Figueres museum opens "D'Empúries a Spiderman" comic show
The Museu de l'Empordà in Figueres is opening a new exhibition on the history of comics in the region. "D'Empúries a Spiderman. Narratives gràfiques a la perifèria" (From Empúries to Spiderman. Graphic narratives on the periphery) looks at how comics have been created, read and set in the Empordà, far from the big publishing cities.
The official opening is this Saturday, 3 October, at 11am. Catalonia's culture minister, Sònia Hernández, and the mayor of Figueres, Jordi Masquef, are expected to attend. The show runs until 10 January.
From Capitán Trueno to fanzines
The exhibition is curated by M. Mercè Cuartiella and Joan Manuel Soldevilla. It covers the long tradition of graphic storytelling in the Empordà, from its earliest forms to contemporary comics.
On display are publications from different periods and styles. They range from well-known characters such as El Capitán Trueno to alternative, self-published work, including the fanzines Pus de iaia and Empordà Funeral.
The project was presented to the press at the museum by Mariona Seguranyes, the town's culture councillor, museum director Eduard Bech and the two curators.
Two ways of looking at the Empordà
The curators approach the subject from two angles. The first looks from the inside. It shows how a region on the edge of the main publishing centres still took an active part in comic culture, both as a place where people read comics and as a place where they were made. Global shifts in the history of comics also reached the Empordà, but local creators added their own forms, projects and sensibilities.
The second angle looks from the outside. It examines how authors with no link to the area have used the Empordà as a setting for their stories. In these works, the region often appears through familiar clichés.
A broad idea of comics
The exhibition takes a wide view of what graphic narrative means. According to the museum, telling stories through images and text goes back long before modern comics. Examples include prehistoric art, Greek and Roman vases and mosaics, medieval altarpieces, Aztec stones, the Bayeux Tapestry and the "auques", traditional Catalan picture sheets with rhyming captions.
The modern comic strip emerged at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, with industrialisation and new technology. It became a mass medium, closely tied to large cities where publishers were based.
The show challenges that idea. It argues that the comic world has become much less centralised in recent decades. The Empordà is given as an example: one of the country's leading comic publishers is based in the region, and it publishes internationally known characters such as Superman and Spiderman.
Talks, tours and a study day
The museum has prepared a programme of activities alongside the exhibition. The curators will lead guided tours on 10 October (12pm), 13 November (4pm), 21 November (12pm) and 12 December (12pm).
On 14 November at 6pm, Toni Benages-Gallard and Ricard Martín Cortada will present their comic "L'altre Empordà". On 19 November at 7pm, Pere Parramon will give a talk on gender identity among comic book heroes.
A professional study day, "El còmic: noves mirades des de l'acadèmia, els museus i la recerca", will also take place. It is the result of an agreement signed a year ago between Figueres City Council and the University of Girona's chair of contemporary art and culture. Sessions will be held in Girona on 12 November at 5.30pm and in Figueres on 13 November from 9.30am to 2pm.
The day will discuss how comics are entering museums, universities and cultural spaces as objects of study and conservation. It is aimed mainly at museum, cultural management, research and teaching professionals, but the general public is also welcome. Entry is free, with prior registration at cacc@udg.edu.
Our Take
For readers in Empuriabrava and Castelló d'Empúries, this is an easy autumn outing that needs no knowledge of Catalan comics to enjoy. The title itself links the ancient Greek site of Empúries with a modern superhero, and that suggests a show designed to reach a wide audience.
It also fits a busy cultural season in Figueres, which has recently seen a well-attended magic festival and an open day at the castle. The town appears keen to build its profile beyond the Dalí museum.
It is worth watching whether the university partnership leads to more comic-related projects in the area, and how many international visitors the show draws before it closes on 10 January.