Pow-litical Comics: From Ripon to the RNC at the Caestecker Art Gallery

Ripon College is proud to host Pow-litical Comics: From Ripon to the RNC, on view in the Caestecker Art Gallery from Sept. 5 through Oct. 4. The exhibit features several Wisconsin artists, including Marvel and DC comic book artist Peter Poplaski and The New Yorker cartoonist Paul Noth. Ripon College alumnus James P. Danky ’70 is the guest curator for the exhibit.  

In addition to the exhibition, Ripon College will host a panel discussion about the power of political cartoons organized by the Center for Politics and the People to coincide with the opening reception at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, in Demmer Hall. Panelists include Professor Emeritus of Political Science Martin Farrell, Assistant Professor of Anthropology Ursula Dalinghaus and Danky, who serves as adjunct curator of comics at the Museum of Wisconsin Art. Professor of Political Science Henrik Schatzinger will moderate. 

Also concurrent with this exhibition, Ripon’s Little White Schoolhouse, heralded as the birthplace of the Republican party (1074 W Fond Du Lac St.), will offer programming and a pop-up exhibition of political cartoon imagery.

Pow-litical Comics: From Ripon to the RNC is a timely exhibition of political cartoons reflecting the current moment in U.S. politics. On loan from the Museum of Wisconsin Art, the exhibit was originally on display at the MOWA|DTN Gallery inside Saint Kate Art Hotel in Milwaukee. Curated by Danky, Pow-litical Comics features work from nearly 20 Wisconsin artists, including Poplaski and Noth. 

For 35 years, Danky was the newspapers and periodicals librarian for the Wisconsin Historical Society. He also served as a member of the faculty at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he taught a course on race and media, and often advised graduate students and faculty.

He also helped compile “Wisconsin Funnies” in 2020, the first exhibit to present the rich history of comics in Wisconsin, and he is the co-author of “Wisconsin Funnies: Fifty Years of Comics,” published by the Museum of Wisconsin Art in 2020.

American political cartoons have a long and storied history, notorious for using humor to comment – even influence – public opinion. Pow-litical Comics displays a range of social and political perspectives and explores their impact on American culture and democracy. The exhibition offers insights into Wisconsin’s tradition of political activism, from the birth of the Republican Party in 1854 to its present-day status as one of the nation’s most-watched battleground states.

“Art, history, politics and language combine to offer guests to this exhibition the best of the liberal arts in action, telling us important stories about our time,” says Rafael Francisco Salas, Ripon College professor of art. “Through it all, this show will make you laugh at the absurd and reflect on the real in new ways.”

Attendees can visit the gallery, located inside the C.J. Rodman Center for the Arts on Union Street, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 2 to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m.

Posted August 27, 2024 in Fine Arts, Special Event.

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