Karen Rubins has beaten some serious competition to clinch the comics art residency at the famous Victoria and Albert Museum in London. I’m not familiar with Karen’s work yet, but I know that a number of British artists competed for the post, so she obviously must have stood out. In fact I see from her site that she recently made the runners-up list for the Manga Jiman 150 competition organised by the Embassy of Japan (which we blogged about recently), so Karen is obviously someone we all should be taking a look at. I’m sure some might raise eyebrows at an artist who creates a lot of manga being chosen for the post, but the fact is that the manga style is increasingly popular (even the DFC boasts Neill Cameron’s Mo-Bot High) and if it gets more readers (especially younger ones) interested in comics then I’m all for it. Congratulations to Karen and also kudos to the V&A; its refreshing to see a prestigious, internationally respected arts institution taking such a serious interest in the comics medium and indeed it follows the V&A hosting some major comics events as part of Comica late last year. (via the Girly Journal)
(a lovely image – Sakura by and (c) Karen Rubins, borrowed from her site)
February 12th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Wow, didn’t realise Karen had gone so full on manga… nice stuff.
Congrats to her for winning the post. She beat some very seasoned proffessionals to get it
S.
February 17th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
I was lucky enough to glimpse a piece of animation she created a year or two ago, though not much else since Dark. (If I recall correctly, this started back in 2000) Anyone got any links they’ve enjoyed?
February 19th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Thanks Shane! Not too sure about “full-on” manga, probably more “two-thirds-on” manga.
Andy, try looking on http://www.itchpublishing.com
I distinctly remember giving you a copy of “The Witch” last year. Try looking down the back of the sofa.. X-D
Karen.