Festival of Cartoon Art

Last updated
Festival of Cartoon Art
StatusDefunct; succeeded by Cartoon Crossroads Columbus
Genre Comic strips, Political cartoons, Comic books, Comics studies
FrequencyTriannual
Venue Ohio State University
Location(s) Columbus, Ohio
CountryU.S.
InauguratedOctober 14, 1986;37 years ago (1986-10-14) at Ohio State University
FounderLucy Shelton Caswell
Most recentNov. 14–17, 2013
Filing status Educational/Nonprofit
Sponsor Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum
Website cartoons.osu.edu/events/festival-of-cartoon-art/

The Festival of Cartoon Art was a triennial conference on the art of comics held at Ohio State University from 1983 to 2013. The conference was produced by what is now known as the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum.

Contents

Featuring two to three days of lectures, panel discussions, exhibitions, and receptions, the Festival attracted cartoonists, comics scholars, fans, collectors, and students. Leading cartoonists spoke at the festival, including Lynda Barry, Milton Caniff, Will Eisner, Jules Feiffer, Ben Katchor, Patrick Oliphant, Jeff Smith, Art Spiegelman, Garry Trudeau, and Bill Watterson. Exhibitions were generally shown at what is now known as the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum as well as other venues around Columbus, Ohio.

History

The inaugural Festival was held on October 14, 1983, and was augmented by three related exhibitions organized by Lucy Shelton Caswell of the school's Library for Communication and Graphic Arts. [1] [2]

In late 1994, Universal Press Syndicate donated $50,000 to underwrite the 1995 Festival of Cartoon Art, [3] which was dedicated to celebrating the centennial of the American comic strip. The featured exhibition was "See You in the Funny Papers: American Life as Reflected in the Newspaper Comic Strip," curated by Caswell.

The theme of the 2001 festival was "Historic Virtuoso Cartoonists": an exhibit of the same name was shown Aug. 26-Sept. 30 at the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department Cultural Arts Center; and the exhibit "Calvin and Hobbes, Sunday Pages 1985-1995" was shown at OSU's Cartoon Research Library Reading Room Gallery. [4]

The theme of the 2004 festival was "Deletions, Omissions and Erasures". [5] The theme of the 2007 festival was "Graphic Storytelling" [6] — exhibitions associated with the festival celebrated the centennial of Milton Caniff's birth.

The 2010 Festival featured a one-day symposium titled Humor, Play and Identity in Comics: Academic Perspectives. In addition to the usual panels and presentations, Art Spiegelman gave a presentation as part of his residency at OSU's Wexner Center for the Arts. Other events included a tribute to Jay Kennedy, the late editor-in-chief of King Features Syndicate (who had bequeathed his collection of underground comix to OSU's Cartoon Library & Museum); and celebrations of the 100th anniversary of George Herriman's Krazy Kat. [7]

The final Festival, held mid-November 2013, was titled "Grand Opening Festival of Cartoon Art," [8] as it celebrated the opening of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum's new home in the renovated Sullivant Hall. [9] Exhibitions on view during the festival were "Treasures from the Collections of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum" and "Substance and Shadow: The Art of the Cartoon". [10]

Later developments

In mid-November 2014, the International Comic Arts Forum (ICAF) held its (mostly yearly) conference at OSU's Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum. The Comics Studies Society, the first U.S. association dedicated to supporting the study of graphic narrative and sequential art, was launched at that year's ICAF. [11] Guests and speakers included John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell, Phoebe Gloeckner, Hanneriina Moisseinen, Jeff Smith, Justin Green, Carol Tyler, Dash Shaw, and Tom Spurgeon. [12] [13] [14]

The Festival of Cartoon Art was succeeded in 2015 by the annual comics festival Cartoon Crossroads Columbus. [15]

