Chris Ware illustrated September’s back-to-school New Yorker cover with a scene of parents turning their backs on their children, immersed in their own digital devices. This week he did another cover that brilliantly reflects how the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings changed the dynamic between parents and children. On this 2013 cover our point ofContinue reading “Schooled: Chris Ware’s New Yorker Covers”
Category Archives: illustration
Illustration Concentration 2012 in review
Happy New Year. The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for the illustration concentration blog. We had 39,000 views in 2012. The post that got the most views was a 2010 story about KU grad illustrator Amanda Geisinger working with Spongebob Squarepants. Next is a story about the folk art tradition of Kolam. That story getsContinue reading “Illustration Concentration 2012 in review”
Comics MFA? There is an alternative… No Joke.
Back in the ’80’s, when I told my pal Putka I was getting an MFA in illustration, he laughed, “What’s next? -a Phd in Wallpaper Hanging?” What’s Next? Looks like the answer is Advanced Comics… Stanford is a great university with one respected graphic novel class. But suddenly, universities across the country are offering completeContinue reading “Comics MFA? There is an alternative… No Joke.”
César Chávez: Drawing on Clay, Printing with Glass
Our 2011 visiting artist César Chávez of Oaxaca, Mexico left a great impression on Kutztown University. He also left a number of plates. Ceramics Prof Jim Chaney formed a half-dozen red clay plates, then iced them with a coat of white slip, or diluted clay. He invited César to the ceramics studio to draw. Prof Chaney speaksContinue reading “César Chávez: Drawing on Clay, Printing with Glass”
funny things art spiegelman said about the funnies
“I’ve been called the father of the graphic novel, but I demand a paternity test!” -art spiegelman. I caught art spiegelman’s “What the %@&*! Happened to Comics?” at Lehigh University. One of the most influential artists of our time, I knew him before he won the Pulitzer for his graphic novel, Maus. Even though we areContinue reading “funny things art spiegelman said about the funnies”
Art Drawn in Blood
Saturday I took the early bus from Kutztown to New York City to deliver a print to a downtown gallery. I’ve shown my illustration work at the Society of Illustrators during their teacher shows, but this will be different. This is a juried “fine art” exhibition at Sacred Gallery, 420 Broadway. Emerging from the Canal St.Continue reading “Art Drawn in Blood”
Will Ruocco & the Secrets of Gig Posters
There are illustrators and presses everywhere. I was in Worthington, Ohio, just north of Columbus, one recent weekend. There was a big street fair going on. A sandwich board announced “Open House at Igloo Letterpress.” I have been to Worthington many times and never knew there was a press there. Will Ruocco was minding hisContinue reading “Will Ruocco & the Secrets of Gig Posters”
KUTZTOWN to LEGOLAND
Austin Carlson graduated from KU in May, 2012 with a BFA in Communication Design. He won the Don Breter Illustration Award. Lately he has been working at a supermarket near his home in Hanover, PA. That will all change in a few weeks when he flies to Denmark to start his new job as aContinue reading “KUTZTOWN to LEGOLAND”
When Museums Cohabitate.
I was sorry to hear of MoCCA’s near-death experience. I’ve met some interesting people at the Museum of Comic & Cartoon Art in lower Manhattan. I ran into Prof. Bill Foster there, the expert on the portrayal of African-Americans in comics. He came to Kutztown to share his presentation, “Looking for a Face Like Mine.” Last summer MoCCA went broke andContinue reading “When Museums Cohabitate.”
Russ Spitkovsky: The Pigeon Has Landed
Russ Spitkovsky makes things happen. He came to Kutztown as one of the 9 artists in the 2012 Print Invitational at the Miller Gallery. The founder of the cutting edge art magazine Carrier Pigeon hung artwork from the latest issue at the Eckhaus Gallery on Main St. He circled back this week as a visiting artistContinue reading “Russ Spitkovsky: The Pigeon Has Landed”
Illustration Concentration 