Comics displayed at MU museum
Published June 17, 1998
Attention cartoon lovers: "Three Centuries of Comic Art," the latest exhibition at the MU Museum of Art and Archaeology in Pickard Hall, puts a new swing on a supposedly immature form of expression.
Cartoons may not be traditional museum fodder, but these works stand vital pieces of art history. Works are separated into three period sections: 18th-century Satire, 19th-century Spoofs and 20th-century Subversions.
The earliest selections are the 18th-Century work of British artist John Collet. Prints of mezzotints and engravings based on his paintings are on loan from the Yale Center for British Art.
The 19th century section focuses on Honore Daumier, a French satirist of Neo-Classical art. His refurbished lithographs come from the museum's private collection.
Such subversive artists as Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Robert Crumb, Gilbert Shelton and MU art professor Frank Stack make up the 20th century exhibit.
As the more prominent names, these artists form the popular core of the exhibition.
"The comments in our guest albums have been pretty interesting," said Scherrie Goetsch, Museum Promotions Director. "One person even wrote 'I got a "B" in Frank Stack's comic art drawing class at MU."
Stack donated his works and the work of other artists for the exhibit. He is recognized for publishing the first underground comic book in 1962, "The Adventures of Jesus," under the pseudonym of Foolbert Sturgeon.
Prominent themes in the exhibited works include gender and family relations, self-indulgence, art, academics, religion and mortality.
For example, Robert Crumb's self portrait attempts to exemplify the artist attempting to put everyday human realities into his work. This drawing, produced when the artist was 26 years old, is a leaping point for Crumb's developing strategies of artistic expression.
According to museum officials, the galleries have seen near-capacity crowds on weekends.
"The best part of the summer is that the museum is an escape from the summer heat," Goetsch said.
The 18th- and 19th-century exhibitions will run until August 24, while the 20th-century section will run until August 30.
