OH -- Dayton -- Dayton Art Institute -- "You Are My Superhero" exhibition:
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Description of Pictures: You Are My Superhero
July 22 2012 - September 23 2012
As school lets out and days grow long, and you remember what it felt like to have a long stretch of vacation, take a break from the everyday and join us for a Superhero Summer at DAI. Maybe we don’t get to go to the pool or play in the creek every day, like we did when we were kids, but we can still steal a little time and immerse ourselves in the feeling of being young and carefree.
Our summer activities wrap around the special exhibition You Are My Superhero. Organized by The Dayton Art Institute and curated by Associate Director, Jane A. Black, You Are My Superhero explores the iconography of superheroes, and how contemporary artists use that imagery in their own bodies of work. Beginning with images that reflect the Golden Age of comics, the exhibition includes popular figures dating from the 1940s, showing how they have changed over the years.
You Are My Superhero includes animation art and memorabilia from the collection of Dr. Lawrence and Holley Thompson, original panels by Carmine Infantino from Maverick's Cards and Comics in Kettering, and classic comics from the Fairborn shop Bookery Fantasy. These, along with additional loans and one iconic piece from The Dayton Art Institute’s own collection, will delineate superhero variations (both well known and obscure), superhero sidekicks, and superhero hallmarks and behaviors. In addition, limited-edition prints, newer original panels and sketches, and toys and games will tell familiar stories and remind us of the iconic images that have bled into advertising and reflected current events.
The exhibition also includes the work of two artists who have incorporated superhero iconography within their bodies of work. We will feature the work of Michigan-based artist Mark Newport, who knits Superhero costumes and embroiders the covers of comic books, and we will mount a tribute to one of Dayton’s own Superheroes, Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Mike Peters.
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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.
Help? The Medium (Email) links are for screen viewing and emailing. You'll want bigger sizes for printing. [Click here for additional help]
Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
DAISUP_120805_016.JPG: You Are My Superhero
Exploring Classic American Superhero Iconography
While most [of] the superheroes represented in this exhibit have been around for more than 50 years, the concept goes back to Greek and Hindu Gods and Goddesses; to Beowolf and the Scarlet Pumpernel. Strong, clever beings with uncanny abilities have always inhabited literature. Their stories are about who were area, where we come from and why we are here.
Of this current crop of superheroes, some have perfect principles and clear motivations; some are flawed and more than a little frightening -- many have undergone 'makeovers' that mirror how we perceive ourselves and our increasingly complex world.
We dream of being powerful. We dream of being safe. And each one of us wants to overcome our own flawed character and imperfect past to achieve something in the world. People create superheroes that reflect basic human desires; to be good, and to do good.
Technically, superheroes are defined by possession of a superpower, an alter ego/secret identity, a costume and a sigil or sign. However, we would like to recognize the superheroes who may not possess those traits, but do have the altruistic motivations that made this exhibit possible:
Premier Health Partners and Tridec Technologies, LLC
Tim Cottrill, Scott Cozzolino, CreativeFuse Initiative, James Dicke II, Jake Flannery, Bob Fritchie, Vince Giarrano, The Handmade Dayton ETSY Team, Chuck Jones Center for Creativity, Matt Miller, Mark Newport, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, Marian Peters, Mike Peters, Molly Peters, Jack Wayne Poland, Holley Thompson, Larry Thompson, and Jason Young
DAISUP_120805_022.JPG: Jerry Siegel, 1914-1996, and Joe Shuster, 1914-1992
Superman #53, July/August 1948:
This highly collectible tenth anniversary issue in the Superman series is from the height of the Golden Age of Comics (1938-1954). Superman was introduced in Action Comics #1 in June 1938; this issue is thought to be the most valuable comic book in the world. On December 1, 2011, a copy sold for $2.16 million -- the highest price ever paid for a comic book. By 1939, Superman had his own series, which ran for 423 issues until 1986, when it became The Adventures of Superman.
