Underground Classics: The Transformation of Comics
into Comix, 1963 - 1990
May 2 to July 12, 2009 | Brittingham Galleries VI
THE CHAZEN GOES UNDERGROUND WITH COMIX EXHIBITION
Beginning in the 1960s, underground cartoonists joined the rebellion against mainstream society, commercial publishing, and conformity in comics. The thriving comix culture boldly visualized the dissent and social exploration of the time. Underground Classics: The Transformation of Comics into Comix, 1963 - 1990, on view May 2 - July 12, 2009, looks at comix as an art form and includes original art, printed pages, and comic book covers as it charts the scene’s growth and change over three decades. A curators’ conversation and opening reception will take place Friday, May 1. See Events for information about this and other programming.
In 1967, Zap and the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers ushered in a new era of comic art. The 'x' distinguished comix--and its celebration of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll—from the super heroes and funny animal comics produced by mainstream publishers. But subject matter alone didn't differentiate comix from the mainstream: underground cartoonists received royalties for their work, retained ownership of their original art, automatically retained copyrights, developed an alternative distribution system, and reveled in an uncensored environment. This subculture challenged the economics of publishing as well as social and artistic norms. Underground Classics offers an in-depth view of comix culture, showing the range of artists and material as well as the artistry of their craft. The exhibition is curated by James Danky and Denis Kitchen for the Chazen Museum of Art and brings together artwork from private collections across the country. A full-color catalogue will be for sale in the Museum Shop. Underground Classics contains explicit material and may not be suitable for some audiences.
Artists in the exhibition include: Joel Beck, Vaughn Bode, Tim Boxell, Roger Brand, Charles Burns, Leslie Cabarga, Dan Clyne, Richard Corben, Robert Crumb, Howard Cruse, Kim Deitch, Will Eisner, Will Elder, Shary Flenniken, Drew Friedman, Don Glassford, Grass Green, Justin Green, Rick Griffin, Bill Griffith, Gary Hallgren, Rory Hayes, Rand Holmes, Greg Irons, Jack Jackson, Jay Kinney, Denis Kitchen, Aline Kominsky Crumb, Harvey Kurtzman, Bobby London, Jay Lynch, Jim Mitchell, Victor Moscoso, Willy Murphy, Dan O'Neil, Jim Osborne, Harvey Pekar, Peter Poplaski, John Pound, Wendel Pugh, Sylvie Rancourt, Ted Richards, Spain Rodriguez, Trina Robbins, Sharon Rudahl, Gilbert Shelton, Art Spiegelman, Frank Stack, Dan Steffan, Steve Stiles, William Stout, John Thompson, Larry Todd, Reed Waller, Bruce Walthers, Robert Williams, Skip Williamson, S. Clay Wilson, and Kate Worley.
Events
OPENING RECEPTION AND CURATORS’ CONVERSATION
Friday May 1, 5:30 p.m. Conversation between the curators of Underground Classics. Denis Kitchen is a comix artist, publisher, and collector, and the founder of Kitchen Sink Press. James Danky is a nationally recognized authority on the alternative press.
Friday May 1, 6:30 - 8 p.m. Opening reception for Underground Classics. Music by Biff (from Gomers and Reptile Palace Orchestra), refreshments, cash bar.
Friday May 1, 7:30 p.m. The UW Cinematheque screens Fritz the Cat, 1972, directed by Ralph Bakshi. 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Avenue. Doors at 7 p.m. For updates visit Cinematheque.
Saturday May 2, 7:30 p.m. The UW Cinematheque presents an evening with Patrick Rosenkranz. 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Avenue. Doors at 7 p.m. For updates visit Cinematheque. Author of Rebel Visions: The Underground Comix Revolution 1963 - 1975 and You Call this Art?, Patrick Rosenkranz is also an accomplished documentary filmmaker. He presents a program of his documentary short films, including the premiere of Rand Holmes Retrospective Art Show, a tribute filmed at a retrospective on Lasqueti Island, where Holmes lived.
