NORTHWEST ALTERNATIVE COMICS
EXHIBITION: Sept. 26 – Dec. 17
RECEPTION: Thurs, Oct. 6, 5-7 p.m. (Artists in Attendance)
Join the Museum of Art for the Northwest Alternative Comics Exhibition, September 26 through December 17. Admission to the Museum is free.
The Northwest is seen by many as the birthplace of alternative comics, a genre which blended the legacy of Bay-Area “underground comix” with a DIY punk-ethos, while in step with a burgeoning independent music scene. Coalescing around The Evergreen State College in the early 1980s, gifted cartoonists Matt Groening, Lynda Barry, and Charles Burns published their comic strips in small alternative weeklies, helping to lay the foundation for the cultural phenomenon that would develop around Seattle in the 1990s. Originally underground and bohemian-based, today the regional comic scene is bigger and more active than ever before.
Northwest Alternative Comics will feature a select sampling of emerging and highly-recognized artists and illustrators who make up the alternative comics genre of our region. With an emphasis on individuals who are willing to reinvent the way we look at and experience the art of comics and graphic arts, our exhibition offers an alternative to mainstream superhero comics by highlighting diverse narratives and new visual formats. The exhibition includes artists Peter Bagge, Paul Chadwick, Max Clotfelter, Taylor Dow, Ellen Forney, Eroyn Franklin, David Lasky, Mita Mahato, Tom Van Deusen and Jim Woodring.
Special thanks to exhibit advisors Larry Reid of Fantagraphics Books and Casey Bruce of Danger Room Comics.
ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING
COUGAR COMIX JAM: Thurs, 9/22, 5-10pm, Rico’s Pub, Downtown Pullman | Learn to make comic zines with Tom and Max. Materials are provided – just show up and “jam”!
ARTIST MURAL COLLABORATION: Fri, 9/23, 10am-4pm, MOA Gallery | Watch Seattle cartoonists Tom Van Deusen and Max Clotfelter paint a 12×16 foot mural as curators prepare for the opening 9/26.
PETER BAGGE ARTIST LECTURE: Thurs, 11/3, 6pm, MOA Gallery | Join Peter Bagge, as he weaves the story of the NW alternative comics scene and his career as Weirdo magazine’s managing editor.
LOCATION | The Museum of Art is located on Wilson Road across from Martin Stadium in the Fine Arts Center on the WSU Pullman campus. Gallery hours are Monday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., open until 7 p.m. on Thursdays and closed on Sundays. For more information please contact the museum at 509-335-1910.