DAISUP_120805_036.JPG: I Really Don't Have to Do This, Terry. You've Gone Up High Enough on Your Own!, 1945
This tribute drawing is by the creators of Superman. Inscribed from the artists To Milton Caniff -- a superb and brilliant artist with best wishes -- Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, it is a commemoration of the tenth anniversary of Terry and the Pirates, a daily strip begun by Caniff on October 22, 1934. Milt Caniff was born in Hillsboro, Ohio, and attended Stivers High School in Dayton before moving to Columbus, Ohio, and then New York City. Caniff also created the action strip Steve Canyon in 1946.
DAISUP_120805_037.JPG: CC Beck, 1910-1989, and Bill Parker, d 1963
Captain Marvel #15, 1942
Captain Marvel #27, 1943
Fawcett Comics introduced this first incarnation of Captain Marvel in Whiz Comics in 1940. The wildly popular superhero outsold Superman during his heyday. His alter ego, Billy Batson, was transformed by uttering the word SHAZAM! This was an acronym that tied the superhero to Biblical story and Greek mythology, as each letter stood for a past hero (Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury) who embodied his powers (wisdom, strength, stamina, power, courage, and speed).
DAISUP_120805_049.JPG: Myron Waldman, 1908-2006
Magnetic Telescope (1942), 1995
Hand-painted limited edition animation cel against lithographic background, edition of 500
Superman:
Everyone Knows the "S" on the Chest:
While there are precursors to the "Man of Steel," it is widely accepted that the first fully recognized superhero is Superman. His creators, authors Jerry Siegel and illustrator Joe Shuster, were high school buddies from Cleveland, Ohio. Superman started out in 1933 as a villain, but quickly transformed to a caped do-gooder with bulletproof skin and the ability to leap an eighth of a mile. After many rejections, comic book publisher Detective Comics, Inc. (DC) took a chance on Siegel and Shuster's first title, Action Comics, in June 1938.
In 1951, actor George Reeves portrayed Superman in Superman and the Mole Men. He went on to star in the TV spinoff, The Adventures of Superman. In 1978, Superman: The Movie made Christopher Reeve a superstar.
DAISUP_120805_055.JPG: Myron Waldman, 1908-2006
Superman Saves Lois (1941), 1996
This image of Superman and Lois Lane appears in the 1941 episode "Mechanical Monsters," one of the 17 "two-reel color specials" based on Superman stories that were licensed from DC Comics and produced by Fleisher Studios. Myron Waldman graduated from the Pratt Institute before going to work at Fleisher as an inker and fill-in artist in 1930. He was instrumental in the development of Betty Bop and Casper the Friendly Ghost. Retrospectives of his work were mounted at the Museum of Modern Art, the American Museum of the Moving Image and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in the 1990s.
DAISUP_120805_066.JPG: Al Plastino, b 1921
Action Comics, Vol. 1, #203, April 1955
DAISUP_120805_072.JPG: Andy Warhol, 1928-1987
Myth Series, 1981
Superman has been the subject of what some would call homage, and others would term appropriation, for more than half a century. Andy Warhol was known for reproducing subject matter drawn from popular culture. This is one of a series of ten images that include Mickey Mouse, the Wicked Witch of the West, Howdy Doody and Uncle Sam.
DAISUP_120805_079.JPG: Jerry Siegel, 1914-1996, and Joe Shuster, 1914-1992
Superman Sunday #156, 1942
DAISUP_120805_090.JPG: Walter Joseph "Wally" Veevers, d 1983
Storyboard Sequence #6 and #7 of Animated Opening for Superman, 1978
DAISUP_120805_100.JPG: Craig Cermak, b 1990
Superman, 2008
A graduate of The Kubert School in Dover, New Jersey, this 22-year-old illustrator just finished Voltron: Year One with Brandon Thomas (writer), Adriano Lucas (colorist), and Simon Bowland (letterer) and Dynamite Entertainment, which published on May 1, 2012.
DAISUP_120805_107.JPG: Kevin McVey, 1928-2011
Jack Cassidy in Superman, date unknown
The musical comedy It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman debuted on Broadway in 1996. Illustrator Kevin McVey worked in advertising and newspapers and was syndicated by the Los Angeles Times, but was best known for his theater caricatures. This piece makes use of Ben-Day dots, widely used in the 1950s and 1960s to create shading or secondary colors in four-process printing. The dots came in a variety of sizes on transparent sheets, which were cut and applied to the surface of the drawing, with a burnisher.
