ART 3599: Comics and Contemporary Art: Start Here

A raucous skewering of the art world as told by a master of absurdityMatthew Thurber's Art Comic is a blunt and hilarious assault on the swirling hot mess that is the art world. From sycophantic fans to duplicitous gallerists, fatuous patrons to self-aggrandizing art stars, he lampoons each and every facet of the eminently ridiculous industry of truth and beauty. Follow Cupcake, the Matthew Barney obsessive; Epiphany née Tiffany Clydesdale, the divinely inspired performance artist; Ivanhoe, a modern knight in search of artistic vengeance, and his squire, Turnbuckle. Each artist is more ridiculous than the last, yet they are tested and transformed by the even more absurd machinations of Thurber's fantastical art world. Can the Free Little Pigs destroy this blighted system? Will "The Group" continue its indirect assassination of promising young artists? Can artistic integrity exist in this world amid the capitalist co-opting, petty rivalries, otherworldly portals, heavenly interventions, and murders at sea? Art Comic is brimming with references and cameos, outsize personalities and shuddering nonsense--Robert Rauschenberg smashes a beer bottle, Francesca Woodman, a wineglass. In the center of it all, Thurber's twisted drawings and laugh-out-loud dialogue convey a complicated picture of an industry at the intersection of fantasy and reality. Part scathing condemnation, part irreverent appreciation, Thurber's comics skewer the art world in a way only an art lover can.

Cartoon and comic book imagery are suddenly ubiquitous. Since the 1950s in the United States, they have been considered primarily as an entertainment vehicle for children, their lowbrow status allowing them to thrive outside of the critical, aesthetic, and commercial criteria expected of the art world. Today cartoon-based imagery is regular fare on TV and in movies from Hollywood to Tokyo, aimed toward both children and adults. At the same time, an alternative use of this imagery is proliferating in cult and underground zines and comics, as well as in respected art galleries, museums, and contemporary art spaces around the world. As the boundaries between high and low blur to the point of disappearance, cartoons have emerged from cult status in the underground to mainstream culture, where they provide a vehicle for critique in a postmodern world. They continue a narrative tradition at a time when computer-generated systems of nonlinear thinking are emerging and epitomize the accessibility and disposability of our times. Cartoons and comics provide a universal language of immediately recognizable cultural icons that appeal to the instant-gratification demands of our contemporary world. Internationally, cartoon imagery is playing an increasing role in contemporary art. Whether through clear appropriation or distorted likenesses made with the purpose of satirizing its subjects, cartoon-like graphics are a visual language adopted by artists across the globe. Karen Finley renders a postmodern version of Pooh, riddled with contemporary questions about identity. Yoshitomo Nara's evil-eyed, malevolent children and kamikaze puppies make reference to Japan's role in World War II while explicitly defying our expectations of childhood innocence. Kerry James Marshall leads a group of African American artists who have adopted comic book language to revise their history. Artists are using cartoon imagery to address controversial, even politically incorrect issues that are difficult to assimilate into mainstream art galleries and museums through realistic depictions. Through comic book imagery, they can move beyond reality, shaping heroines, superheros, and even worlds for current and future escapism.

The comic book, the cartoon strip and the single-panel gag are recurring motifs in twentieth-century art, providing a platform for narrative, political critique, graphic clarity, and, of course, fun. Cult Fiction: Art & Comics examines the work of artists who produce comics and cartoons as part of their practice, as well as those who employ the language of the comic in their work, borrowing from stylistic sources across high and low culture. Accompanying a U.K. exhibition tour, and designed by Fantagraphics art director Jacob Covey, this catalogue's bold layout complements the artworks included in its pages. An essay by Paul Gravett, a writer and curator who has worked in comics publishing and promotion for over 20 years, illuminates the long-standing love affair between fine art and comics, emphasizing contemporary practitioners in Britain and the U.S., including Laylah Ali, Glen Baxter, Daniel Clowes, Liz Craft, R. Crumb, Adam Dant, Julie Doucet, Debbie Dreschler, Marcel Dzama, Mark Kalesniko, Kerstin Kartscher, Killoffer, Chad McCail, Paul McDevitt, Kerry James Marshall, Kim Pace, Raymond Pettibon, Olivia Plender, Jon Pylypchuk, James Pyman, Joe Sacco, David Shrigley, Posy Simmonds, Richard Slee, Carol Swain, St phane Blanquet, Melinda Gebbie, Alan Moore and Travis Millard. Specially commissioned self-portraits and question-and-answer forms filled out by hand by all contributing artists make Cult Fiction one-of-a-kind.

Comics! Cartoons! Anime! Manga! Graphic novels! Video games! This vibrant and engaging book, catalog to a landmark exhibition, celebrates the variety and growing significance of visual pop culture. Stunningly illustrated with eye-popping art, KRAZY! investigates the uniqueness of these forms while considering the ways they interconnect. Curated by many of the artists who first brought these forms to the public's attention, this volume features commentary and interviews with Maus author Art Spiegelman, SimCity creator Will Wright, and Canadian comic book author and illustrator Seth, along with Tim Johnson (codirector of Antz and Over the Hedge), Kiyoshi Kusumi (a global authority on manga), and media theory critic Toshiya Ueno. This pathbreaking volume crosses boundaries between the printed arts, films, and video games and analyzes the reciprocal influences between fields, highlighting the best of each. The energy and intensity of the images leap off every page, and the full experience of the exhibit itself comes alive in behind-the-scenes commentary by the contributors. KRAZY! is a dizzying introduction to the art forms that will dominate the new century. Copub: Douglas & McIntyre Limited

We are living in a golden age of cartoon art. Never before has graphic storytelling been so prominent or garnered such respect: critics and readers alike agree that contemporary cartoonists are creating some of the most innovative and exciting work in all the arts.? For nearly a decade Hillary L. Chute has been sitting down for extensive interviews with the leading figures in comics, and with Outside the Box she offers fans a chance to share her ringside seat. Chute's in-depth discussions with twelve of the most prominent and accomplished artists and writers in comics today reveal a creative community that is richly interconnected yet fiercely independent, its members sharing many interests and approaches while working with wildly different styles and themes. Chute's subjects run the gamut of contemporary comics practice, from underground pioneers like Art Spiegelman and Lynda Barry, to the analytic work of Scott McCloud, the journalism of Joe Sacco, and the extended narratives of Alison Bechdel, Charles Burns, and more. They reflect on their experience and innovations, the influence of peers and mentors, the reception of their art and the growth of critical attention, and the crucial place of print amid the encroachment of the digital age. Beautifully illustrated in full-color, and featuring three never-before-published interviews?including the first published conversation between Art Spiegelman and Chris Ware?Outside the Box will be a landmark volume, a close-up account of the rise of graphic storytelling and a testament to its vibrant creativity.

Splat--ouch--Boom--ouch--Pow That hurts. Presenting work by 35 nationally and internationally recognized contemporary artists who have incorporated the imagery, technique, or style of the comics in their work, Splat Boom Pow makes evident the shift from traditional literary narratives to a visual language of myth as seen in comic strips over the last 40 years. Taking an in-depth look at the current phenomenon of cartoon-referencing work, its connection to the pop art movement of the 1960s, and the social and cultural factors that have shaped our understanding of the comics as a form of popular communication, Splat Boom Pow includes work by three generations of artists, among them Laylah Ali, Michael Ray Charles, Roy Lichtenstein, Takashi Murakami, Elizabeth Murray, Chris Ofili, Sigmar Polke, Peter Saul, Kenny Scharf, Jim Shaw and Andy Warhol.