, which was soon followed by two sequels, The Revenge of Malt azard and The War of Two Worlds. With its international cast and global distribution, the Arthur trilogy made a simple point: French animation should free itself from the over EHDULQJ LQĂ XHQFH RI DQ DYDQW JDUGH Ă€OP HVWKHWLFV DQG HPEUDFH D PRUH freewheeling consumerist logic. It helped that many postmodernists have deployed discourses that, instead of variance and fuzziness, instead of de construction and doubt, value depth, coherence and meaning. Animation, with its focus on traditional narrative IRUPV WKH IDLU\ WDOH EHLQJ IRUHPRVW and archetypal characters, heroes and villains, has shown a substantial capac ity for growth, even in France. Ad ditionally, the early growth in France of video game companies since the 80s has allowed for the development of homegrown talent in the related Ă€OP RI DQLPDWLRQ )UDQFH UDQNV QG LQ the world behind the U.S in terms of volume of video game production. If Luc Besson originally came from WKH ZRUOG RI OLYH FLQHPD L H ´QRQ animated,â€? Sylvain Chomet, the other major French animation director and Ă€UVW HQWU\ LQ RXU VHULHV GHYHORSHG interests in both graphic novels and DQLPDWHG Ă€OPV HDUO\ RQ +H ZURWH KLV Ă€UVW FRPLF ERRN 6HFUHWV RI WKH 'UDJRQĂ \ LQ DQG VWDUWHG ZRUNLQJ as an animator for the Richard Purdum studio in London in 1988. In 1993, he PRYHG WR &DQDGD DOVR D VLJQLĂ€FDQW producer of animated works and video JDPHV )LQDOO\ KLV Ă€UVW PDMRU ZRUN The Triplets of Belleville, won him two Oscars in 2003. Our second entry Laurent Boileau, the author of Couleur peau de miel $SSURYHG IRU $GRSWLRQ VWDUWHG LQ television as a documentarian, and then branched out to graphic arts. He KRVWHG )UDQFH 7HOHYLVLRQV¡ VKRZ RQ the comic book industry ActuaBD for

three years. Approved for Adoption LV KLV Ă€UVW DQLPDWHG IHDWXUH Ă€OP DQG was released in 2012. It won the Prix du public at the Festival international GX Ă€OP G¡DQLPDWLRQ LQ $QQHF\ DQG WKH Grand Prix at the Montreal FIFEM. 7KH Ă€OP IROORZV WKH OLIH RI D .RUHDQ boy adopted into a Belgian family after WKH .RUHDQ :DU $ PL[ RI KDQG GUDZQ animation and documentary footage, Approved for Adoption follows in the footsteps of Waltz with Bashir, by mixing genres and providing fertile ground for engaging the often chal lenging topic of cultural and ethnic difference. The last entry in the series is another KDQG GUDZQ PRYLH 8QH YLH GH FKDW $ &DW LQ 3DULV E\ -HDQ /RXS )HOLFLROL and Alain Gagnol. It is a fun romp that owes as much to Matisse for its anima tion style as it does to Hitchcock for its visuals. Nominated for the Acade my Award for Best Animated Feature, A Cat in Paris joyously embraces the UHWUR DWPRVSKHUH WKDW PDGH OLYH PRY ies like Amelie Poulain and 8 Women the commercial and artistic successes that they were. -HDQ /RXLV +LSSRO\WH Ă€ toute ĂŠpreuve: La bande dessinĂŠe en français )DLO 3URRI &RPLFV DQG *UDSKLF 1RYHOV in French 3DXO 5REHVRQ /LEUDU\ 0DUFK In French, comics and graphic novels come together under the term bande dessinĂŠe, affectionately dubbed BD, encompassing a wide range of works where images and words combine to tell a narrative. From the outset, they were produced in Belgium and France, then exported around the world to HQFRXUDJH \RXQJ SHRSOH WR UHDG QRW surprisingly, they attracted just as many adult readers. A characteristic trait of the genre is that it focuses on social issues that seem to demand aes thetic treatment. Along with a selec tion of classics, this exhibit at the Paul Robeson Library offers a glimpse into “compulsive narrativesâ€? about war, im migration, abuse, sexuality and illness. Taking its title from the word ĂŠpreuve, ZKLFK PHDQV ERWK ÂśRUGHDO¡ DQG ÂśHGLWRULDO SURRI ¡ WKH H[KLELW KLJKOLJKWV FRQ temporary works that have garnered popular as well as critical acclaim. In the 1960s, AstĂŠrixmania swept France and the bande dessinĂŠe became broadly recognized as the ninth art.1 0XFK OLNH 7LQWLQ ZKR travels far and wide thwarting crime through journalistic prowess, this SURWR )UHQFK ZDUULRU RXWZLWV KLV 5R man enemies at every turn. Just as HergĂŠ later revised Tintin to erase his “bloody colonial origins,â€?2 AstĂŠrix obtained lasting popularity although he no longer represents a worldwide reference for the old adage “Nos ancĂŞtres les Gaulois ... .â€?3 The imagina tive escapism of these works, which sold hundreds of millions of copies, H[WHQGV WR 9DOpULDQ 6SDWLR 7HPSRUDO $JHQW D VSDFH RSHUD whose title character polices the