Event history

DatesForum VenueFeatured Speakers
Oct. 14, 1983 Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
Mike Peters, Mort Walker, Bill Yates, Tony Auth, Tom Batiuk, Milton Caniff, Luke Feck, Jules Feiffer, Cathy Guisewite, Irwin Hasen, Draper Hill, Etta Hulme, Bil Keane, Fred Lasswell, Toni Mendez, Kate Palmer, Art Sansom [1]
Oct. 17–19, 1986Sullivant Hall Theatre,
Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
Brian Basset, Jim Davis, Jim Berry, Will Eisner, Selby Kelly, David Hendin, Dick Locher, Nicole Hollander, M.G. Lord, Roy Peterson, Doug Marlette, Sam Rawls, Arnold Schwartzman, Jerry Robinson, Morrie Turner, Michelle Urry, Signe Wilkinson [16] [17]
Oct. 27–29, 1989 Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
Sergio Aragonés, Tom Batiuk, John Berton, Bo Brown, Buck Brown, Sandy Campbell, Tee Collins, Will Eisner, Draper Hill, Etta Hulme, Lynn Johnston, John Lasseter, Tim Menees, David Wiley Miller, Richard S. Newcombe, Judith O'Sullivan, Mike Peters, Arnold Roth, Lee Salem, Jeff Stahler, Mark Alan Stamaty, Ed Stein, Don Stredney, Dana Summers, Robert W. Wagner, Mort Walker, Bill Watterson, [18] Chris Wedge, Richard Samuel West [19]
Oct. 30–31, 1992 Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
Mell Lazarus, David Hendin, Jim Borgman, Mort Drucker, Nicole Hollander, Mike Konopacki, Buck Brown, Lee Lorenz
Aug. 25–26, 1995Conference Theatre, Ohio Union,
Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
Garry Trudeau, Jeff MacNelly, Lynn Johnston, Bill Amend, Robb Armstrong, Stephen Bentley, Bruce Beattie, Bill Griffith [20] [21]
Oct. 9–10, 1998Conference Theatre, Ohio Union,
Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
Steve Benson, Brumsic Brandon Jr., Mark J. Cohen, Dave Coverly, Will Eisner, R. C. Harvey, Patrick McDonnell, Jack Ohman, Joel Pett, Victoria Roberts, Ted Rall, Jeff Smith, Art Spiegelman, Bob Thaves [22]
Sept. 28–29, 2001Conference Theatre, Ohio Union,
Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
Sergio Aragonés, Jim Borgman, Lynda Barry, Eldon Dedini, Lynn Johnston, Will Eisner, Ben Katchor, David Levine, Rick Kirkman, Patrick McDonnell, Lee Lorenz, Pat Oliphant, Trina Robbins, Roy Peterson, Jerry Scott, Jeff Smith, Rebecca Zurier [4]
Oct. 15–16, 2004The Blackwell Hotel
Columbus, Ohio
Lalo Alcaraz, Tom Batiuk, Charles Brownstein, Al Feldstein, Nicole Hollander, Bob Levin, Jay Lynch, Cindy McCreery, Joel Pett, Michael Ramirez, Art Spiegelman, Ann Telnaes, Tom Tomorrow, Michelle Urry [5]
Oct. 25–27, 2007Columbus Renaissance Hotel
Columbus, Ohio
Jessica Abel, Nick Anderson, Alison Bechdel, Ray Billingsley, Gary Groth, R. C. Harvey, Mike Peters, Paul Pope, Peter Poplaski, Ted Rall, Arnold Roth, P. Craig Russell, David Saylor, Diana Schutz, Frank Stack, Brian Walker, Mort Walker [6]
Oct. 14-17, 2010 Wexner Center for the Arts
Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
Steve Breen, Roz Chast, Tony Cochran, Jan Eliot, Matt Groening & Tom Gammill, Dave Kellett, Paul Levitz, Dan Piraro, Jen Sorensen, Art Spiegelman, James Sturm, Gene Luen Yang [7]
Nov. 14–17, 2013Sullivant Hall,
Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
Paul Pope, Jeff Smith, the Hernandez brothers, Matt Bors, Eddie Campbell, Stephan Pastis, Brian Basset, Kazu Kibuishi, Art Spiegelman [23]

Festival exhibitions

1983
1986 [24] [25]
1989 [26]
1992 [27]
1995 [28]
1998
2001
2004
2007
2010 [7]
2013 [10]

See also

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References

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  2. Gowans, Alan (1983). "Introduction". The Festival of Cartoon Art. Columbus: Ohio State University Libraries.
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