The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA) at the University of Oregon is featuring a special exhibition “Faster Than a Speeding Bullet: The Art of the Superhero” from September 26, 2009 through January 3, 2010. The exhibition will open with a free preview reception Friday, September 25 from 6 pm to 9 pm.
The reception will feature “free food – a great superhero-themed menu…and our signature cocktail for the event is The Kryptonite – a bright green Midori martini that will be for sale,” according to Debbie Williamson-Smith, JSMA’s public relations and marketing coordinator.
The exhibition features over 150 pages of superhero comic art from the 1940s to the present, including several complete stories and key works by many major creators in the industry, including Neal Adams, C. C. Beck, John Buscema, Gene Colan, Steve Ditko, Will Eisner, Bill Everett, Lou Fine, Ramona Fradon, and many more. The exhibition will also include original art from the collection of David Mandel, a former writer for “Seinfeld” and current executive producer of the award-winning HBO series, “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
“Like many other kids, I read my first comic book years ago, and I was hooked. Occasional trips to the news stand eventually led to weekly trips to the comic store,” remembers Mandel.
Guest-curated by Ben Saunders, a professor of English at the University of Oregon, “Faster Than A Speeding Bullet” explores the imaginative world of some of the most compelling fantasy figures to emerge from twentieth-century popular culture — the superheroes of American comic books. Consisting primarily of “original art” — the large-sized pen-and-ink pages from which comic books are printed — the exhibition also includes painted cover images alongside a handful of private commissions.
The “Faster than a Speeding Bullet” catalog is for sale for $19.95 at Precious Cargo: The Museum Store, The Campus Duck Store, The Valley River Center Duck Store, and the White Stag Duck Store in Portland. In addition to reproductions of artwork from the exhibition, the catalog includes essays by Ben Saunders, Diana Schultz, Michael T. Gilbert, Charles Hatfield and Rebecca Wanzo, as well as biographies of the major artists.
Ben Saunders – exhibition curator and catalog contributor – will be doing a catalog signing at 8 pm during the opening reception tomorrow.
The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is located on the University of Oregon campus at 1430 Johnson Lane. Museum hours are 11 am to 8 pm, Wednesdays, and 11 am to 5 pm, Tuesdays, and Thursdays through Sundays. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for senior citizens. Free admission is allowed for those ages 18 and under, JSMA members, college students with ID, and University of Oregon faculty, staff and students. For information call 541.346.3027.
