Karma-Con: Unveiling Part Three
Wednesday April 18, 2012 @ 7:00 PM
Inspiration, discussion and creation. After interacting with the art that inspires them, discussing the significance and merit of the Wheel of Life as an artistic image, working collaboratively in an open studio setting and individually in their own studios, artists Molly Crabapple, Sanya Glisic, Ben Granoff, Rodney Greenblat, Steven Guarnaccia, Michael Kupperman, Josh Neufeld, and Katie Skelly unveil their completed works as a unified Wheel of Life. Following the unveiling will be an artists discussion moderated by comics historian, Christopher Irving.
Free
The evening includes:
5-7pm Himalayan Happy Hour & Spiral Music
6:15pm Pre-Program Tour of the Wheel of Life and 2nd Floor Galleries
7:00pm Unveiling of the new Wheel of Life and discussion with the artists moderated by comics historian, Christopher Irving
7:30pm Post-Program Tour of Hero, Villain, Yeti: Tibet in Comics
Come early and enjoy free live music, Himalayan Happy Hour, and a tour at 6:15pm of the Wheel of Life and the 2nd Floor galleries. After the Unveiling and artists discussion, enjoy another free tour of the comics exhibition, Hero, Villain, Yeti: Tibet in Comics.
Christopher Irving is a comics 
historian in New York City. Currently, he is preparing for the May release of his book Leaping Tall Buildings: The Origins of American Comics (Powerhouse Books) with photographer Seth Kushner, and is editing digital comics magazine The Drawn Word. Prior to that, Irving wrote and edited the comics journalism website Graphic NYC (with Kushner), has written four books on comics history, and served as Associate Editor on the Eisner Award-winning Comic Book Artist magazine.
Photo by Christian Guzman (cspinfilms.com)
About the Wheel of Life
The Wheel of Life is a visual 1-0-1 of Buddhist doctrine; a reminder of our Karmic responsibility to remove ourselves from the world of suffering. In conjunction with the exhibition, Hero, Villain, Yeti: Tibet in Comics, eight contemporary artists have been invited to reinterpret segments of the Wheel of Life based on their own spiritual and artistic experiences in a three-part series: Karma-Con. Join the Rubin Museum of Art and comic artists and illustrators Molly Crabapple, Sanya Glisic, Ben Granoff, Rodney Greenblat, Steven Guarnaccia, Michael Kupperman, Josh Neufeld and Katie Skelly in taking a new perspective on this ancient religious image.
The Wheel of Life: (bhavachakra, srid pa'i 'khor lo) acts as a representation of samsaric existence for Buddhist practitioners. The Wheel of Life is thought to have been drawn by Shakymuni Buddha himself as a way to simply illustrate the six realms, interdependent existence and the sources of suffering.
Each artist has been given a different segment of the Wheel of Life to reinterpret:
Molly Crabapple – Hell
Sanya Glisic – Three Spiritual Poisons & The Dark and Light Path
Ben Granoff – Lord of Death
Rodney Greenblat – Animals
Steven Guarnaccia – Hungry Ghosts
Michael Kupperman – Twelve Links of Dependent Origination
Josh Neufeld – Humans
Katie Skelly – Gods/Demigods
Learn more about the individual artists
Learn more about Karma-Con
Learn more about Hero, Villain, Yeti: Tibet in Comics
Learn more about the Wheel of Life
RELATED EVENTS
Hero, Villain, Yeti
12/09/2011 - 06/11/2012
Comic book storylines have drawn on Tibet's cultural and religious traditions for more than sixty years, mixing reality with myths and long-held stereotypes. Featuring more than fifty comic books from around the world, Hero, Villain, Yeti sheds light on global perceptions of Tibet as reflected in and informed by these diverse narratives.
Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School: Hero, Villain, Yeti
05/18/2012
Enjoy an evening of drinking and drawing as models pose as comic book heroes, villains and yetis in an alternative life drawing class for artists and non-artists alike.
This program is for adults 18 years old and older.
Ticket includes post-program tour of the exhibition Hero, Villain, Yeti: Tibet in Comics
The Graphic Canon
05/23/2012
Artists Molly Crabapple, Sanya Glisic, and Gareth Hinds join Editor Russ Kick for the launch of The Graphic Canon, a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind trilogy that brings classic literatures of the world together with legendary graphic artists and illustrators. Called the "graphic publishing literary event of the year" by Publishers Weekly.
