WVU Professor Joe Lupo’s exhibition ‘Not Approved by the Comics Code Authority’ at Artists Image Resource in Pittsburgh

Joe Lupo, a professor of Printmaking in the WVU School of Art and Design, is presenting the collaborative exhibition “Not Approved by the Comics Code Authority” at the Artists Image Resource (AIR) in Pittsburgh from July 10 to Aug. 29 with assistance from the Myers Foundations. 

The exhibition is based on a collection of interviews by the same name that explores the deeper, more emotional connection select artists had or have with comic books and comic imagery. Each of the artists interviewed for the series, plus Lupo himself, will have work displayed in the exhibition. 

“I thought it would be interesting to reach out to artists I know—and hopefully meet some new artists—who have similar thoughts about comics as I do and talk to them about why they like comics and what about comics inspires them,” said Lupo.”

Lupo conducted 20 email interviews and published them on his website over two years. He borrowed the concept from an online interview series by Laura Berman called “Reflections on Color in Printmaking,” in which Lupo participated. Following Berman’s model, Lupo sent a handful of artists a list of questions and asked that they choose three to four to answer in depth. 

“I wanted, from the very beginning, a diverse representation of artists, because I did not want this to be the stereotype of middle-aged straight white guys talking about comics,” said Lupo. 

He started with people he knew, then asked those artists to help connect him to more artists. 

Of the 20 artists who ultimately participated in Lupo’s interviews, four make comics. The remainder, including Lupo, have an interest in or draw inspiration from the visual language of comics and comic book imagery. 

Some of the questions the artists could answer included:

• Did you grow up reading comics? 
  
• How do comics inform the work you make? 
  
• How long have you been making work that references comics? 
  
• Do you have a favorite comic shop you visit? 
  
• Do you have any moments in your life when you’ve stopped reading comics? Or did you ever feel ashamed or embarrassed about reading comics?
  
• Have you ever been afraid or worried about making art that referenced comics? 
  

“I was trying to get to the deeper kinds of connections we have with comics and get at different kinds of questions you might ask somebody about their work,” said Lupo. “I was also interested in these seminal moments in which a friend or a comic shop or an artist changed things for someone. Seeing a comic book or just seeing an artist for the first time could be life-changing.”

As the number of completed interviews increased, certain patterns emerged. Many of the artists discovered comics later in their lives. Of the ones who grew up reading comic books, they usually started with superheroes and later discovered independent or alternative comics that shifted their directions. 

Of the artists who said there was a time they stopped reading comics or stopped talking about comics, it was almost universally in middle or high school, but he noted an interesting generational divide when artists discussed their college years.

“A lot of these artists are about my age,” said Lupo. “When we were in college in the 90s, you weren't allowed to talk about comics. So if you were somebody who was interested in comics and you had an art faculty member who was OK with it, they had no reference point, so you were on your own.”

“There are a lot of comic book artists that talk about this,” Lupo continued. “Like, if they went to art school, they were shunned and faculty were like, ‘I'm not interested in this. Do what you want,’ because it was seen as a lower art form.”

That taboo—social and academic—has shifted over the years. Lupo’s students have grown up in an era where Star Wars is mainstream and superhero-themed clothing is commonplace. 

When he was an art student, Lupo was nervous about making art that referenced comics. He worried that people wouldn’t “get it” or tell him that he shouldn’t be making that kind of work. 

“Now, you've got people who just make comics, print them on risographs and sell them,” said Lupo. “That just was not something that people were thinking about as a viable option when I was a college student.”

From interviews to exhibition

Once he had collected 20 interviews, Lupo began exploring the idea of a collaborative art exhibition. 

First, secured a venue, Artists Image Resource (AIR) in Pittsburgh, which has partnered with the WVU School of Art and Design for student printmaking shows every year for nearly two decades. 

Then, he began reaching out to the artists he had interviewed. All 20 agreed to provide art for the show and sent two to four of their best works. 

“There are 50 to 60 pieces, so it’s a full show,” said Lupo. “There are 17 to 20 books and zines sitting out on displays that visitors are encouraged to flip through, which I’m really happy about. The rest is framed artwork on the wall—drawings, paintings, prints, collages. Everyone has such a diverse visual language, so the show isn’t monotonous.”

WVU alum Mateo Fuentes, who graduated in 2019 with his BFA in Printmaking, is one of the participating artists. He contributed two pieces to the exhibition: a zine titled “Feelin Far” and a screenprint with mixed media titled “Chaos Apathy Space Age 6,066.”

“The pieces focus on feelings of disconnection, one through a more personal lens and the other leaning into the absurd,” said Fuentes. “They’re both responding to what feels like a constant barrage of negativity and problems and how we can get lost and become apathetic to issues that feel too big to solve.”

Fuentes studied under Lupo, and WVU is where he built the technical foundation that has allowed him to work as a full-time artist. 

“Joe built a focused Printmaking program at WVU that exposes you to the many avenues you could take as a printmaker,” Fuentes said. “For me, printmaking gave me an outlet for the [digital] art I like to make to become physical objects. This meant I could share my artwork with a wider audience instead of it only living in a digital space.”

WVU Associate Professor of Graphic Design Joe Galbreath and WVU alum Kyle West created a full catalogue and individual artist pamphlets to accompany the artwork on exhibit. The materials are housed in a clamshell box that visitors can open and peruse.

Each artist pamphlet includes a short bio, snippets from their interview with Lupo and a QR code that goes to the full online interview. Visitors can read through the pamphlets while they walk through the exhibition but are asked to return them before leaving. 

The full catalogue—or “reader,” as they’re calling it—is a 170-plus page book that contains all of the full-length interviews. Galbreath created an index based on common themes or keywords that appeared across the artists’ responses. The reader is also on display at the exhibition for visitors to page through. 

Funding for the “Not Approved by the Comics Code Authority” exhibition and printed materials is provided by the Myers Foundations. 

Established in 1997 by Colonel Eugene E. Myers and his wife Florence, the Myers Foundations support a wide range of annual initiatives that benefit students and faculty in the School of Art and Design and the whole university community at WVU. These include the purchase of art and design research resources for the WVU Libraries, collection acquisitions for the Art Museum of WVU, exhibitions and lectures by national and international visiting art and design professionals, awards for students taking one of the School’s unique Global Positioning Studies (GPS) courses and awards for faculty to pursue specialized research projects that enhance their teaching. 

“Not Approved by the Comics Code Authority” is on display at the Artist Image Resource in Pittsburgh from July 10 through Aug. 29. All 21 artist interviews, including Lupo’s, can be read at  https://notapprovedcomicscode.com.

Learn more about the WVU School of Art and Design at artanddesign.wvu.edu and follow @WVUArtandDesign on social media.