DAISUP_120805_120.JPG: FOCUS Design Animators
Superman, 1984
This cel, from the television commercial for "The Legendary Super Powers Show," and its associated drawing depict the classic Hero archetype -- handsome and strong -- enhanced by the power of flight and presumably off to fight evil.
DAISUP_120805_137.JPG: Superhero Precursors: The Lone Ranger and Zorro
DAISUP_120805_152.JPG: Walt Disney Studios
The Sign of Zorro, 1958
Movie poster
Most agree that Zorro, despite his secret identity and mask, is a precursor to the true superhero. Introduced in The Curse of Capistrano in a 1919 magazine serial, the character made regular appearances in books, television and movies and was the inspiration for toys, costumes, and games.
DAISUP_120805_173.JPG: NBC Radio-Recording
The Lone Ranger "An Old Time Gambler," 1948
This Orthacoustic radio recording record is of the NBC radio show The Lone Ranger, which began as a live program in 1933 on WXYZ in Detroit. A popular TV show followed by 1949 to 1957. A precursor to the superhero, the Lone Ranger wore a mask, had a secret identity, lived by a strict moral code, had a sidekick and fought injustice.
DAISUP_120805_176.JPG: Creating Superhero Settings in Comics, The Universe is Subject to Change:
Like most serials -- whether in book, television or other form -- comic series inhabit worlds that are a mix of fantasy and reality. Because comic universes have so many entry points -- hundreds of characters in multiple series -- they are notoriously difficult to track and understand.
Both Marvel and DC, the two primary superhero publishers, have each created a specific, multilayered, connected world. Both have also used "reboots" to attract attention and possibly new audiences. DC is currently in the middle of its "52 Reboot" -- creating new histories for all of its continuing characters in all series. Marvel has taken a different path, creating parallel universes for many of its superheroes, with both original and ultimate series continuing their respective accounts.
DAISUP_120805_184.JPG: Bill Hanna, b 1910 and Joe Barbera, b 1911
All Together Now, 1994
Most of the Hanna Barbera characters are represented in this piece, created by Donna Zeller, based on the original art of Leonardo Robledo. The Hanna-Barbera studio includes superheroes (or superhero spoofs, depending on your perspective) Atom Ant; Birdman; Captain Caveman; The Falcon and Dynomutt, Dog Wonder; Hong Kong Fuey; The Impossibles; Multi Man, Fluid Man and Coil Man; Mightor; The Powderpuff Girls; and Space Ghost.
DAISUP_120805_224.JPG: You Know One When You See One
Recognizing Superheroes by Archetype:
The Jungian theory of archetypes purports that there are universal models of human behavior that become characters in stories or myths. These archetypes are embedded in folklore and literature, and are evident in the canon of Superheroes. A superhero comic might feature the expected ideal hero, or it might explore the conflicted hero, the mutated hero or an anti-heroic character. The archetypical storylines (journey, tragedy, revenge and redemption) are repeated again and again.
DAISUP_120805_228.JPG: Jose Delbo, b 1933, and Sal Trapani, 1927-1999
Superman Dailies, Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, 1983
Jose Delbo is an Argentinean-born artist who has worked in comics in the United States for more than 30 years. This strip was written by Paul Kupperberg, and Sal Trapani inked. Delbo also worked on the original Marvel Transformers team from 1988 through 1990.
DAISUP_120805_233.JPG: Stan Lee, b. 1922
Spider-Man, 1996
Stan Lee's Spider-Man, created in 1962, was one of the first teenaged superheroes and exhibits many of the characteristics of an angst-ridden adolescent. Unlike the calm and confident Superman, "Spidey" is the epitome of a conflicted hero, nerdy and love-sick for the girl next door. This does not diminish his popularity; in 2011, Spider-Man placed third in "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time" on the online media entertainment site IGN.
