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Getting Comics in the Art Department The Slab-O-Concrete Exhibition at Waterstone's, 24-26 High Street, Birmingham, Feb 7th -13th, 2000
In February, along with Pete Pavement of Slab-O-Concrete publishers, I ran an exhibition of work from comics published by Slab at Waterstone's in Birmingham, High Street branch. It was situated in the lounge area on the 4th floor with all the traditional Arts departments (Art, Design, Drama, Poetry, Music, etc). The Art department was chosen because it had space suitable for a gallery style exhibition but also because the surrounding books would give the comics a residual credibility denied to them from their usual home in the Sci-Fi ghetto (1). It was hoped that the exhibition would expose comics to people who do not normally read Sci-Fi or Fantasy books and therefore broaden the audience for comics which have a wide potential readership. The exhibition was also part of a larger project I was undertaking, rejuvenating the existing Graphic Novels department.
The exhibition comprised of various elements from previous shows that Slab had put on over the last few years. The main feature was illuminated boxes built by Woodrow Phoenix, co-creator and artist of Sugar Buzz. These were essentially A3 copier paper boxes covered in Zebra fur. The lids were cut out and laminated A3 photocopies stuck in. Inside the box was a small florescent light. At the exhibition in Borders bookshop in Brighton (for which they were designed) they were hung along the wall of the coffee shop and could be seen from the street at night. For the Birmingham show we initially hung these on the glass waterwall which was not operational at that time (2) with the rest of the exhibition framing them. Unfortunately, after six months of dithering, the men-with-tools decided that this would be the week they finally fixed it and so we had to abandon that idea two days in. In the end they were not actually illuminated but were still the central feature.
The other main aspect was large comic strips suspended from the ceiling. The first strip, a Hairy Mary missive device (3), was hung above the rest of the exhibition in a line. In front of this and at eye level was hung a four-piece Skeleton Key missive device fixed in a square shape and designed to rotate freely above the books. These strips, blown up many times bigger than their original A7 format, gave the exhibition an important tone, telling the viewers that these are Comics and not single panel cartoons, something often lacking in representations of comics outside the actual strip itself. They were not just there to be looked at - they were there to be read.
The rest of the exhibition was predominantly large single panel cartoons taken from various Slab publications, framing the smaller panels and features and giving the show a dramatic, eye-catching feel. In the middle was the stock, arranged to lead people in to the middle of the show and encourage them to get close to the exhibits. Teasingly positioned on the far right was a table of the popular and cheap missive devices which allowed people to read something quickly to give them a taste before diving into the rest of the show. At the front and hanging perpendicular were two huge (A0) posters for Hairy Mary and The End Of The Century Club which could be seen from the extreme ends of the floor. In the middle of the tables of stock I placed a card explaining the show and the context behind it which read as follows:
Conclusions The show ran for one week. It was advertised in-store with flyers at the till points and a large "What's On At Waterstone's" board by the front door (photo not available). There was a feature in the Guide pages of the local free daily paper Metro and it was listed in there all week. Sales of the books in the show were not good. In total about £70 worth was sold over the week. However, feedback was positive with many people asking for more information and one person asking to buy some of the pieces. Had I been on hand during the week I feel I could have used this interest and built upon it, but I was not based on the 4th floor and the staff there, while enthusiastic, did not have the knowledge to explain things fully. If I were to do it again I would make the following changes:
I was planning a follow up event with Pete Pavement in the summer but since then I have left the store. If anyone reading this would be interested in running a Slab-O-Concrete event please contact Pete Pavement at slab@slab-o-concrete.demon.co.uk for details. I am more than happy to give advice and help where possible. Notes: 1. I don't have a problem with Science Fiction. I do have a problem with the general population thinking that comics are a genre-interest centred on superheroes and elves. Having comics stocked next to David Eddings sagas and the like is the same as comic shops being full of sci-fi film stuff and trading cards. It is not progress and does not help the cause. Similarly, I feel that a lot of science fiction and fantasy which does not pander to the post-Tolkien market also loses out from being in such a department. (back) 2. It had a habit of flooding the NEXT store below. Probably the best thing that darnn feature ever did. (back) 3: A Missive Device is an 16-20 page A7 comic the size of a post card which can be sealed and posted. Originally designed as a cheap sampler for a creator's larger works, missive devices also serve as greetings cards, albeit ones with some actual substance. An innovative and successful way of penetrating other markets with comics which I was keen to make use of. (back) © Pete Ashton Links: |
