Comix Body, an art exhibit that considers how bodies move through the world—as sensitive skin, as vulnerable meat, as human, and as animal, is being presented at University of Puget Sound’s Kittredge Gallery Oct. 8 through Nov. 1.
Highlighting the work of independent comic artists and their unique skill of bringing life out of line, the exhibit offers intimate witness to the surprising, stigmatized, or raw realities that give shape to the body, its experiences, and its interactions.
Puget Sound English professor Mita Mahato curated the show over the course of the last year. Working with artists across the country, she selected work that sensitively yet boldly challenges what she calls “pervasive but wholly inadequate figurations of the health, age, sex, gender, race, beauty, and ability of bodies.”
“It’s an engaging and unusual show that reminds us to push our ideas of what is normal, desirable, and healthy,” says Kittredge Gallery Manager Peter Stanley. “This show is an antidote to conventional concepts of beauty, privacy, and safety. I love seeing the work in this exhibition and asking, 'How do our bodies speak for us? Which aspects are universal and which are unique?'”
Comix Body also includes a reading nook with books and zines by the exhibiting artists, as well as books by additional artists and writers whose work extends the Comix Body community. Visitors can add their own artwork to the walls in the "comixbooth," a drawing studio and photo booth that encourages us to consider our own bodies and what we want them to say.
The exhibition is supported by the Chism Fund, Collins Memorial Library, Department of English, and Short Run Seattle. It is presented at Kittredge Gallery in conjunction with Short Run Comix and Arts Festival, happening in Seattle, Wash., on Nov. 3. Learn more about the festival at shortrun.org.
Comix Body, curated by Mita Mahato
Oct. 8 to Nov. 1, 2018
Closing reception: Oct. 29, 5–7 p.m., with panel interview of featured artists
Artists: Ajuan Mance, Ann Xu, Asher Craw, E.T. Russian, Eleanor Davis, Hannah K. Lee, Joe Garber, Kelly Froh, Krystal DiFronzo, Robyn Jordan, Rupert Kinnard, Vanessa Davis, and Whit Taylor
Kittredge Gallery, University of Puget Sound
15th and Lawrence streets, Tacoma
Hours: 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday–Friday; noon–5 p.m., Saturday
Gallery admission and events are free and open to the public.