Sunday May 3, 2:30 p.m. Rebel Visions: The Underground Comix Revolution. Lecture by Patrick Rosenkranz, comix historian. Rosenkranz discusses how R. Crumb and his Zap colleagues sparked the comix revolution of the 1960s and influenced the generation of cartoonists that followed. A signing of the exhibition catalogue, with James Danky, Denis Kitchen, and Patrick Rosenkranz follows the lecture in the Chazen Museum Shop.
Thursday May 7, 5:30 p.m. Telling Comix Tales: Worlds of Difference in Words & Images. Lecture by Mary N. Layoun, Professor of Comparative Literature, UW-Madison
Friday May 8, 7:30 p.m. The UW Cinematheque screens Crumb, 1994, directed by Terry Zwigoff. 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Avenue. Doors at 7 p.m. For updates visit Cinematheque.
Thursday June 25, 7 p.m. Wisconsin Ideas About Comics! The Madison Underground, and as Far Away as Princeton and Mt. Horeb, in the Growth of Comic Art, 1967 - present. Lecture by Paul Buhle, Senior Lecturer at Brown University, and writer about comics. Room L140. Buhle will discuss Wisconsin as a laboratory, if an odd one, for comics.
Cartooning class for teens: Drawing Concerns/Cartoons on a Mission. Instructor: Jay Rath, cartoonist and writer. July 7, 8, 9, 10, 2-4:30 p.m. Open to students entering grades 9 through 12. Preregistration and a nonrefundable materials fee of $5 are required. Limit: 15 each section. Call 608-263-2246 for information on registration. Museum membership is not required.
Beginning in the 1960s, underground cartoonists joined the rebellion against mainstream society, commercial publishing, and conformity in comics. The thriving comix culture boldly visualized the dissent and social exploration of the time. Underground Classics: The Transformation of Comics into Comix, 1963 - 1990, on view May 2 - July 12, 2009, looks at comix as an art form and includes original art, printed pages, and comic book covers as it charts the scene’s growth and change over three decades. A curators’ conversation and opening reception will take place Friday, May 1. See Events for information about this and other programming.
In 1967, Zap and the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers ushered in a new era of comic art. The 'x' distinguished comix--and its celebration of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll—from the super heroes and funny animal comics produced by mainstream publishers. But subject matter alone didn't differentiate comix from the mainstream: underground cartoonists received royalties for their work, retained ownership of their original art, automatically retained copyrights, developed an alternative distribution system, and reveled in an uncensored environment. This subculture challenged the economics of publishing as well as social and artistic norms. Underground Classics offers an in-depth view of comix culture, showing the range of artists and material as well as the artistry of their craft. The exhibition is curated by James Danky and Denis Kitchen for the Chazen Museum of Art and brings together artwork from private collections across the country. A full-color catalogue will be for sale in the Museum Shop. Underground Classics contains explicit material and may not be suitable for some audiences.
Artists in the exhibition include: Joel Beck, Vaughn Bode, Tim Boxell, Roger Brand, Charles Burns, Leslie Cabarga, Dan Clyne, Richard Corben, Robert Crumb, Howard Cruse, Kim Deitch, Will Eisner, Will Elder, Shary Flenniken, Drew Friedman, Don Glassford, Grass Green, Justin Green, Rick Griffin, Bill Griffith, Gary Hallgren, Rory Hayes, Rand Holmes, Greg Irons, Jack Jackson, Jay Kinney, Denis Kitchen, Aline Kominsky Crumb, Harvey Kurtzman, Bobby London, Jay Lynch, Jim Mitchell, Victor Moscoso, Willy Murphy, Dan O'Neil, Jim Osborne, Harvey Pekar, Peter Poplaski, John Pound, Wendel Pugh, Sylvie Rancourt, Ted Richards, Spain Rodriguez, Trina Robbins, Sharon Rudahl, Gilbert Shelton, Art Spiegelman, Frank Stack, Dan Steffan, Steve Stiles, William Stout, John Thompson, Larry Todd, Reed Waller, Bruce Walthers, Robert Williams, Skip Williamson, S. Clay Wilson, and Kate Worley.
