“Monsters of Webcomics” at The Cartoon Art Museum
The Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco is having an exhibition called “Monsters of Webcomics” from August 8- December 6, 2009. This exhibit interests me not only as a creator whose work is going to be featured in the Virtual Gallery (woo!) but also as a scholar, especially since I’m the one who curated the first webcomics exhibit, “Infinite Canvas: The Art of Webcomics,” at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (MoCCA) in New York City in 2007.
Here’s a picture from MoCCA’s gallery opening:
Left to Right: Bill Roundy, Scott McCloud, Matt Murray, Jennifer Babcock: We’re standing in front of a 40 foot long print out of one of Scott McCloud’s “infinite canvas” comics
(Bill helped me curate the exhibit and he and Matt did most of the installation work. Matt is also the one who green lighted my idea to do a webcomics exhibit and for that I owe him my soul and two beers. If you don’t know who Scott McCloud is… shame on you! Go read his books Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics, and Making Comics!)
It seems like the Cartoon Art Museum’s exhibit has the same basic premise as the exhibit I curated: basically, it is demonstrating how the web hosts an immense variety of genres and formats (though it seems that there isn’t going to be any examples of “infinite canvas” comics) that is unheard of in print. Like MoCCA’s exhibit, the Cartoon Art Museum has a wonderful sampling of artists whose work will be displayed traditionally- in a frame and on a wall- while a dozen other comics, such as my own, will be featured in their native habitat- on a screen. What’s nice about doing this is that the exhibit allows you to see some original artwork (I would love to see Kate Beaton’s comics as she still draws with an actual pen and pencil) without ignoring the fact that these comics are meant to be viewed in a digital environment. Another perk of the Virtual Gallery is that it provides additional “wall space” so that the viewers can be exposed to a lot more comics. This of course also works out for the creators since we get to show a wider audience our creations and hopefully hook them in to become a regular reader.
Anyway, I hope some of you have the opportunity to visit the Cartoon Art Museum. It seems like they have a really great line up of artists for their webcomics exhibit. I wish I could go see it myself- especially since I’m actually in the show- but I don’t think I can afford it and I’ll be in the middle of studying for my major PhD exam, which is taking place this semester.
But if some sweet hearted soul paid for my trip out I just might be able to set my studies aside, take a look, and write a review! ::bats eyelashes::
No?
Well, that’s ok.
For more information about the Cartoon Art Museum’s exhibit, go check out their press release!
And just to give you an idea of what MoCCA’s webcomics exhibit was like, you can take a look at their press release as well.
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