Tang Exhibition Shows Jewish Identity Through Graphic “Sequential Art”

SARATOGA SPRINGS— Contemporary graphic novels exploring Jewish identity are the focus of both an exhibition at Skidmore College’s Tang Museum. The exhibition, Graphic Jews: Negotiating Identity in Sequential Art, opens at the Tang on Saturday, January 25 and will run through April 13. The Graphic Jews exhibition presents a selection of graphic novels written and drawn by contemporary Jewish artists as a means of depicting Jewish life. Drawing on the long history of Jews and comics, these works combine words and pictures into what Will Eisner, one of the masters of the form called “sequential art.” On display will be original art and finished graphic novels from four noted artists. Ben Katchor, a cartoonist and contributor to the New Yorker and Metropolis, James Sturm, co-founder of the Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont offers The Golem’s Mighty Swing, which follows the “Stars of David” traveling Jewish baseball team in their effort to draw larger audiences to their games. The show also includes the work of cartoonist, illustrator and dancer Leela Corman, and Vanessa Davis, whose autobiographical strips have appeared in Tablet and the New York Times. The Tang Museum located at the Skidmore College campus is open noon – 5 p.m. Tuesday–Sunday, with extended hours through 9 p.m. on Thursdays, and is closed on Mondays and major holidays. For more information call (518) 580-8080 or visit www.skidmore.edu/tang.