Terrian Galactic Empire. His female partner, Laureline, wears a sleek FDW VXLW W\SLFDO RI SDWULDUFKDO ELDV LQ comics, unlike the traditional dress ZRUQ E\ WKH PXPP\ KXQWLQJ MRXUQDOLVW Adèle in The Extraordinary Adven WXUHV RI $GqOH %ODQF 6HF by Jacques Tardi. Better known for It ZDV WKH :DU RI WKH 7UHQFKHV 7DUGL¡V FDUHHU LQWHJUDWHV ERWK VFL Ă€ fantasy and collective memory, which has marked BD since the 1990s.4 After Art Spiegelman published Maus ZDU QDUUDWLYHV SRUWUD\ ing soldiers, victims, and survivors began to proliferate. Famous examples LQFOXGH 0DUMDQH 6DWUDSL¡V 3HUVHSROLV DQG =HLQD $ELUDFKHG¡V -H PH VRXYLHQV ERWK E\ )UDQ cophone Middle Eastern women who grew up amidst war. More recently, 7VLJDQHV 9DOVH DYHF %DFKLU DQG 8QH YLH GRQQpH j 'LHX HW DX[ KRPPHV KDYH GHYHORSHG GRFXPHQWDU\ Ă€FWLRQ DERXW 5RPV LQ 1D]L FRQFHQWUDWLRQ FDPSV WKH ,VUDHOL 3DOHVWLQLDQ FRQĂ LFW DQG WHUURULVP LQ Algeria, respectively. Thanks to their XQLTXHO\ KLJK TXDOLW\ SXEOLFDWLRQ IRU mat, such poignant bandes dessinĂŠes often resemble book art.5 Today, immigration inspires the har rowing tales in Paroles sans papiers DQG ,PPLJUDQWV FROOHF tive volumes that pair transnationals with authors who give artistic shape to their personal testimonies. Revers ing the Tintin paradigm, the protago QLVW LQ /HV vOHV GX YHQW E\ +HF tor Poullet and Elodie Koeger instead resembles a conventional hero as she valiantly faces clandestine immigra tion from HaĂŻti to Guadeloupe. Epic narrative likewise appears in Edimo 0EXPER¡V 0DODPLQH XQ $IULFDLQ j 3DULV ZKLOH -XGLWK 9DQLVWHQ GDHO¡V /D MHXQH Ă€OOH HW OH QqJUH comically overcomes racism against a EL UDFLDO PDUULDJH %RWK E\ %' SURIHV sionals, these works remain close to the traditions of the genre, like Vies 9ROpHV ZKHUH WKUHH $IULFDQ bĂŠdĂŠistes illustrate the medical and psychological traumas women face after rape by soldiers. To counterbal ance such violent images of developing nations, Marguerite Abouet created $\D RI <RS &LW\ ZKLFK LOOXVWUDWHV HYHU\GD\ PLGGOH FODVV OLIH LQ &{WH G¡,YRLUH DOVR KXPRURXVO\ SRUWUD\HG E\ WKH 'DNDU EDVHG DUWLVW Mohiss, and by Teddy Keser Mombrun, whose Alain Possible is a Haitian AstĂŠ rix with tricks up his sleeve. This contemporary multiculturalism is SDUDOOHOHG E\ DQ HYHU JURZLQJ LQWHU est in gender, sexuality, and the body. In the 1980s, Julie Doucet (Dirty 3ORWWH DOVR LQ &RPSXOVLYH Narratives, led the feminist under ground in clearing a path for the next generation of women in autobiogra SK\ /¡HQIDQW GDQV OH PLURLU by Nelly Arcan addresses body image pressures with falsely decorative sur realist illustrations by Pascale Bour guignon. An instant bestseller, Le Bleu HVW XQH FRXOHXU FKDXGH E\ -XOLH 0DURK UHFRXQWV WKH VWDU FURVVHG love between two women separated

