2col

Yoshitomo Nara (Japanese, b 1960) “Girl in a Box,” 2001, silkscreen print, 12 by 12 inches, Michigan State University purchase.

2col

Red Grooms (American, b 1937), “Extra! Extra! Read All About It,” 2002, color 3-D lithograph, 20 by 26¾ by 10½ inches, MSU purchase.

1col

Takashi Murakami (Japanese, b 1962), “Puka Puka,” 1999, screenprint, 263/8 by 19 inches, MSU purchase.

FOR 2-8

‘ ART IN THE ‘TOON AGE’ AT THE HYDE COLLECTION w/3 cuts

avv/lsb set 2/1 # 727405

GLENS FALLS, N.Y. — Cartoons and graphic styles developed in the mid-Twentieth Century in America exerted a profound effect on the world of art. The exhibition, “Art in the ‘Toon Age,” is one of the first to explore this topic and is on view through April 13 at The Hyde Collection’s Charles R. Wood Gallery.

The exhibition examines the impact of three generations of visual artists who have worked in this style from the 1960s until the 1990s. Drawn from the collections of the Kresge Art Museum, the exhibition features 43 works by 32 artists from seven countries.

The first generation includes such artists as Ida Applebroog, John Clem Clarke, Roy De Forest, Red Grooms, Elizabeth Murray, Jim Nutt and Peter Saul. These artists developed their style in the 1960s and 1970s, and though inspired by Pop artists’ appropriation of commercial art, they were disinterested in the Pop idea of lifting cartoons or ads into their paintings untransformed. What fascinated them was the beauty of the drawings in 1940s and 1950s animation and commercial art, its seeming effortlessness, and the distillation process itself. The artists imply narratives, but leave the script to the viewer to write.

The generation of the 1980s tends to embrace a more complex, multilayered aesthetic. Artists of this generation in this exhibition include Carroll Dunham, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, Julian Opie and Sue Williams. Their work sometimes deals with personal, political or social issues, with gender and sexuality, death, violence or war, but in a ‘toon or anime style and spirit. Their narratives are never simple, despite appearances, and are frequently quite elaborate.

The youngest generation of artists from the 1990s such as Laylah Ali, Steve De Frank, Marcel Dzama, Inka Essenhigh, Yoshitoma Nara and Paul Henry Ramirez are united by their exploration of the aesthetic pleasure of pure painting without insistent narratives.

Despite their differences, the works of these three generations of artists share a springing, resilient line; bright, flat colors; the use of shorthand communication devices; and a generally upbeat mood.

The exhibition also includes 16 historically relevant comics and cartoons from the Michigan State University Library’s Nye Collection. Many of these comics and cartoons provided the inspiration for the works featured in the exhibition.

“Art in the ‘Toon Age” was organized by the Kresge Art Museum, Michigan State University, East Lansing. The national tour was organized by Landau Traveling Exhibitions of Los Angeles.

Dr Kent Worcester, associate professor of political science and Division of Social Science chair at Marymount Manhattan College will present a lecture on Saturday, March 1, at 2 pm in the Helen Froehlich Auditorium at The Hyde Collection. The free talk will explore the modern comic book industry, which was created in the 1930s and 1940s and was heavily concentrated in New York City.

The Hyde Collection is at 161 Warren Street. For information, 518-792-1761 or www.hydecollection.org.