2012-13 Current Exhibits on Display in VCU Libraries
Intersections: Art and Science
An exhibition of works by students, faculty and alumni in the Scientific and Medical Preparatory emphasis area of the VCU Department of Communication Arts. |
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(Not So) Funny Animals: a Genre Tale
"Funny Animal" is a genre term used in comics and animated cartoons in which the animal characters are "humanoid or talking animals, with anthropomorphic traits." While many of these characters can be considered cute, not all are funny. This exhibit features some 20 titles focusing on many of the Not So funny animals found in comic strips, comic books, and graphic novels. VCU Libraries has more than 500 titles classified under Funny Animals, many of which are housed within the Comic Arts Collection. |
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International Zine Month
International Zine Month is an annual celebration of zines, self-publishing, and small press culture held during the month of July. VCU Libraries' Special Collections and Archives houses a large collection of zines and other small press publications. Punk rock, mini comic, feminist and other zines by local, national, and international zine makers will be on display until after the annual Richmond Zine Fest in October of 2012. Also on display are examples of the work of Aijung Kim, a Richmond based artist and zine collector. |
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Toys and Other Collectable from the Comic Arts Collection
In addition to comic books and supporting research materials, the VCU Libraries' Comic Arts Collection includes a jar of Superman Peanut Butter from the 1980s, Superman bed sheets, superhero dolls, an unopened box of Morning Funnies cereal, Gumby and Warner Brothers cartoon figurines, an Alfred E. Neuman doll from MAD Magazine, numerous buttons, glassware, and many other items. The exhibit showcases some of the more amusing and unconventional materials from the following collections: M. Thomas Inge Papers, Jim Scott Collection of Toys, Christopher L. Irving Papers, and Paul Baldwin Collection of MAD Magazine Publications and Ephemera. |
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Military Appreciation Exhibit
This exhibit is part of VCU’s recognition of Military Appreciation Month. The exhibit features the work of William Henry "Bill" Mauldin (1921-2003) and shows materials from Comic Arts Collection. Mauldin was a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist whose career spanned 40 years. He is well known for his World War II cartoons depicting American soldiers. They included the archetypal characters "Willie and Joe,” who stoically endured the difficulties and dangers of duty in the field. These cartoons were broadly published and distributed in the American army abroad and in the United States. |
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Richmond Artist - Carl "Chick" Larsen - A Retrospective
From 1950 to 1954, Carl E. “Chick” Larsen (1923-1991) was a student of Commercial Art at Richmond Professional Institute (RPI), the forerunner to VCU on the Monroe Park campus. Larsen went on to be an award winning cartoonist working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch for over thirty-five years. The materials in this exhibit are from the Carl “Chick” Larsen Papers housed in Special Collections and Archives. The collection documents Larsen’s career as a professional artist and contains materials ranging from Larsen’s original art work to the actual art supplies he used during the 1950s through the 1980s. |
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Foreign Language Comics
What began in the 1970s as a modest comic book donation from Dr. M. Thomas Inge, professor and scholar of popular culture and comic art, has grown into a collection boasting more than 150,000 items, including comic books, graphic novels, editorial cartoons, comic strips, memorabilia, journals, fanzines, and reference materials. One area of VCU Libraries' Comic Arts Collection that has multiplied over the years is the number of international titles either originally published in a foreign language or translated from or into English. From Spanish to Hindi to French to Czech, this exhibit showcases the universality of comic art. |
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International Dialogue: Foreign Languages in Book Art
Hidden treasures in this collection include foreign language books in German, French, Japanese, Urdu, and other diverse tongues. The publications not only serve as inspiration for artists but are helpful resources for students studying Romance, Asian, or Slavic languages. The collection is particularly strong in European languages such as German, Italian, and French. Many books in the collection also reflect the multilingual experiences of prominent contemporary artists. Jana Kim, an artist with a Korean background, combines Korean and English. Lawrence Weiner’s Apples & Eggs, Salt & Pepper (1991) is also a bilingual book that juxtaposes Japanese with English text. Aisha Khalid’s Name, Class, Subject (2009) is a conceptual piece inspired by Urdu script and Pakistani school children’s notebooks. |
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Cover of Pulpatoon: Pilgrimage by Joel Priddy (2002)
AdHouse Books is a “boutique publishing juggernaut” based in Richmond, Virginia. Created by Chris Pitzer in 2002, AdHouse made its debut in the independent comics’ scene with Pulpatoon: Pilgrimage by Joel Priddy. That comic novel was well-received and won the 2002 Small Press Expo Ignatz Award for Outstanding Debut, the 2002 Ninth Art Lighthouse Award for Debut Book, and was nominated for the 2003 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Novel. Tthe display shows off a range of AdHouse Books titles, all housed in the Comic Arts Collection. |
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