as one lays dying at a hospital due to GLVFULPLQDWLRQ DJDLQVW WKHLU VDPH VH[ relationship. A similar “exploration of inner livesâ€?6 also haunts current male DUWLVWV -HDQ &KULVWRSKH 0HQX UHYHDOV the challenges of fatherhood in Livret GH 3KDPLOOH ZKLOH )DEULFH 1HDXG GHVFULEHV KLV -RXUQDO UHODWLQJ VDPH VH[ URPDQFHV DV ´ SDJHV RI OLY LQJ Ă HVK Âľ $OIUHG .D HPSOR\V PHWDQDU UDWLYH LQ 3RXUTXRL M¡DL WXp 3LHUUH to expose his childhood abuser, and 'DYLG % FRQIURQWV KLV EURWKHUV¡ LOOQHVV LQ /¡$VFHQVLRQ GX +DXW 0DO E\ associating epilepsy with comic book demons. While the abundance of UHFHQW EDQGHV GHVVLQpHVÂłLQĂ XHQFHG more than ever by manga, poster arts, political cartoons, historical archives, digital media, and zines—draws on an increasingly rich history in popular and DYDQW JDUGH DUW LW UHPDLQV FRPPLWWHG to righting collective and individual in justices, in order to transform compul VLYH QDUUDWLYHV LQWR IDLO SURRI VWRULHV of courage. Alisa Belanger

(QGQRWHV

1 Matthew Screech, Masters of the Ninth Art: Bandes DessinĂŠes and )UDQFR %HOJLDQ ,GHQWLW\ /LYHUSRRO /LY HUSRRO 8QLYHUVLW\ 3UHVV 2 Marc McKinney, The Colonial Heritage of French Comics (Liverpool, /LYHUSRRO 8QLYHUVLW\ 3UHVV 3 Once taught in schoolbooks, this phrase meaning “Our ancestors the *DXOV ÂŤÂľ LV FRPPRQO\ XVHG WR LOOXVWUDWH the disconnect between French colonial education and those it served, since the vast majority of colonial subjects were not in fact descendants of the Gauls who inhabited France during the Roman era, and whom AstĂŠrix repre sents. 4 Under the impetus of cultural and political movements in the 1980s, )UHQFK ODQJXDJH FDUWRRQLVWV UHWXUQHG to colonial history a few decades after the independence movements of for mer French colonies. Marc McKinney, Redrawing French Empire in Comics (Columbus, OH: Ohio State Univer VLW\ 3UHVV ([DPSOHV LQFOXGH &DUQHWV G¡2ULHQW E\ -DFTXHV )HUUDQ GH] /HV RXEOLpV G¡$QQDP E\ /D[ DQG )UDQN *LURXG DQG 3HWLW 3ROLR E\ )DULG Boudjellal. 5 According to Robert Peterson, WKH ORQJ WHUP LQYHVWPHQW LQ EDQGHV