DAISUP_120805_243.JPG: Stan Lee, b 1922, and Larry Lieber, b 1931
Spider-Man Daily, Aug. 8, 1992
Stan Lee, the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics, is the co-creator of Spider-Man, the Hulk, X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man and Thor, among others. His co-creator on this strip, Larry Lieber, is Lee's younger brother. He is also a long-time Marvel writer/artist who continues to pencil the daily Spider-Man strip.
DAISUP_120805_250.JPG: Bob Kane, 1915-1998
Batman, 1976
Batman debuted in Detective Comics #27, May 1939, when DC was looking to capitalize on the success of Superman by creating more superheroes. Bob Kane is credited with the artwork, with collaborator Bill Finger writing. The two cite a number of characters who influenced them in creating Batman -- The Phantom, Douglas Fairbanks in Zorro and Leonardo da Vinci's diagram of the ornithopter. Batman is considered the prototypical anti-hero by many; he began as a brooding loner with no actual superpowers except a burning rage.
DAISUP_120805_255.JPG: Luigi Rocca, b 1952
Batman, 1992
Luigi Rocca is a hyperrealist painter from Udine, Italy, whose work shows his fascination with American culture.
DAISUP_120805_262.JPG: You Know One When You See One
Recognizing Superheroes by Symbol:
We distinguish superheroes by the individual symbols with which they are associated -- their costumes, sigils (the emblems on their chests) and disguises. And their superpowers often have visual consequences, with bodies that burn like fire, stretch like plastic or grow animalistic features, like gills and claws. Some, like Green Lantern, actually derive their power from a physical object.
DAISUP_120805_271.JPG: Bill Hanna, b 1910, and Joe Barbera, b 1911
Space Ghost, 1997
This model sheet for Space School, a 1966 Hanna-Barbera cartoon series, indicates the colors to use and provides tips to the animators about how to draw Space Ghost, who was created by Alex Toth in 1966. His powers come directly from his costume, with its "inviso button" and power bands, which provide multiple kinds of rays and shields.
DAISUP_120805_278.JPG: Mart Nodell, 1915-2006
Green Lantern, 1993
The Green Lantern was conceived of and first draw in 1940 by Mart Nodell for All-American Comics. The company was later absorbed into DC Comics, where a new iteration of the character appeared in 1959. Green Lantern's superpower was derived from a magic ring; later, multiple Green Lanterns were granted technological power rings by the Guardians of the Universe.
DAISUP_120805_283.JPG: Wonder Woman from Justice League, 2001
Signed by voice-over artist Susan Eisenberg
DAISUP_120805_287.JPG: Batgirl, 1968
Yvonne Craig
DAISUP_120805_299.JPG: John Buscema (penciller), Al Williamson (inker), Glynis Oliver (colorist), Tom Orzechowski (letter)
Wolverine #1, 1988
Wolverine, a mutant anti-hero with keen, animal-like senses and very long claws, first appears in The Incredible Hulk in 1974 and then joined the X-Men. This is the first of the Wolverine series that ran from 1988 to 2003.
DAISUP_120805_302.JPG: Nick Cardy, b 1920
Aquaman #38, 1968
Aquaman first appeared in 1941 with the ability to breathe underwater with gills, swim swiftly and speak the language of sea creatures. During the 1960s, his origin story changed somewhat and he became a founding member of the Justice League.
DAISUP_120805_309.JPG: Jack Kirby, 1917-1994
Fantastic Four Vol. 1, #54, 1966
The cover of this issue of the Fantastic Four features The Human Torch, a superhero who transformed into flames following exposure to cosmic radiation on an unauthorized space flight. Like Spider-Man, he started out as a teenaged superhero. A different version of The Human Torch, an android, appeared on the cover of Marvel Comics #1 in 1939.
DAISUP_120805_314.JPG: Jack Cole, 1914-1958
Plastic Man #4, 1946
Plastic Man, who can extend and elongate his body to any shape or size, was part of Quality Comics until DC acquired the character in 1956. His revivals have never been a commercial hit, but he is favored by many comic creators and still shows up periodically.
