You may recall that last spring I blogged about the Comic Art Indigène exhibition that was coming up in New Mexico and showcasing a different aspect to comics than most of us usually see, work drawn from Native American Indians. Well curator Antonio Chavarria has been in touch to say the exhibition was a great success – so much so that it is now travelling to Washington DC where it will be displayed in the National Museum of the American Indian starting on March 6th. Its not a conventional comics art exhibition – it explores the links between modern comics forms and the narrative art of Native Americans. Since more than a few comics commentators have drawn (no pun intended) parallels between earlier forms of art, from Hogarth right back to Egyptian heiroglyphs and cave paintings, and modern sequential art in comics I think it sounds fascinating, as well as offering an insight into another culture (usually a good thing in my book). From the official description:
(Behold… Po-Pay! by Jason Garcia)
“Using images and art spanning from the 13th century to contemporary works, Comic Art Indigène examines how American Indian artists articulate identity, politics, and culture through the kinetic expressions of sequential art. The exhibit begins with the image of the red, white and blue All American Man, a shield carrying warrior pictograph of the Pueblo II period (carbon dated to ca. 1290), and is contrasted to an image of that other red, white and blue shield hurling hero, Captain America as depicted by Jim Steranko. Traditional media such as ceramics, beadwork and painting are represented however the subject matter may shock and surprise those expecting standard romanticized scenes of Native life.”
Thu, Feb 26, 2009
Art and animation, Comics and cartoons, Conventions and events