GHVVLQpHV ZLWK ULFK FRORUV KLJK TXDO ity materials, and a carefully crafted story, represents a trait that distin guishes this genre from American and Japanese comics. Robert Peterson, Comics, Manga & Graphic Novels: A History of Graphic Narrative (Santa %DUEDUD &$ 3UDHJHU 6 Thierry Groensteen. Comics & Narration (Jackson, MS: University 3UHVV RI 0LVVLVVLSSL 7 Fabrice Neaud, Journal (AngoulĂŞme, France : Ego Comme X,

Contributors Alisa Belanger holds a Ph.D. in Francophone Studies from UCLA. She earned an M.A. in Langue et littérature françaises from McGill University in Montreal. Her areas of specialization are Quebec Studies, Maghrebi Studies, postcolonial aesthetics, and francophone book art, including artists’ books, book-objects, artist pamphlets, and bibliophilic works. Robert A. Emmons Jr. is a documentary filmmaker. His films include Enthusiast: The 9th Art (2002), YARDSALE! (2006), Wolf at the Door (2007), Goodwill: The Flight of Emilio Carranza (2007), De Luxe: The Tale of Blue Comet (2010), and Diagram for Delinquents (2014). He teaches film and media at Rutgers University-Camden where he is also the Associate Director of the Digital Studies Center. Guest curator Cheryl Harper holds an M.A. in Art History from Temple University and an M.F.A. in Printmaking from the University of Delaware. She has curated over 60 exhibitions. From 1998-2004, Harper was the staff curator at the Galleries at the Gershman Y in Philadelphia. Notable exhibitions included The Banquet: In Celebration of Outrageous Appetites and The Art of Hirschfeld. She brought cutting-edge Israeli art to the Delaware Valley with shows such as Nir Hod: Heroes’ Tears, and a multi-site Philadelphia exhibition titled LandEscapes, co-curated with Tami Katz-Freiman. In 2003, she organized a Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative (administered by the Pew Charitable Trusts) funded project, A Happening Place, that revisited groundbreaking exhibitions at the “Y” in the 1960s, including the second Pop Art show in the United States. In 2003, she reinstalled Sanford Bigger’s and Jennifer Zackin’s 2002 Whitney Biennial installation in Philadelphia. Since 2005, she has worked as an independent curator, including co-organizing Global Warming at the Ice Box at the Crane Building and Catagenesis at Globe Dye Works for which she was curator and co-director with Leslie Kaufman. She is also an award-winning sculptor and printmaker, exhibiting nationally. Jean-Louis Hippolyte’s research interests include French language and culture, contemporary literature and criticism; French cinema and animation; the intersection of discourses in the humanities and the sciences, the fantastic and magical realism; as well as popular culture and literature. He is the organizer of Philadelphia’s largest French culture and conversation group (French Café). Essayist Andrei Molotiu holds an M.A. and Ph.D in Art History from New York University and an A.B. in Studio Art from Harvard University. He is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Art History at Indiana University at Bloomington. His publications include Fragonard’s Allegories of Art (J. Paul Getty Museum, 2007), a book that grew out of his doctoral dissertation, and that accompanied the exhibition Consuming Passion: Fragonard’s Allegories of Love at the Getty and the Clark Museum of Art, in Williamstown MA, which he co-curated. He also published Abstract Comics: The Anthology (Fantagraphics Books, 2009), which was nominated for an Eisner Award. He is an active exhibiting artist; he has had solo shows at the University of Louisville, at Franklin College IN, and at ArtLexis Gallery, Brooklyn, and has been part of numerous group shows across the U.S., as well as in Bucharest and Paris. Nautilus, a book of his abstract comics, was published in Copenhagen in 2009.

