Tuesday, March 26, 2019

EXHIBITION: Anti-Heroes: The Art of Conscious Cartoonists and Comic Book Creators

Above: An image from the animated movie, My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea by Dash Shaw. Copyright Dash Shaw 2019.

Tauranga Art Gallery is bringing comics and pop culture back to the art gallery in 2019, with Mega World - an international exhibition exploring the expansive universe of illustration. The show transports you to an unknown landscape populated by strange creatures and unlikely heroes. Shown across all five exhibition spaces, the Gallery’s signature show gives life to contemporary illustration in its many forms. From comics and graphic novels to underground illustration, animation and contemporary art.


The first exhibition in the Mega World series is, Anti-Heroes: The Art of Conscious Cartoonists and Comic Book Creators. Curated by Craig McClure, this exhibition celebrates comic books and cartooning, and the powerfully empathetic way cartoonists have of representing the world. This exhibition is the first installment of Mega World, the Tauranga Art Gallery's 2019 signature show, and features work by Ryan Heshka (CA), Dash Shaw (USA), Ron Regé Jr (USA), Tommi Parrish (AU), Tom Scott (NZ), Mardo El-Noor (NZ) and Dylan Horrocks (NZ). 
 
Anti-Heroes is on now and runs to the 9th of June. Here's the exhibition statement: 
'Comic books are famously known for their Amazonian warriors, supermen from Krypton and cave dwelling billionaire playboys; Superheroes who violently defend the world from mastermind criminals and world domination.The artists in Anti-heroes resist this archetypical genre of comic books and use the medium to tell real human stories. Their characters are inspired by real people, human relationships and are often autobiographical. The comic book has been dominated by the superhero but as an art form it is a unique way of telling stories with both words and pictures simultaneously. Anti-heroes is a survey of works chosen by the curator that gives insight into the creators process, including original comic book pages, concept drawings, digital paintings and animation. Elements not usually seen by the audience are exposed and the craft of comic-book story-telling is revealed'.

Above: The poster for My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea by Dash Shaw. Copyright Dash Shaw 2019.

The exhibition will also include the Australasian premiere of the instant cult classic animated film My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea, by Dash Shaw. The animation comes hot from the Toronto Film Festival and includes voice-overs with; Jason Schwartzman, Lena Dunham and Susan Sarandon.  

There are also several special upcoming events associated with the exhibition:

Curator Talk: Craig McClure with Keeli McCarthy

When: Saturday 30 March, 10.30am
Where: Tauranga Art Gallery

Join Craig McClure, curator of Anti-heroes, as he discusses the world of comic books with US-based designer and editor Keeli McCarthy. McCarthy’s portfolio includes work for Fantagraphics and Walt Disney.

Entry to this events is free, but please register HERE to help the Gallery manage numbers.

Artist Talk: Dash Shaw

When: Saturday 18 May, 10.30am
Where: Tauranga Art Gallery

Dash Shaw is a US comic book writer/artist and animator, whose most recent film animation, My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea, is showing as part of the Mega World exhibition, Anti-heroes. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear from an international artist at the fore of comics and animation.

Entry to this events is free, but please register HERE to help the Gallery manage numbers.

For more information and updates, visit the Tauranga Art Gallery website HERE.

- AK!

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