(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)April 16, 2002

(Mahwah) – Pulitzer Prize-winning author, cartoonist, artist and essayist Art Spiegelman will speak about his work Monday, May 6 at 7 p.m. in the Sharp Theater at Ramapo College of New Jersey. “Comix 101” is his topic. Admission is free and open to the public.

Spiegelman is known for his provocative and sometimes controversial covers for The New Yorker. His September 24, 2001 cover depicting a haunting silhouette of the twin towers has become, for many, an especially poignant commemoration of September 11. Before his association with that magazine, Spiegelman was known for his work as a graphic artist and cartoonist. Most notably, his Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus has become perhaps the most honored and well-respected comic book ever published. Maus is both a non-fiction account of his parents’ experiences in Hitler’s Europe and an autobiographical account of the cartoonist’s troubled relationship with his often exasperating father. With Maus, Spiegelman challenged readers to reconsider what kind of story can be told with words and pictures. His decision to represent Jews as mice, Nazis as cats, and Poles as pigs infuriated some readers while offering others a chilling metaphor of the Nazi “final solution.”

Spiegelman also has distinguished himself as an editor and publisher. His Raw Magazine was well-respected avant-garde publication which offered a generation of graphic artists a space in which to experiment well beyond the limits established by conventional publishing.

“Comix 101,” a chronological tour of the evolution of comics, explains the value of this medium and why it should not be ignored. Spiegelman believes that in our post-literate culture, the importance of the comic is on the rise, for “comics echo the way the brain works. People think in iconographic images, not in holograms, and people think in bursts of language, not in paragraphs,” he says.

Spiegelman’s talk is fourth in Ramapo’s annual Contemporary Authors Series. It is co-sponsored by Ramapo’s School of American and International Studies, the Ramapo College Foundation, The Gross Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies at Ramapo College, The Berrie Center, The Writers Workshop, The Science Fiction and Comic Book Club and The Office of Student Activities.

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About Ramapo College

Ramapo College of New Jersey is the state’s premier public liberal arts college and is committed to academic excellence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding. The comprehensive college is situated among the beautiful Ramapo Mountains, is within commuting distance to New York City, was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America by CondeNast Traveler, and boasts the best on-campus housing in New Jersey per Niche.com. Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, data science, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include business, education, nursing and social work. In addition, the College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and offers graduate programs leading to master’s degrees in Accounting, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration, Contemporary Instructional Design, Computer Science, Creative Music Technology, Data Science, Educational Leadership, Nursing, Social Work and Special Education, as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

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