Comic Release
Negotiating Identity for a New Generation
September 11 - October 24, 2004
Curated by Vicky A. Clark and Barbara Bloemink for the Regina Miller Gouger Gallery, Carnegie Mellon University. Organized and traveled by Pamela Auchincloss / Arts Management, New York.

Comic Release showcases artists from around the world who use cartoon imagery to address challenging and often politically sensitive situations. In the past decade, the use of cartoon imagery has exploded as artists, graphic novelists and zine makers realize both the accessibility and the power to tell stories in a recognizable and familiar language. By tackling difficult social issues, each artist on view contributes to the construction of identity in its many guises, intertwining issues inherent in race, gender, sexual orientation, violence, war and loss of innocence. As stated by Vicky A. Clark, "These artists use comic language and humor to interest people in serious and controversial issues. Humor is not always about something funny; it is a way of deflecting feelings of anger, isolation, and resentment."

Comic Release features art by more than fifty internationally renowned and emerging artists, including Austin-based artist Michael Ray Charles. Select artists also include Laylah Ali, Michael Bevilacqua, Blake Boyd, Enrique Chagoya, Marcel Dzama, Nicole Eisenman, Inka Essenhigh, Neil Farber, Chris Finley, Karen Finley, Kojo Griffin, Gottfried Helnwein, Arturo Herrera, Sean Landers, Kerry James Marshall, Barry McGee, Dave Muller, Takashi Murakami, Yoshitomo Nara, Al Souza and Kara Walker.

Comic Release: Negotiating Identity for a New Generation is accompanied by a 180-page color catalogue published by DAP Inc. which features work by the artists as well as essays by Vicky A. Clark, Barbara Bloemink and Ana Merino. This catalogue is available for purchase for $30.

Gottfried Helnwein
American Prayer, 2000
Mixed media on canvas
Collection of Paul &
Cindy Levy
Courtesy Modernism,
San Francisco