[Oral: B+. Published form: A- JMS]
Anthony Cagliano, Elizabeth Evangelou, Naaila Hassan, & Marvin Toussaint
For our trip to an art institution, Group Four decided to visit the less known Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art. The museum is located on 594 Broadway in Suite 401 between Houston St. and Prince St. in Manhattan. The MoCCA (Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art) displays comic book art in many forms, including animation, anime, comic strips, political cartoons, caricatures, graphic novels, and computer-generated art. The mission of the museum is the collection, preservation, study, and display of comic and cartoon art. The museum also wishes to educate the public to help promote the understanding and appreciation of comic book art and it’s impact on our culture artistically, culturally and historically. “History has shown [comics] to be instrumental in documenting–and interpreting–historic events and social change. Artistically, comic and cartoon art is created at the highest levels by some of the world’s finest graphic illustrators” (moccany.org).
When most people think of comics, they think of either superheroes or the newspaper “funnies.” However, comics serve many purposes. “Art for art’s sake,” isn’t a rule that holds true for this particular genre. Comics were often used as political propaganda, of which the most prominent example is Captain America punching Hitler and his use in army recruitment ads. They are also used as metaphors for society’s flaws, which can be seen in many of the common newspaper comics such as Hagger the Horrible, Dilbert, Pearls Before Swine, and Zits. Comics are also used as political commentary. These comics are usually found in the editorial sections of newspapers. In General, the superhero comic, also known as “adventure strips,” show that good triumphs over evil. Thus they are also referred to as “modern mythology.” In the early superhero comics from WWII on, there was a focus on the super human. Each hero had powers that set him apart from the rest of humanity. It did not matter whether he gained his power through a scientific accident (like Spiderman or the Incredible Hulk), he bought them (like Batman), or he was born with them (like Superman). What mattered was that he used his powers for good and to defeat evil. This is part of what geared comics towards adolescent males. The other part is the objectification of women. The women in comics are often the damsels in distress, and are scantily clad ones at that. Even if they were heroines and not damsels in distress, they still wore extremely revealing clothing. This explains why there are very few female comic fans. However, modern day comics focus more on the human element as opposed to the super hero element and thus are easier for the average person to relate with. Also, they are more politically correct and the female heroes are drawn a little more modestly. They are fully clothed, though the clothes are sometimes extremely tight.
The artistic elements of comic book art are often ignored. The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art was founded to change this stereotype. The museum was chartered by the State Education Department and its founding chairman was Lawrence Klein, Esq. After having spoken to the City Council about having the museum be part of the City’s plans for the revitalization of downtown Manhattan, Klein said, “Everybody has been stunned by how much we’ve accomplished …as always, our intent is to find a permanent home for the museum to showcase comic and cartoon art here in New York. With the help of our friends in the city government and within the artistic community itself, we’re getting closer and closer to that goal every day.”
The majority of the visitors to the MoCCA make comics themselves, grew up reading comics, or believes comic books to be a form of fine art that should be appreciated in a museum setting. Others who visit MoCCA are art students who attend MoCCA-hosted classes that teach how to write, design, and properly tell stories in comic book-form. Many may expect the museum to have a large amount of young visitors. This is not true. Some of the MoCCA’s exhibits contain strong sexual themes and violence. Thus, it is discouraged to bring children. One example of this is the comic, “Scarlett Takes Manhattan.” This comic chronicles the life of a young woman in New York City during the late 19th century. The work of Molly Crabapple, this comic explores many cultural sexual taboos and acts as a clear example as to why visitors to this museum should be mature.
Because the majority of those who go to MoCCA are familiar with the kind of art displayed, the exhibits are unique to catch the comic art community’s attention. Most would probably research the museum and find out what exhibits were being featured before actually visiting the museum. Despite the small size of MoCCA there are new exhibits at least twice a month, lectures on Thursdays, educational classes, screenings, and panel discussions to encourage a regular attendance of comic book fans. In addition to these events, there is also an art festival during the summer with special guests and a dealer’s room where comic book artists and writers can sell merchandise. This festival is similar to Comic Con, a convention dealing with mainstream comic book culture. However, the MoCCA Art Festival deals more with underground and independent comic books.