Events
OPENING RECEPTION AND CURATORS’ CONVERSATION
Friday May 1, 5:30 p.m. Conversation between the curators of Underground Classics. Denis Kitchen is a comix artist, publisher, and collector, and the founder of Kitchen Sink Press. James Danky is a nationally recognized authority on the alternative press.
Friday May 1, 6:30 - 8 p.m. Opening reception for Underground Classics. Music by Biff (from Gomers and Reptile Palace Orchestra), refreshments, cash bar.
Friday May 1, 7:30 p.m. The UW Cinematheque screens Fritz the Cat, 1972, directed by Ralph Bakshi. 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Avenue. Doors at 7 p.m. For updates visit Cinematheque.
Saturday May 2, 7:30 p.m. The UW Cinematheque presents an evening with Patrick Rosenkranz. 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Avenue. Doors at 7 p.m. For updates visit Cinematheque. Author of Rebel Visions: The Underground Comix Revolution 1963 - 1975 and You Call this Art?, Patrick Rosenkranz is also an accomplished documentary filmmaker. He presents a program of his documentary short films, including the premiere of Rand Holmes Retrospective Art Show, a tribute filmed at a retrospective on Lasqueti Island, where Holmes lived.
Sunday May 3, 2:30 p.m. Rebel Visions: The Underground Comix Revolution. Lecture by Patrick Rosenkranz, comix historian. Rosenkranz discusses how R. Crumb and his Zap colleagues sparked the comix revolution of the 1960s and influenced the generation of cartoonists that followed. A signing of the exhibition catalogue, with James Danky, Denis Kitchen, and Patrick Rosenkranz follows the lecture in the Chazen Museum Shop.
Thursday May 7, 5:30 p.m. Telling Comix Tales: Worlds of Difference in Words & Images. Lecture by Mary N. Layoun, Professor of Comparative Literature, UW-Madison
Friday May 8, 7:30 p.m. The UW Cinematheque screens Crumb, 1994, directed by Terry Zwigoff. 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Avenue. Doors at 7 p.m. For updates visit Cinematheque.
Thursday June 25, 7 p.m. Wisconsin Ideas About Comics! The Madison Underground, and as Far Away as Princeton and Mt. Horeb, in the Growth of Comic Art, 1967 - present. Lecture by Paul Buhle, Senior Lecturer at Brown University, and writer about comics. Room L140. Buhle will discuss Wisconsin as a laboratory, if an odd one, for comics.
Cartooning class for teens: Drawing Concerns/Cartoons on a Mission. Instructor: Jay Rath, cartoonist and writer. July 7, 8, 9, 10, 2-4:30 p.m. Open to students entering grades 9 through 12. Preregistration and a nonrefundable materials fee of $5 are required. Limit: 15 each section. Call 608-263-2246 for information on registration. Museum membership is not required.
The Chazen Museum of Art is open Tuesdays–Fridays 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays 11 a.m.–5 p.m.; closed Mondays and major holidays. Admission to galleries and educational events is free. The museum is located on the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is accessible to wheelchairs from the north entrance (nearest to Library Mall). An elevator is down the corridor to the right.
Parking is available at the City of Madison State Street Campus Ramp (entrances on Frances and Lake streets) and in the University Square parking ramp, entrance on Lake Street. Metered parking is available in the lower level of UW Lot 46, entrances on Lake and Frances streets. Evening and weekend parking is also available in UW Lot 83 under Fluno Center, entrance on Frances Street, and in UW Lot 7 under Grainger Hall, entrance on Brooks Street between University Avenue and Johnson Street.
The Chazen will provide sign language interpreters for associated programs by three-week advance request to Anne Lambert, Curator of Education, weekdays, (608) 263-4421 (voice).