DAISUP_120805_320.JPG: The Superlative Girls and Women
Not Prevalent, But Present:
Female superheroes are a small minority, but have been in existence since the 1940s. Mary Marvel was introduced in 1942, just one year after Woman Woman was created by psychologist William Martson. An individual, rather than part of a superhero "family," Wonder Woman began in a feminist mode. She helped female victims learn to stand up for themselves and possessed a Lasso of Truth she used to make men talk. (A device suggested perhaps, by the systolic blood pressure test, a component in the modern polygraph Martson created with his wife).
Like many superheroes, Wonder Woman's character changed with the times and during the 1950s, she became less powerful and independent -- this was in keeping with new female superheroes of this era, Batwoman and Supergirl. Batgirl, introduced in the late 1960s via both comics and the Batman TV show, was the first of a new crop of more liberated heroines. Artist Carmine Infantino drew her for DC in 1967, while Yvonne Craig played the character on TV. Batgirl had a big resurgence in 2001, when she appeared as Cassandra Cain.
DAISUP_120805_323.JPG: Vincent Giarrano, b 1960 (penciller), Jesse Delperdang, b 1975 (inker)
Batgirl #26, page 9, 2002
DAISUP_120805_328.JPG: Vincent Giarrano, b 1960
Layout Sketch for Batgirl #26, page 9, 2002
DAISUP_120805_349.JPG: Outside the Printed Book:
Superheroes Didn't Remain "Under Cover":
In 1943, in the heart of comics' Golden Age, Newsweek reported that 25 million comics sold each month. Post World War II, in a one-two punch, comics' popularity waned with the rise of television and a 1954 text by Dr. Frederic Wertham, Seduction of the Innocent, blaming rising juvenile delinquency rates on the medium.
When comics regained popularity during the Silver Age (1956-1969), the resurgence coincided with a boom in advertising and mass marketing -- a trend that continued through the Bronze Age (1970-1980) and the Modern Age (1985-present). Superheroes as advertising spokesmen, toys, games and movies have proliferated.
DAISUP_120805_364.JPG: I bought this wallet years ago. It was poorly made and the plastic ripped pretty quickly.
DAISUP_120805_382.JPG: Vincent Giarrano, b 1960
Batman Annual #16, page 19, 1992
Currently teaching and producing realist paintings, Vincent Giarrano's first career was in comic art. For 17 years, he drew and inked for the top three: Marvel, DC and Dark Horse. He is best known for his work on Batman titles.
DAISUP_120805_429.JPG: Carmine Infantino, b 1925
Mystery in Space, 2003
The painting re-created the artist's cover of Mystery in Space #62 from 1960. This series, which ran from 1951 to 1966, featured a mix of science fiction and superheroes. The best known superhero in this series was Adam Strange, who garnered Alley Awards (generated by fan support in Alter Ego magazine) in 1967 and 1968 as "Strip Most Desired for Revival."
DAISUP_120805_436.JPG: Standouts and Wannabes
Superhero Megastars Are Joined by the Lesser Known:
In Mike Benton's The Comic Book in America: An Illustrated History, he argues that seven superheroes stand out as most historically important: Superman (for being first), Batman (for being "non-super"), Wonder Woman (for being female), Spider-Man (for being complicated), Captain America (for being most patriotic), Captain Marvel (for being the best selling of all time, not counting speculation sales for a few first-in-the-series issues in the 90s), and Plastic Man (for being the first parody).
This list doesn't include popular characters like Wolverine, The Hulk and Green Lantern, nor does it recognize long-running or consistently re-created characters like The Flash, who had no fewer than five separate personas over the years, and the Green Hornet who morphed from a radio star to a cheesy 60s TV character to a cocktail. Some fizzled long ago or never connected -- not many of us remember the Rocket Man, Adam Strange, Doll Man, Captain 3-D, The Atom or Wonder Man, though undoubtedly they are each someone's favorite.
DAISUP_120805_447.JPG: Fighting With and Against
Where Would Superheroes be Without Their Sidekicks and Arch-Enemies?
