Wednesday, June 06, 2012

"Graphic Details: Confessional Comics by Jewish Women" opens in Washington DC

From: Sarah Lightman

"Graphic Details: Confessional Comics by Jewish Women", the show I am co-curating, is continuing to tour.

"Graphic Details" will be opening at the Anne Loeb Bronfman Gallery, Washington JCC, 1529 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20036
from  7 June, until 2 September 2012.


Featuring original work by 18 of the most influential creators, Graphic Details showcases work of all- stars from the pioneering Wimmen's Comix and Twisted Sisters artists of the 1970s and 1980s to the superstars of the new generation. Many of the cartoons in Graphic Details have never been displayed in public until now. The artists, who hail from the U.S., Canada, Israel and the UK include: Vanessa Davis; Bernice Eisenstein; Sarah Glidden; Miriam Katin; Aline Kominsky-Crumb; Miss Lasko-Gross; Sarah Lazarovic; Miriam Libicki; Sarah Lightman; Diane Noomin; Corinne Pearlman; Trina Robbins; Racheli Rotner; Sharon Rudahl; Laurie Sandell; Ariel Schrag; Lauren Weinstein; and Ilana Zeffren.

This well-reviewed and often-startling exhibition provides the first in-depth look at a vibrant and prolific niche of graphic storytelling – Jewish women's autobiographical comics. While the influential role of Jews in cartooning has long been acknowledged, the role of Jewish women in shaping the medium is still largely unexplored. This exhibition of original drawings, full comic books and graphic novels presents the powerful work of artists whose intimate and complex work has influenced the world of comics over the last four decades.

Sophisticated yet raw, nakedly diaristic storytelling is what makes these comics so compelling. By turns funny, outrageous, poignant and embarrassingly intimate, the works reflect each artist's individual journeys refracted through a distinctively Jewish lens in a pop-culture art form. Some bare their bodies. Some expose their psyches. All are fearless about experiences, emotions, desires, romance and politics. For a taste of the works on display you can see a series of short films featuring the uproarious performances and commentaries by Sarah Glidden, Miriam Katin, Miss Lasko-Gross, Laurie Sandell, Ariel Schrag, and Lauren Weinstein created by Zachary Levine, Curator at Yeshiva University Museum, here:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC21866CEEBBB5B99

Graphic Details has been touring since 2010. Previous sites include The Cartoon Art Museum, San Francisco (2010), The Gladstone Hotel with The Koffler Centre for The Arts, Toronto (2011), and most recently Yeshiva University Museum, New York (2011-12) where we held a one day conference "Talking About Jewish Women and Comics."


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