No topic is too difficult when presented as a comic artwork. Layet Johnson and Leela Corman, curators of the new comic-art exhibit at Central Connecticut State University, wanted artists to expose their fears, worries, neuroses and nightmares.
“We’re talking about honesty and being OK with your feelings and feeling safe. That’s what comics do,” says Johnson, who teaches cartoon art at the university.
In the spirit of #metoo, all the artists are women. Not all of the subject matter is #metoo related, but all of the works illustrate topics women feel strongly about.
“This isn’t a #metoo exhibit. It’s a rally. It’s a party. It’s a conversation. Everybody is just showing up with their sign,” Johnson says.
Corman, herself an artist, feels strongly about mother-daughter relations: In her comic, a woman shrinks her mother and wears her on a chain.
Jessica Campbell fantasizes about a spaceship crew made up of women, landing in a world full of men and boys who treat them with disdain.
Megan Kelso muses on standards of beauty; her character stresses about who is prettier.
Mary Fleener turns that around with a story about a buxom friend desired by men.
Roberta Gregory’s character shows a love-hate relationship with her body: Her breast, possibly cancerous, grows teeth and attacks her.
Kristen Radtke fearlessly depicts an intimate couple, the woman scowling as the man says “I like it when you do things that hurt you, it means you’re doing it for me.”
Emily Flake’s work also bravely faces a fear experienced by many: concern that mental illness in the family will pass down to her daughter.
Inevitably, though, #metoo rears its head. Ariel Bordeaux tells a story of a girl who is molested and is too afraid to tell anyone. Tyler Cohen lashes out at the sexual objectification of women as young as 12.
Other artists are Justine Andersen, Ivy Atoms, Lilli Carré, Flannery Cashill, Erin Curry, Anya Davidson, Margot Ferrick, Jess Fink, Winnie T. Frick, Phoebe Gloeckner, V.A. Graham, Rachel Mesplay Helm, MariNaomi, Lucy Knisley, Caroline McClain, Carta Monir, Molly Colleen O’Connell, Lark Pien, Keiler Jean Roberts, Jess Ruliffson, Beatrix Urkowitz and Mickey Zacchilli.
SEX, DEATH AND VISCERAL HONESTY: INDEPENDENT WOMEN’S COMIC ARTISTS FROM THE 1960S UNDERGROUND MOVEMENT TO TODAY is in the gallery on the second floor of Samuel S. T. Chen Fine Arts Center (Maloney Hall) at CCSU in New Britain, though Nov. 15. ccsu.edu/art/galleries.
On Other Walls
Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at UConn in Storrs, presents “Living Objects: African American Puppetry” from Oct. 25 (reception at 5:30 p.m.) until April 7. bimp.uconn.edu.
Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford presents Dia de los Muertos on Oct. 27 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mexican-American families will set up ofrenda altars, there will be music, dance, a taco truck and crafts and “Coco” will be shown. chs.org.
“Myth: Paintings by Kamar Thomas” is at Jorgensen Center for Performing Arts at UConn in Storrs from Oct. 26 (reception 6 to 8 p.m.) to Jan. 31. Thomas is a UConn adjunct professor. jorgensen.uconn.edu.
“Mohamad Hafez: Collateral Damage,” sculptures depicting the ruins of Syria, is at Fairfield University’s Quick Center for the Arts from Oct. 25 (reception 5 to 7:30 p.m.) to Dec. 15. fairfield.edu/museum.
Windsor Art Center, 40 Mechanic St., presents work by Guatemala-born Balam Soto and Venezuela-born Corina Alvarezdelugo Oct. 25 to Nov. 24. A reception is Oct. 27 from 5 to 7 p.m. windsorartcenter.org
