01-03-95 Comic Strip Centennial Events Planned

COMIC STRIP CENTENNIAL PROVIDES LOOK AT AMERICAN HERITAGE

     COLUMBUS, Ohio -- For the millions of readers of newspaper
comic strips, 1995 shapes up to be a big year.  A variety of
events are planned to celebrate the centennial of the American
newspaper comic strip, which has entertained generations of
readers since R.F. Outcault brought the funnies to prominence in
1895 with the Yellow Kid.

     The centennial will give readers, cartoonists,
communicators, art lovers, and scholars opportunities to probe
the rich heritage of information and comment on American society
that comic strips provide, says an Ohio State University
researcher.

     "Cartoon art has been a reflection of and a forum for
political and social satire about American life," said Lucy S.
Caswell, an associate professor in University Libraries and
journalism at Ohio State.  Caswell is curator of the Cartoon,
Graphic, and Photographic Arts Research Library, the world's
largest and most comprehensive academic archive of cartoon art.

     The library, with more than 200,000 original works by some
1,000 artists, has scheduled five exhibitions in 1995 to
celebrate the centennial.  The Yellow Kid Centennial Address on
Feb. 17 will take a look at the beginning of newspaper comic
strips, and the Festival of Cartoon Art in August will feature
chalk talks by some of America's best known cartoonists.

     "As the premier academic repository of cartoon art, we have
a teaching responsibility to increase public awareness of this
very important art and communication form," Caswell said.  "We
have an opportunity to do some real fun public education with
some important material."

     The U.S. Postal Service will issue a series of 20 postage
stamps featuring designs from historical and contemporary comic
strips ranging from "The Katzenjammer Kids" and "Krazy Kat" to
"Gasoline Alley" and "Alley Oop."  The stamps will be unveiled in
May and released in October.

     The comic strips and jazz music -- also the subject of a set
of 1995 stamps -- have been called two of the distinct artistic
contributions of America to the world, says Richard D. Olson, a
professor of psychology at the University of New Orleans.  Olson,
a collector, will discuss the birth of the comic strip in the
Yellow Kid Centennial Address at Ohio State.

     Cartoonists will get involved by reflecting on the history
of the comics in their own strips and construction will start on
the International Museum of Cartoon Art in Boca Raton, Fla.
Caswell serves on the board of the museum, which is the
brainchild of "Beetle Bailey" cartoonist Mort Walker.
                                
                                #
                                
Contact:  Lucy S. Caswell, (614) 292-0538, Caswell.2@osu.edu
          Richard D. Olson, (504) 286-6773, Rdops@uno.edu
Written by Tom Spring, (614) 292-8309, Spring.1@osu.edu


[Submitted by: REIDV  (reidv@ccgate.ucomm.ohio-state.edu)
               
Tue, 03 Jan 1995 16:05:10 -0500 (EST)]
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