While superheroes operate as strong individuals, they often have a trusted confidante, an adoring assistant or a counterpart of the opposite sex. These companions further the plot, as the main character explains the situation, history, or plan for action; they often provide comic relief or serve as a love interest. Having Superheroes interact as part of a "family" goes back to the beginning -- within a year of the creation of Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. were born. A similar line-up exists for many others -- Superman even had Krypto, the Superdog.
Superheroes also work in teams -- such as the Justice League, X-Men, Avengers and Fantastic Four. Sometimes, these powerful beings fight each other, but mostly they are kept busy by the "rogues' gallery" of enemies and by "super villains" with proportionate abilities to the hero at hand.
DAISUP_120805_482.JPG: Barry Windsor-Smith, b 1949
Avengers #100, 1972
This cover featured every character who had ever been a member of the Avengers up to that date.
DAISUP_120805_490.JPG: You Are My Superhero:
Reading Comics in Public:
This summer, enjoy the latest comic books in your favorite series at The Dayton Art Institute. The books, donated by Epic Loot Games and Comics in Centerville, will be delivered weekly throughout the length of the exhibit. Join us on Tuesday, August 28 from noon to 7pm, for the second annual international "Read Comics in Public Day."
"Like so many great things in this world, 'Read Comics in Public Day' has its roots in a joke. I don't remember the exact wording, but it was something off-handed about reading novels on the train, because I was too embarrassed to read comics in public. Like many good jokes, that one had its root in the truth."
-- Brian Heater, creator of The Daily Cross Hatch, a blog focusing on alternative comics, and founder of "Read Comics in Public Day"
DAISUP_120805_494.JPG: Catwoman, 1967
Signed by Eartha Kitt
DAISUP_120805_497.JPG: The Archer, 1967
Signed by Art Carney
DAISUP_120805_503.JPG: The Villains: Joker, Catwoman, Riddler and Penguin, 1967
Signed by Burgess Meredith, Caesar Romero, Lee Meriwether, and Frank Goshin
DAISUP_120805_510.JPG: Mr. Freeze, 1967
Signed by Eli Wallach
DAISUP_120805_516.JPG: Egghead, 1967
Signed by Vincent Price
DAISUP_120805_522.JPG: Carmine Infantino, b 1925, and Joe Giella, b 1928
The Flash #112, page 13, 1960
Carmine Infantino's "motion graphics" were innovative and eye-catching, and were greatly enhanced by Joe Giella's precise inking. This series was DC's first attempt at reviving a superhero franchise; its success heralded the beginning of The Silver Age of comics. This manifestation of The Flash was the first to create what would become a standard plot device: parallel worlds, in which earlier and later version of the same superhero would exist and sometimes interact.
DAISUP_120805_538.JPG: Who Is Your Superhero?
Defining What That Means To You:
"When I saw these images of the Horton, from Dr. Seuss's 1954 book, Horton Hears a Who, I immediately thought 'This is my superhero!' The story is about an elephant who tries to save a microscopic community of creatures that no one else can see or hear. I remembered the refrain from the book, 'A person's a person, no matter how small.' This speaks to me of inclusiveness and the bravery in honoring what others may not."
-- Jane A. Black, Associate Director of The Dayton Art Institute and Exhibition Curator
Have a seat, pick up a pencil and show or tell us who your superhero is. Use a single page to draw or write about your superhero, or tell a story using the five-panel paper.
Print your name and contact information on the back, and drop off your drawing at the Visitor Services Desk in the Entrance Rotunda so we can add it to the display. Your drawing will be available for pick up on September 28 and 29 at the Visitor Services Desk. We may post your drawings and stories on the museum's website.
DAISUP_120805_545.JPG: Theodore Geisel, 1904-1991, Chuck Jones, 1912-2002
Horton Hears a Who, 1970:
This work pairs Dr. Seuss' (Theodore Geisel's) original concept drawing for Horton holding the magic dust with a drawing of Horton by Chuck Jones that was used in the cartoon production Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who.
DAISUP_120805_555.JPG: Chuck Jones, 1912-2002
Horton Hears a Who, 1970
This is one of many cels used in the animated cartoon production of Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who.
