Conor Stechschulte

The seventy-fourth meeting of the NY Comics & Picture-story Symposium will be held on Tuesday, February 11, 2014 at 7:00 PM at Parsons The New School, Kellen auditorium, 66 Fifth Ave. Free and open to the public. PLEASE NOTE: Events this semester will take place on Tuesday evenings.

Presentations by Conor Stechschulte and Christopher Adams.

Conor Stechschulte on To and From The Amateurs: A comprehensive look at the ideas and influences that lead to the making of The Amateurs, the lessons learned while making it, and how I’ve applied those lessons to my current comics work. Other topics that may or may not be glancingly addressed: accidental dismemberment, the true sound a screaming pig makes, drawing comics while standing up, and what affineurs and cartoonists have in common. Conor Stechschulte began self-publishing comics in 2005 as a member of the Closed Caption Comics collective in Baltimore. Since then he has made more than a dozen acclaimed hand-made books. His work has appeared in Happiness!, Smoke Signal, and Sundays, on the notable list for both Best American Comics and Best American Non-Required Reading, and in national and international art exhibitions. A reprint of his graphic novel, The Amateurs is forthcoming from Fantagraphics in 2014.

Christopher Adams will talk about his work and some of the work that appeals to him and the direct and indirect connections between the two. Specifically he will talk about the non-comics work that appeals to him. Specifically work that is somewhat brief, dry, technical and descriptive. Work that brings to mind instruction manuals or user guides. Work from different fields. He will also talk about how he likes to think about looking in relation to this work and how that informs what he would like to draw and paint and write. And ultimately how he would like to proceed making comics that are maybe not comics. Christopher Adams is an artist and musician who lives and works in Baltimore. He has made three comic books: Period, Strong Eye Contact and Yule Log – all published by 2D Cloud. He has made two music albums: Baby Hair and Vegetables. He also sells art supplies.

Christopher Adams

Tuesday, January 28, 2014 at 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
The Bark Room (Orientation Room), Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
2 West 13th Street

Presentation: Jonathan Barli on The Mad World of Virgil Partch. An in-depth look at the life and art of one of the most influential and trendsetting cartoonists of his generation. The talk will be illustrated by scores of unseen photographs and artwork, cover Partch’s life and times and how they influenced his artistic sensibilities, and include a thorough analysis of his cartooning and the context in which his work appeared. From a remote island off the coast of Alaska and a stint as an animator at Disney Studios during its golden age, Partch burst onto the scene with his zany, sometimes surreal, but always hilarious cartoons, catapulting his career virtually overnight. An artist truly ahead of his time, his unique perspective and style ensured he would become one of the most prolific cartoonists of his era, and solidified his role in inspiring generations of cartoonists, animators, and illustrators.

Jonathan Barli is a designer, writer, and filmmaker. He was educated at the School of Visual Arts and soon after graduating, co-founded Rosebud Archives: a company dedicated to preserving and celebrating the cultural heritage of the graphic arts, where he serves as Art Director. He recently wrote, edited, and designed a book on the renowned cartoonist Virgil Partch, and will be taking on a role as Creative Director of Fantagraphics Fine Arts. He has done design work for Fantagraphics Books, the Theodore Roosevelt Association, Ron Garofalo Photography and others.

NY Comics & Picture-story Symposium is a weekly series for artist/writers working in various text-image forms: comics, picture-stories, animation, etc. at which to present and critique current work.  The symposium will examine new ideas for the distribution of print and electronic work that move beyond the existing models of  publishing and advertising. Meetings will be facilitated by a rotating group of practitioners and guest speakers.