Exhibition checklist Dimensions are given in inches, h x w x d. All works have been loaned by the artist unless otherwise noted. John “Derf ” Backderf From My Friend Dahmer, 2012 Pages 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 136 Pen and ink, 14” x 11” From My Friend Dahmer, 2011 Pages 178 and 179 Pen and ink and production sheets, 8½” x 5½” My Friend Dahmer original comic book, 2002 24 page comic book, 10¼” x 6½” From Punk Rock and Trailer Parks, 2010 4 pages (no pagination) in sequence starting with “that bloke was driving a lawnmower...” and ending at “This one is for ... The Baron!!” Pen and ink, 14” x 10” Marcus Benavides Modern Saints Series III, 2012 Woodcut print on hand-dyed Japanese paper, 104” x 42” Modern Saints Series IV, 2012 Woodcut print on hand-dyed Japanese paper, 104” x 42” Modern Saints Series V, 2012 Woodcut print on hand-dyed Japanese paper, 104” x 42” Modern Saints Series VI, 2012 Woodcut print on hand-dyed Japanese paper, 104” x 42” Julie Doucet Levitation, 1989 2 pages Ink on Bristol paper, 9” x 7” I’m not afraid of breast cancer strip, 1989 Ink on paper, 4¾” x 11¼” Vol/Robbery, 1989 2 pages Ink on Bristol paper, 14½” x 11¼” La femme l’homme, 2000 Collage, 8¾” x 3½” La vie la mort or Amour tendresse, 2000 Collage, 8¾” x 3½” Le viol non monsieur, 2012 Collage, 10½” x 7¾” Debout, 2012 Collage, 9¾” x 7” Handmade books Sophie Punt #3, 2001 Screenprint book, 11½” x 8” Sophie Punt #4, 2002 Screenprint book 2⅜” x 2¼” x 1½”, 8” x 2¼” x 1½” (3 books in a box) Sophie Punt #9, 2002 Screenprint book, 2½” x 3” x ½” Sophie Punt #16, 2003 Screenprint book, 3½” x 2¼” x ¾” (book in a box) Sophie Punt #11, 2005 Screenprint book, 8” x 7” Videos Essai #1 2012, 1 min., 6 sec. Essai #2, 2013, 1 min., 6 sec. Essai #3, 2012, 1 min., 32 sec.

Essai #4, 2012, 1 min., 31 sec. Ellen Forney From Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me, 2012 Page 18: Manic episode criteria, #7. “I could flirt with a wall.” Ink on paper, 17” x 14” From Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me, 2012 Page 19: Diagnosis sinks in. “My personality reflected a disorder, shared by a group of people.” Ink on paper, 17” x 14” From Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me, 2012 Page 52-53 (spread): Planning for my 30th birthday party. “I roped in my friends and made the most of my connections.” Ink on paper, 12” x 17” From Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me, 2012 Page 59: Mood states as carousel. “What is a mood disorder, anyway?” Ink on paper, 17” x 12” From Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me, 2012 Page 119: Eight drawings of Van Gogh’s self-portraits. “In the last four years of his life… Van Gogh painted more than forty self-portraits.” Ink on paper, 17” x 12” From Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and M, 2012 Page 181: Med history merit badges. “Bipolar disorder is difficult to treat.” Ink on paper, 17” x 12” Psychiatrist’s Office installation, 2013 Mixed media, found objects, variable dimensions From Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me, 2012 Page 112: Psychiatrist’s office, frustrated. “I hate that I have to find balance.” Ink on paper, 17” x 12” Justin Green Save the Bees, 2013 Enamel on aluminum, 30” x 24” Courtesy of ICY Signs, Brooklyn, NY From Binky Brown, 2012 Facsimile of original cover Pen and ink and watercolor, 20” X 14¼” Collection of Glenn Bray From Binky Brown, 1972 Face Page (A Confession to my readers) Pen and ink, Cel-Vinyl white, zip-a-tone on 500 series Strathmore paper, 20” x 15” Collection of Glenn Bray From Binky Brown, 1972 Page 1 Pen and ink, Cel-Vinyl white, zip-a-tone on 500 series Strathmore paper, 18½” X 13” Collection of Glenn Bray From Binky Brown, 1972 Page 2 Pen and ink, Cel-Vinyl white, zip-a-tone on 500 series Strathmore paper, 19” x 13½” Collection of Glenn Bray From Binky Brown, 1972 Page 3 Pen and ink, Cel-Vinyl white, zip-a-tone on 500 series Strathmore paper, 17¼” x 12” Collection of Glenn Bray From Binky Brown, 1972 Page 16 Pen and ink, Cel-Vinyl white, zip-a-tone on 500 series Strathmore paper, 17½” x 12½” Collection of Glenn Bray From Binky Brown, 1972 Page 26

