The Rye Arts Center Explores the History of Cartoon and Comic Art
In today’s culture, comic and cartoon art seem to appear everywhere – the pages of award-winning novels, in blockbuster films like Wonder Woman and Black Panther, and even on the walls of art galleries and museums. This spring, cartoons and comics will reign over The Rye Arts Center (RAC)’s Turn the Page: The Evolution of Cartoon and Comic Art exhibition. Through June 9, the exhibition, which is co-curated by Adam Levi and Gail Harrison Roman, Ph.D., features more than 100 original works that reflect the history of this genre. Among the show’s highlights are works by The New Yorker cartoonists Ben Schwartz, Emily Flake and Robert Mankoff, as well as original production art for Archie Comics and cartoon cels for The Powerpuff Girls. Superheroes such as Batman, Superman and the Avengers are prominently featured and burst out of the comic strips of legendary writers Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Will Eisner. The exhibition will include a replica of comic book illustrator David Abrevaya’s studio. There, Abrevaya, who is an RAC instructor, will host a free workshop on May 19, during which visitors can experience the production process first-hand.
Turn the Page will also reveal the influence of cartoons and comics on modern art, specifically its impact on artists of the Pop Art movement who employed comic styles and formats in their works. For instance, contemporary paintings like Roy Lichtenstein’s The Melody Haunts My Reverie, a 1965 screen print on loan from Neuberger Museum of Art, incorporate comic techniques such as “Ben Day” dots, limited color palettes and black outlines.
Levi, who is also the Senior Director at RAC, explained that the Center originally planned to focus primarily on comic book covers. He added: “However after realizing, through our research, the extraordinary artistic talent and creativity that underlies both comics and cartoons, we decided to present an in-depth look at these works and to emphasize their value as art.” For more info, visit ryeartscenter.org.
A version of this article first appeared in the May issue of ArtsNews, ArtsWestchester’s monthly publication. ArtsNews is distributed throughout Westchester County. A digital copy is also available at artsw.org/artsnews.
