Graphic novels are a mode of storytelling often undervalued and underestimated, especially in a scholarly context. Generally, we don't tend to think of comic books or graphic novels as a serious art form. Instead, we leave that genre to kids.
UW Libraries' Special Collections' new exhibit, “The Medium is The Message,” makes the case that these visual stories can be just as impactful and adult as any other book, and deserve their time in the sun.
For the 20th anniversary of the publication of Marjane Satrapi's "Persepolis," the special collections department has put together an exhibit showcasing four influential graphic novels: Art Spiegelman's "Maus," David B.'s "Epileptic," Mat Johnson's "Incognegro," and, of course, "Persepolis."
"People don't like talking about politics or religion,” Kat Lewis, one of the exhibit’s curators, said. “Sometimes reading someone's personal account of their experience with that, the good and the bad in a nuanced way, can be helpful for developing empathy around some of these issues."
These novels are a prime example of that: they cover a plethora of dark and deeply personal topics, from forced migration to bigotry to physical and mental health. Yet each book comes at these topics with a personal – and oftentimes humorous – lens.
The exhibit is hosted in the Special Collections Reading Room, in the basement of Allen Library South. There, display cases hold the four novels, as well as a vast selection of other works from the collection that either support the novels or expand on the topics they bring up. From artists' books to other graphic novels to poems, the cases are full of fascinating and beautiful items that a person could spend hours considering.
"Pretty much everything out here has a story behind it," Sandra Kroupa, a special collection staff member, said.
One of those stories was a little closer than a far-off donor or a famous artist. Ruba Sadi, another of the exhibit’s curators, had brought items from home for the "Persepolis" portion of the exhibit: her copy of the Quran, an embroidered veil, her family loom, and a few other personal items.
"It's really touching actually, because... I have them at home and I maybe take them for granted, so to be able to see how they could enhance the exhibit meant a lot to me," Sadi said.
Walking around the room on the day of the opening reception, it seemed that everyone was there: friends, strangers, learners, and experts alike. There were a million tiny worlds — pairs, groups, individuals, each orbiting their object of interest, some discussing, or dissecting, the exhibit. It was a room that bred conversation; being in there felt like being privy to a sort of cavern of wonders, a showing of art and literature most often hidden away in the collection's storage.
Each piece tells a story in its own unique way — just as the title of the exhibit points out. "The medium is the message," is an idea accredited to philosopher Marshall McLuhan, and posits that the way something is communicated is as much a part of the message as the content being delivered.
In the case of the four graphic novels, they tell stories that are affected deeply by their design choices. These novels use bold black-and-white imagery, and utilize each artist's personal and unique style to communicate emotion and narrative.
"Graphic novels lend themselves well to trauma, or other things that are so hard to talk about, and the images really tell a story that words can't," Anne Davis, another curator, said.
With "Maus," for example, Art Spiegelman used the visual metaphor of mice and cats.
"This was sort of a way for him to kind of just demonstrate that sort of relationship of feeling almost like prey," curator Allee Monheim said. "But also … if you pick it apart for a minute it sort of just falls flat, and the idea that people are all one way … it's not that simple, and so that is equally part of the message as well."
The exhibit will be on display until September, and can be seen any weekday from 10 a.m. until 4:45 p.m. There will also be a few special events, such as a screening of the "Persepolis" film April 18, and a few book club meetings which can be seen on the Special Collections calendar. Besides the exhibit, the curators strongly encouraged anyone with a curiosity about anything in the broader collection to make an appointment to see some of the pieces.
"I think it is important to see yourself reflected in art, in scholarship and history, and in stuff that we treat with respect the way that we do here in Special Collections," Lewis said. "We have a lot of — you know, it's not perfect — but we do have stuff that testifies to the experience of people that live in the Pacific Northwest, of all stripes."
If any of that sounds appealing, do yourself an immense favor and check out “The Medium is The Message.”
Reach writer Priya Devanesan at arts@dailyuw.com X: @priya4thedaily
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