Pen and ink, Cel-Vinyl white, zip-a-tone on 500 series Strathmore paper, 17¾” x 12¼” Collection of Glenn Bray From Binky Brown, 1972 Page 27 Pen and ink, Cel-Vinyl white, zip-a-tone on 500 series Strathmore paper, 17¼” x 12” Collection of Glenn Bray From Binky Brown, 2012 Page 33 Pen and ink, Cel-Vinyl white, zip-a-tone on 500 series Strathmore paper. 20¼” x 14” Collection of Glenn Bray Sandy Jimenez From Skips, 2001 Cover and pages 2, 5, 8, 10, and 12 Ink on paper, 11“ x 8½” each From Single Lens Reflex, 2013 Pages 5, 15, and 16 Ink on paper, 17” x 14“ each Peter Kuper Mad Magazine “Spy Symbols” March 18, 2004 Spray paint, watercolor, pencil, pen and ink, 14” x 20½” From Diario de Oaxaca “Miscelanea Ale” Giclee, 17” x 21” (framed) Oaxaca Diary Book, 2008 Pen and ink on paper, 10½” x 15” (open book size) Trees, 2013 Limited edition (16) silk screen, 93” x 11¾” (open vertically) Vertigo window painting, 1991 Enamel and acrylic on glass, 30” x 25” From Stop Forgetting to Remember, 2006 Pages 76, 77, 143, and 144 Scratchboard, 11” x 14” “Drive By Shooting” from The System, 1996 Black and red spray paint stencil page, 15” x 11” “Drive By Shooting” from The System, 1996 Paper stencil, 17” x 11” “Song of the Jungle” from The System, 1996 Pages 54 and 55 Black, blue, and red spray paint, watercolor and pencil, 14” x 22” Collection of Scott Eder “Drive By Shooting” from The System, Page 64 Black, blue, and red spray paint, watercolor and pencil, 14” x 11” Collection of Scott Eder From The System, 1996 Page 66 Black, blue, and red spray paint, watercolor, color pencil, 12” x 22” Collection of Scott Eder Mark Newport Sweaterman 5, 2008 Hand knit acrylic yarn and buttons, 80” x 23” x 6” Argyleman, 2007 Hand knit acrylic yarn and buttons, 80” x 23” x 6” Bobbleman, 2008 Hand knit acrylic yarn and buttons, 80” x 23” x 6” Spiritman, 2013 Hand knit acrylic yarn and buttons, 80” x 23” x 6” Video Heroic Efforts, 2009 Single-channel color video with sound, 3 min., 20 sec. Comic strip

“Mark Newport,” reproduction of 4-page spread drawn by John Haddock Hiro Sakaguchi Preparation for Spring #2, 2013 Acrylic on canvas, 60” x 74” Gazing Fire #2, Chrysanthemum, 2013 Acrylic on canvas, 65” x 54” Recommission of a Battleship #5, 2013 Acrylic on canvas, 30” x 40” Crocus, 2013 Acrylic on canvas, 22” x 28” Gilad Seliktar From Farm 54 6 unpaginated drawings Pen and ink, washes on paper, 8⅓” x 11⅔” From Untitled book 3 unpaginated drawings Pencil on paper, 8⅓” x 11⅔” Arpita Singh Embroidered Abdomen, 2003 Watercolor on paper, 18¾” x 14” Courtesy of DC Moore Gallery, NY Roadmap Creeps in the Page of My Notebook, 2012 Watercolor on paper, 16” x 11⅝” Courtesy of DC Moore Gallery, NY The Kingsway, 2004 Watercolor on paper, 17¾” x 23¾” Courtesy of DC Moore Gallery, NY Untitled, 2010 Watercolor on paper, 14½” x 11” Courtesy of DC Moore Gallery, NY Boys, 2012 Watercolor on paper, 14⅜” x 11” Courtesy of DC Moore Gallery, NY Cain (?) the Wanderer, 2012 Watercolor on paper, 16” x 11½” Courtesy of DC Moore Gallery, NY David Small From Stitches, 2012 Page. 12 (Detroit pollution) Page. 21 (Dad cracking David’s neck, etc.) Pages 38-39 (Sequence, little David looking at fetus in jar) Page 103 (Dream sequence) Page 109 (Cadillac) Page 131 (Teenage David standing at x-ray machine) Page 190 (Scar on neck) Page 174 (Mother & David, faces melding, etc.) Page 277 (Gramma naked outside burning house) Pen and ink and wash on paper, 12” x 9½” Two pages of script related to some of the preceding pages Model car: 1955 Ford convertible, two-toned, black and white Video

