The Backlit Word: Picture-Stories and Drawings by Ben Katchor March 23 to April 15, 2005 |
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Recently, the comic book has become a vehicle of serious art and story-telling, representing an evolutionary triumph for this populist genre. Thanks in large measure to the work of Art Speigelman and R. Crumb, a new generation of cartoonist/writers has made the graphic novel one of the most innovative of art forms, a uniquely potent hybrid of words and images. Ben Katchor, one of this new generation of artist-authors, is the Spring 2005 Sidney Harman Writer-in-Residence at Baruch College. Simultaneously, his work is also the subject of an upcoming exhibition, The Backlit Word: Picture-Stories and Drawings by Ben Katchor, on view at the Mishkin Gallery, Wednesday, March 23 to Friday, April 15, 2005. The opening reception for this exhibition, which is co-sponsored by the Harman Program and the Steven L. Newman Real Estate Institute, takes place on Tuesday, March 22, 5:30 to 7:30 pm. The same evening, “A Conversation with Ben Katchor,” will take place in the Oak Room of the Newman Real Estate Institute from 7 to 8 pm. Free and Open to the Public. Ben Katchor is the creator of four books of narrative drawings: Cheap Novelties, the Pleasures of Urban Decay; Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer; The Jew of New York; and The Beauty Supply District. His work appears regularly in the English-language Forward, in the monthly magazine, Metropolis, and in The New Yorker. Like many of his contemporaries, Katchor is a practitioner of what one critic has called “the comic book with a brain.” His drawings are not illustrations. They move the narrative along; words and images combine as an integral whole. Public buildings, architectural elements, and real estate figure prominently in Katchor’s work, which often depicts an urban setting that combines prosaic and surreal elements. The 50 watercolors, drawings, and inkjet prints in this exhibition also include several set designs from The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island, a musical theatrical production that premiered a year ago at The Kitchen, a performance space in New York City. Katchor’s thematic preoccupations are suggested by the titles of his works which include, “The Insomniac’s Mansion,” “The Call of the Wall,” “The Unmade Bed,” “Open House Season,” and “Lobby Crimes,” among others. The Sidney Mishkin Gallery is located at 135 E. 22 Street, New York City. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, Noon to 5 pm; Thursday, Noon to 7 pm. “A Conversation with Ben Katchor” will take place in The Newman Institute, adjacent to the Mishkin Gallery, at 137 E. 22 nd St., The Oak Room, from 7 to 8 pm on March 22nd.The Sidney Mishkin Gallery is located at: Gallery hours are: © 2005 Sidney Mishkin Gallery, Baruch College
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| Sandra Kraskin (gallery) | |
