Pulitzer-Prize winning artist to discuss Maus as part of Rockwell’s Questioning Identity series

The Rockwell Museum is pleased to host an evening with Pulitzer-Prize Winning artist Art Spiegelman. Spiegelman will discuss his groundbreaking Maus graphic novel and its place in current global conversations in this culminating program of The Rockwell’s Year of Questioning Identity.

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Art Spiegelman’s impressive accomplishments have helped secure comics’ place as an important part of literature. In 1992, he won the Pulitzer Prize for his masterful Holocaust narrative, Maus—which portrayed Jews as mice and Nazis as cats. Maus II continued the remarkable story of his parents’ survival of the Nazi regime and their lives later in America. In 1999, he was inducted into the Eisner Award’s Hall of Fame.

As a pioneer in underground comix, Spiegelman, along with publisher Francoise Mouly, co-edited RAW, which helped launch the careers of Chris Ware, Gary Panter and Charles Burns. His boundary-breaking career stretches from his artwork in The New Yorker to creating The Garbage Pail Kids for Topps.

His other books include In the Shadow of No Towers, Jack Cole and Plastic Man: Forms Stretched to Their Limits and MetaMaus.  His comics are best known for their shifting graphic styles, their formal complexity and controversial content. 

Spiegelman currently advocates for greater comics literacy.  As an editor, a teacher at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and a lecturer, Spiegelman has promoted better understanding of comics and has mentored younger cartoonists.

“The Rockwell Museum is thrilled to welcome Art Spiegelman to discuss his seminal book, Maus, one of the graphic novels that propelled the literary form into the mainstream,” said Brian Lee Wisenhunt, Executive Director.  “As both the artist and writer, Spiegelman intertwined both into an innovative narrative format that still feels fresh almost thirty years later.  This underscores not only his contribution to the field but also the importance of his story and its continued ability to reach people with an important story of the Holocaust.”

The event begins at 7 pm on Tuesday, September 10, 2019 and this Rockwell event is located at The Corning Museum of Glass Auditorium, 1 Museum Way, Corning, NY.  After an hourlong discussion, Spiegelman will engage with the audience for a question and answer segment. General admission is $20, while student tickets are $10. Rockwell members are admitted free for this event.  More details and tickets are available at www.rockwellmuseum.org.

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The Rockwell Museum, in association with the Smithsonian Institution, collection tells the story of the American experience through a display of stunning art about America. Founded in 1976, The Rockwell is an evolving community center which showcases the best of America through compelling exhibitions and imaginative programs.  The diverse collection includes a mix of contemporary Native American art with traditional bronze sculptures, landscape paintings and other works that embody America. Housed in the beautifully restored 19th century Old City Hall building, The Rockwell is active in the local community and holds special events and educational programming with area public schools. The Rockwell provokes curiosity, engagement and reflection about art and the American experience.