Clay, ink, robe, graphite, wax, paper, 25” x 17” x 7½” Gawker, 2012 Clay, paint, graphite, 40” x 9” x 23” Conversation, 2012 Clay, graphite, 28” x 7½” x 7½” Angry Girl, 2012 Clay, paint, glass eyes, 40” x 17” x 8” Tongue Tied, 2012 Clay, paint, steel, lead, 31” x 7” x 36” Snake Eyes, 2012 Clay, paint, dice, 34” x 13” x 7” Lance Tooks From Narcissa , 2002 Pages 1, 2, 3, 16, 17, 27, 45, 52, 88, and 120 Pencil, markers, photos, 14” x 17” Videos Albert White, 2008, 14 min., 34 sec. Jose Skaf, director Perfect Families, 2012, 6 min., 32 sec. Alex Owen-Hill, director

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY−CAMDEN

Wendell E. Pritchett Chancellor

Kriste Lindenmeyer Dean, Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Stedman Gallery Rutgers–Camden Center for the Arts

Cyril Reade Director

Nancy Maguire Associate Director for Exhibitions

Noreen Scott Garrity

Carol Tyler

Associate Director for Education

“Job Abuse” from The Job Thing, 1984 Pages 5, 6, and 7 Ink on paper, 14½” x 11½” each

Carmen Pendleton

“Guns: The American Way” from Late Bloomer, 1993 Page 91 Mixed media, 14½” x 11½” “You Would Never Know” from You’ll Never Know (Book I), 2009 Color inks on paper, 11½” x 13½”

Community and Artist Programs Manager

Miranda Powell Arts Education and Community Arts Program Assistant

Maria Buckley

“In the 1950s” from You’ll Never Know (Book I), 2009 Color inks on paper, 11½” x 13½”

Administrative Assistant

“Ich Verletze Damit” from You’ll Never Know (Book I) 2009 Color inks on paper, 11½” x 13½ “

Jacola Phillips

“So they sat there for months” from You’ll Never Know (Book II), 2010 Color inks on paper, 11½” x 13½”

Catalog Design

“Stigma” from You’ll Never Know (Book III), 2012 Color inks on paper, 11½” x 13½”

Program Assistant

Rutgers–Camden Communications Office

Matthew Blair Graphic Designer

Maureen McDonald Senior Public Relations Specialist

Rutgers–Camden Center for the Arts exhibitions and education programs are made possible in part with generous funding from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation; Campbell Soup Foundation; Connelly Foundation; and other generous

Promotional animation for Stitches, 11 min., 21 sec.

supporters. Additional funding for this project was provided through

Melissa Stern

the Chancellor’s Signature Event and the Consulate General of Israel to

Stainless, 2012 Clay, graphite steel, 29½” x 10” x 6½” If the Shoe Fits, 2012 Clay, pastel, oil, objects, 31” x 13” x 9” The Queen’s Advice, 2012 Clay, wood, lead, objects, 30” x 24” x 7” Dance, 2012 Clay, paint, objects, 39½” x 25” x 8” Friends, 2012 Clay, graphite, paint, objects, 18½” x 14” x 10” Bye Dad, 2012 Clay, paint, objects, 34” x 10” x 9”

the Mid-Atlantic Region. The Center would also like to thank Allison Wisnieski, Associate Dean of Students, for supporting this exhibition.

Back cover: Justin Green, From Binky Brown, 2012

Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.