Students in English 620AS (the Art Spiegelman seminar), below in PDF is a mini-syllabus, or brief summary, of our class. Consider it a sneak peek: I'll be giving out copies of this during our first meeting, next Monday, August 25.
Also, mark your calendars! On Wednesday, October 15, at 8:00 p.m., Art Spiegelman will be performing Wordless! (a mix of comics, art-talk, and music) at UCLA's Royce Hall. This program focuses on silent—i.e. wordless—graphic books of the past, and combines projected images, Spiegelman's live commentary, and music composed by Phillip Johnston and played live by his jazz sextet. Please count on going to this event if you possibly can—it offers a rare opportunity to see the very subject of a class in live performance even as you are taking the class!
Wordless! is a very recent work that will be performed in only a few venues. Originally commissioned by The Sydney Opera House in 2013, and since performed in New York, Chicago, and Colorado Springs, it is now set to tour eight US cities in October, including three UC campuses in our own fair state. I am exploring options for taking a student group down to UCLA that evening, and/or securing discount student tickets for the event—I don't know what I'll be able to do on that front, but I'm giving it my best. My guess is that you will have to provide your own transportation down there, and that the event will cost you some money, but, again, I'm trying to see what I can do to cut down the expense and hassle. In any case, I urge you to see this show! It dovetails so perfectly with our course, it seems like a gift.
(I know that some of you will have scheduling conflicts that Wednesday evening, and will not be able to make the show. That's why I'm not calling this a "course requirement." But, wow, do go to the show if you possibly can!)
Wordless! is a very recent work that will be performed in only a few venues. Originally commissioned by The Sydney Opera House in 2013, and since performed in New York, Chicago, and Colorado Springs, it is now set to tour eight US cities in October, including three UC campuses in our own fair state. I am exploring options for taking a student group down to UCLA that evening, and/or securing discount student tickets for the event—I don't know what I'll be able to do on that front, but I'm giving it my best. My guess is that you will have to provide your own transportation down there, and that the event will cost you some money, but, again, I'm trying to see what I can do to cut down the expense and hassle. In any case, I urge you to see this show! It dovetails so perfectly with our course, it seems like a gift.
(I know that some of you will have scheduling conflicts that Wednesday evening, and will not be able to make the show. That's why I'm not calling this a "course requirement." But, wow, do go to the show if you possibly can!)
Check out UCLA's page for Wordless! and/or Spiegelman's official Tumblr for the show for more information. Here is the trailer for the show, via YouTube: