Growing Up Comix - exhibition launch

The Open Tent is proud to present Growing Up Comix - the works of graphic novelist JT Waldman - at ArtCenter/South Florida, which brings together both non-profit organizations’ commitment to producing cutting-edge, inclusive arts events that are contemporary and accessible to the public. Retracing Waldman’s defining years, Growing Up Comix is divided into five major periods including The Wonder Years, College Years, In-Between Years, Persian Years and Days of Recent Past. Through comics, cartoons and graphic representations, the artist explores the epiphany that ignited his passion for drawing in the mid-80s; the inception of signature character “Starman” in the late-90’s, and the technical and creative changes that followed his enrollment at Vancouver Film School in 2006.

Best known for transplanting biblical and Jewish content from its conventional format to the comics,Growing up Comix further explores Waldman’s interpretations of oral and written traditions of Judaism. The writer and illustrator for the Jewish Publication Society's (JPS) graphic novel “Megillat Esther,” and featuring pages from “Story of Esther” and “The Four Children” commissioned by Nextbook, Waldman’s Growing Up Comix shows how cartoons and modern-day representations of socio-religious topics can be visualized and interpreted from diverse points of view. Giving the Jewish and graphic novelist community a firm identity in the comic book world, Waldman combines three decades of illustrations and experiences that have shaped his career.

Reception will take place on Saturday, March 21, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.
Exhibition runs March 20 to April 12, 2009
Event is free and open to the public

For more info:
ArtCenter/South Florida
800 Lincoln Road at Meridian Avenue
Miami Beach, FL 33139
Phone: 305.674.8278
Web: www.artcentersf.org