MUSEUM OF COMIC AND CARTOON ART[Manhattan, suckerPUNCH Competition, 2010/11]
HYPERTEXTUAL GALLERY
This project was inspired by the ability of comics and cartoons to
continually reinterpret the base of their narrative. Reversible deaths,
alternate universes, alternate origins, and timeframe manipulation are
all popular methods of retroactive continuity employed by both comic
authors and cartoon writers to extend the life of a serial narrative.
This project attempts to appropriate this notion into a museum's
narrative, creating an autopoietic system that reconstitutes itself
based on the needs of the curation at any given time.
Taking inspiration from Aby Warburg's Mnemosyne Atlas project, the
malleable space in the museum is conceived as a place where categories
and collections can overlap and inform one another over time. Instead
of presenting a linear history of set thematic categories (ie - Japanese
Manga of the 1980's, or the early Marvel Universe), the nature of the
museum allows the constituent pieces of one category (say, depictions of
Wolverine during World War 2) to move and infect another category (like
Nazi propaganda comics), while the latter may also be infecting another
category (maybe Disney and The War). This serves to foster new
connections and juxtapositions amongst disparate timelines or geographic
categorizations. The visitor of the museum is thus presented with a
new narrative every time they visit, taking with them a new perspective
on the comic and cartoon art within.
The fragmented nature of the gallery infects the outlying program
pieces, particularly the secondary gathering spaces of theater and
classroom. While each has a static component for when the gallery is
fully in use, they can also be made to expand into the gallery zone
itself for larger filmings or classes. This notion of a place in
constant flux is extended to both the latticed brise soleil of the
facade and deconstructed entry - communicating the museum as an unending
story in and of itself, piquing curiosity and welcoming passersby into
the narrative.
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