DAISUP_120805_567.JPG: About our Comic Book Cover:
Randy Palmer has been a staff artist at the Dayton Daily News for more than 25 years. Palmer received a degree in commercial art from Sinclair Community College and has earned national awards for illustration and graphic design from organizations that include the Society for News Design, The Associated Press and the Society of Professional Journalists.
Palmer is known for injecting humor into the subjects he illustrates. Here he incorporates images from famous works owned by the Dayton Art Institute, including Peter Paul Rubens "Study Heads of an Old Man" and Edward Hopper's "High Noon," into a comic book cover featuring our historic building. Palmer has been a long-time fan of cartoons and comics. Although he has been a working illustrator for nearly 30 years and has received many awards and accolades, he says he will be professionally unfulfilled until he illustrates a Batman comic book.
While you are here, visit Another Kind of Hero, a selection of illustrations by Randy Palmer on view in The Cafe, presented in collaboration with the Dayton Visual Arts Center, an arts organization that supports artists in the community.
Grab a prop or three and re-create your own tourist moment in front of the DAI comic book cover! Take a photo and post it to the museum's: [facebook] and [flickr] page.
DAISUP_120805_571.JPG: Fantasy or Reality?
Superhero Sagas are Connected to Culture and Time:
Comics have always reflected the present, from devoted patriotism during World War II to current depictions of superheroes as openly gay. Comics have also been eerily prescient through the years.
In 1945, Superman's arch-enemy Lex Luthor was depicted creating an atomic bomb while the Manhattan Project was in full swing. A 1977 Spiderman issue about a NYC black-out was published the same week as the first one in Big Apple history since 1965. And a comic that published on September 12, 2001 showed an alien invasion on Metropolis that included three images of the Twin Towers, the two buildings torn apart by flying machines.
DAISUP_120805_579.JPG: Carmine Infantino, b 1925 and Joe Giella, b 1928
The Flash #132, page 2, 1962
Is it possible that in 1962, writer John Broome (also known as John Osgood) realized that someday one of the most popular pastimes in America would be watching reality TV, or that live coverage of disasters would dominate television screens and computer monitors 24-hours-a-day during times of upheaval?
DAISUP_120805_594.JPG: Vincent Giarrano, c 1960
Batman: Seduction of the Gun, Page 12, 1993:
Between 1987 and 1993, handgun violence surged from around 8,500 incidents to nearly 14,000 per year in the United States. In 1990, the son of a Warner Brothers executive who worked with DC Comics was murdered, and in response, DC published Batman: Seduction of the Gun, with proceeds going to a charitable educational foundation. In 1993, when Governor Douglas Wilder became a proponent of the one-handgun-a-month law, he sent every legislator a copy of the Batman issue. The law passed.
"It felt great working on something that related to the real world. It was at a time when guns were showing up in schools much too often. With my art for this story, I tried to convey the destructive nature of firearms."
-- Vincent Giarrano
DAISUP_120805_604.JPG: Mark Newport: Raising Questions:
Employing Superhero Imagery as Inquiry About Protection and Gender Identity:
Mark Newport created knitted costumes, embroidered comic book covers, figurines and digital ink jet prints based on photographic self portraits. These objects reference the superheroes he admired in comics and on television in the 60s and 70s.
While earning Fine Arts degrees from Kansas City Art Institute and the Art Institute of Chicago, Newport encountered feminist thought about gender roles. Later, as a father with young children, questions around masculinity cropped up again. What really constituted strength? It is possible to protect one's family? The superheroes of his youth provided potent symbols he could call on to explore these concerns.
Newport's superheroes only vaguely resemble the ones on which they are modeled. The costumes are bulky and soft; the figures are short and pot-bellies; the comic-style prints are not action-filled and climactic. Through this tension in both material and content, he comments on pop culture, gender, and art/craft. Newport's work begs the question: Can Everyman be Superman?
