Other Heroes: African American comics creators, characters & archetypes
is an exhibition of comics and comics-inspired artwork. It will be on display
April 5-25, 2007 in the Jackson State University Art Gallery, Dollye M.E.
Robinson School of Liberal Arts Building, Jackson, MS.
The show features an unprecedented group of African American
comics creators. From industry veterans Denys Cowan and Trevor von Eeden,
to critically
acclaimed graphic novelists Kyle Baker and Lance Tooks, to renowned editorial
cartoonist Keith Knight, to pioneering cartoonist Jackie Ormes, the list
of over 40 participating artists contains a who’s-who of famed African
American sequential artists past and present.
In addition to showcasing the work of outstanding African
American comics professionals, Other Heroes brings to the JSU Gallery
a vast and diverse
array of talented artists working in a variety of media, (comics, photography,
painting, and installation) to make art that portrays and investigates
African American issues. “The show is centered around the empowerment
of Black creators, characters, and stories, the depictions of the Black
image in popular culture, and the reclamation of our images,” Other
Heroes co-curator Professor John Jennings said in a recent interview with
UVC Magazine.
“
We hope the exhibit and catalog will provide a positive space to discuss
the social, economic, psychological, and philosophical impact of positive
and negative racial representations,” added co-curator and Eye Trauma
Comix editor-in-chief Damian Duffy.
Other Heroes also represents an effort to raise funds
for the local community. All profits from the sale of the Other Heroes
catalog,
soon to be published
through print-on-demand website Lulu.com, will be donated to Scholarship
America for the charity’s Disaster Relief Fund, which provides tuition
support to low income Gulf Coast students displaced by Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita.
Other Heroes is made possible by The Jackson State University
Art Department, The University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign Research
Board, The
UIUC African-American Studies and Research Program, and Eye Trauma
Studios.
|