Starting on May 8th and continuing through the weekend, we’ll be celebrating the French literary movement of Oulipo, the practice of making art under creative constraints! The blog updates for that week will feature some amazing work from our collection that exemplifies the unique ways that the principles of Oulipo can be applied to creating comics (Oubapo). But most importantly, the week will culminate in two Oulipo events with Matt Madden cosponsored by the Wexner Center! Be sure not to miss the lecture and unique hands-on workshop, taught by one of the most forward-thinking cartoonists and comics educators out there.
On Friday, May 11th at 4:30pm in the Wexner Center Film and Video Theater: Cartoonist Matt Madden, creator of 99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style, talks about his work and how the arbitrary constraints of Oulipo have produced great art in all kinds of media. Do you think you could make a comic where each panel would only show an extreme close-up of a hand? Or where each panel zooms in closer to a single object? A comic that you can read in more than one direction? Many great works of art begin from willfully perverse constraints or rules such as these. Drawing not just from comics but from literature, film, and music—both popular and experimental—Madden describes the lineage of creativity first identified by Oulipo, a French literary group whose name translates loosely to “workshop for potential literature.” More information here. This event was made possible in collaboration with the Wexner Center for the Arts. Free to the public.
On Saturday, May 12th from 1pm-4pm at the Wexner Center: Matt Madden leads a workshop that utilizes the principles of Oulipo, creating cartoons under artistic constraints. No prior experience is necessary, and materials will be provided. $15 / $12 students and Wexner members. More information here. Advance registration is required and space is limited; call 614-292-6493 for more info.
See you there!
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