DAISUP_120805_673.JPG: Mike Peters: Dayton's Own Superhero:
Superman Fan Keeps City in Stitches:
Mike Peters had always loved Superman, and Dayton has always loved Mike Peters -- at least since he started cartooning at the Dayton Daily News in the 1960s. Like his mother, who entertained audiences daily on a variety show in their hometown of St. Louis, Mike made sure that Dayton's newspaper readers would get a laugh while keeping up on the day's events.
In his editorial cartoons and later, in his daily comic strip Mother Goose and Grimm, superheroes often made appearances. Whether riffing on social and political issues or just poking a little fun at the characters he loved, Peters is adept at making connections between us. He uses iconography we all know and understand to talk about shared experiences and important events going on in our world. His brilliance was recognized in 1981 with a Pulitzer Prize.
DAISUP_120805_743.JPG: Mike Peters, b 1979
Occupy Krypton, 2011
Molly Peters, Mike's daughter, represents another generation of crusading Peters. She is on her way to Tampa and Charlotte to cover the 2012 Republican and Democratic conventions, carrying on the legacy -- Mike has been to all the presidential party conventions since 1968.
AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
Wikipedia Description: Dayton Art Institute
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The Dayton Art Institute (DAI) is a museum of fine arts in Dayton, Ohio, USA.
Founded in a downtown mansion in 1919 as the Dayton Museum of Fine Arts, the museum moved to its own building in 1930. Modeled after the Italian Renaissance Villa d'Este, near Rome, and the Villa Farnese at Caprarola, Italy, the new building overlooks downtown Dayton from across the Great Miami River.
The museum was later renamed The Dayton Art Institute as an indication of the growing importance of its school in addition to the museum. The nearly 60,000 square-foot building is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The museum's collection contains more than 20,000 objects spanning 5,000 years. In September, 2005, the Museum became one of eleven galleries in the US to host The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt, the largest collection of ancient artifacts ever to travel outside Egypt.
Bigger photos? To save server space, the full-sized versions of these images have either not been loaded to the server or have been removed from the server. (Only some pages are loaded with full-sized images and those usually get removed after three months.)
I still have them though. If you want me to email them to you, please send an email to guthrie.bruce@gmail.com
and I can email them to you, or, depending on the number of images, just repost the page again will the full-sized images.
Directly Related Pages: Other pages with content (OH -- Dayton -- Dayton Art Institute) directly related to this one:
[Display ALL photos on one page]:
2017_OH_DAI: OH -- Dayton -- Dayton Art Institute (169 photos from 2017)
2012_OH_DAI_USA: OH -- Dayton -- Dayton Art Institute -- American Galleries (117 photos from 2012)
2012_OH_DAI_Other: OH -- Dayton -- Dayton Art Institute -- Asia, Africa, Latin America (126 photos from 2012)
2012_OH_DAI_Europe: OH -- Dayton -- Dayton Art Institute -- European Galleries (97 photos from 2012)
2012_OH_DAI: OH -- Dayton -- Dayton Art Institute (82 photos from 2012)
2007_OH_DAI: OH -- Dayton -- Dayton Art Institute (6 photos from 2007)
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[Museums (Art)]
2012 photos: Equipment this year: My mainstays were the Fuji S100fs, Nikon D7000, and the new Fuji X-S1. I also used an underwater Fuji XP50 and a Nikon D600. The first three cameras all broke this year and had to be repaired.
Trips this year:
three Civil War Trust conferences (Shepherdstown, WV, Richmond, VA, and Williamsburg, VA),
a week-long family reunion cruise of the Caribbean,
another week-long family reunion in the Wisconsin Dells (with lots of in-transit time in Ohio and Indiana), and
my 7th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including side trips to Zion, Bryce, the Grand Canyon, etc).
Ego strokes: I had a picture of Miss DC, Ashley Boalch, published in the Washington Post. I had a photograph of the George Segal San Francisco Holocaust memorial used as the cover of Quebec Francais (issue 165). Not being able to read French, I'm not entirely sure what the article is about but, hey! And I guess what could be considered to be a positive thing, my site is now established enough that spammers have noticed it and I had to block 17,000 file description postings for Viagra and whatever else..
Number of photos taken this year: just below 410,000.
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