These factors can also be detrimental to MoCCA. Because the majority of visitors are people already familiar with comic book art and culture, they won’t be interested in more recognizable comic characters, such as Superman or Spiderman. They are going to want to see more unique pieces. Pieces containing images of better-known characters, however, are more likely to attract more people. This discourages people who aren’t already comic lovers from visiting the museum. Also, the museum is much smaller than the more famous museums. This forces exhibits to be smaller. Where at a larger museum, an entire day can be spent; MoCCA would only require an hour. Because of these factors, very few people visit the museum, giving it a very quiet, solemn atmosphere.
At the time of our visit, there were two exhibits being featured at MoCCA: “The Sounds and Pauses: The Comics of David Mazzucchelli,” and “Diario De Oaxaca: A Sketchbook Journal of Two Years in Mexico.” “The Sounds and Pauses” exhibit is David Mazzucchelli’s first retrospective exhibition in the U.S. His career encompasses groundbreaking work in Daredevil, Rubber Blanket, and the graphic novel adaptation of City of Glass. The exhibit itself presents over eighty original comic pages, drawings, sketches and covers from the artist’s archives. The exhibit displayed pages from Muzzacchelli’s actual comic books. Some of the comic book pages were very sexual in nature, while others dealt with discrimination against the physically deformed. As part of this exhibit, images from David Mazzucchelli and Frank Miller’s comic book Batman: Year One were displayed. This comic influenced the modern day conception of Batman. Batman: Year One, which was originally published in 1987, helped in creating the darker image of the “Caped Crusader” we are more familiar with today. This exhibit contains mostly black and white images. The Batman display also shows the process in which the comic book pages are made: sketching, applying the more definite lines, lettering, and finally, coloring.
The second exhibit displayed at MoCCA during our visit, “Diario de Oaxaca,” is by Peter Kuper. Peter Kuper’s comics and illustrations have appeared in The New York Times, Newsweek, and Time. He also has written and illustrated “Spy vs. Spy” for MAD since 1997. In 2006, Kuper and his family moved to Mexico where, coincidentally, there were the beginnings of major political unrest. In Oaxaca, Mexico, teacher’s unions protested every year for a continuation or expansion of their benefits, and every year the government succumb to their demands. That year, however, the government decided that instead of following the usual routine, they would deny the unions’ requests and sent troops to break up the protest. As a result, many were injured or killed, including an American journalist. “Diario de Oaxaca” is Kuper’s account of his experiences in Oaxaca, during the political uprising of 2006 and its aftermath. This exhibit shares it’s name with Kuper’s book, which contains some of the comics on display as well as much more. In contrast with “The Sounds and Pauses”, “Diario de Oaxaca” provides more vivid, colorful images of Mexico during that tumultuous time.
The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art is one of kind in New York City. Although this museum is small with unfamiliar content, it does display comic book art as fine art, which many people feel it is.
Works Cited
Kuper, Peter. Diario de Oaxaca: A Sketchbook Journal of Two Years in Mexico. PM Press, 2009. Print.
Nadel, Dan. “Sounds and Pauses: The Comics of David Mazzucchelli.” New York , NY, 2009.
Nayar, Pramod K. Reading Culture: Theory, Praxis, Politics. New Delhi: Sage Publications India, 2006. Print.
Peter Kuper. http://www.peterkuper.com/ (accessed October 16, 2009).
Peter Kuper’s Diario de Oaxaca. (accessed October 16, 2009).
Sabin, Roger. Adult Comics: An Introduction. London: Routledge, 1993. Print.
the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art. 2009. http://www.moccany.org (accessed October 16, 2009).
The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art. “So, You Like Comics?” New York, NY: Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, 2009.
http://www.moccany.org/
