This all-day event of lectures and panel discussions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City brings together leading international scholars, critics, and designers to discuss the world of costumes and comics, spurred by the museum's exhibit "Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy," on display through September 1. Themes include the appropriation of the uniform, the adaptation of superhero costumes for the screen, the creation of modern mythologies, and the role of the superhero as metaphor in contemporary society.
Lectures:
10 a.m. "E Pluribus Unitard: Notes toward a Theory of Superhero Costuming:" Peter Coogan, director, The Institute for Comics Studies.
10:30 a.m. Writers Panel: Danny Fingeroth, author, DISGUISED AS CLARK KENT: JEWS, COMICS, AND THE CREATION OF THE SUPERHERO; Richard Reynolds, author, SUPER HEROES: A MODERN MYTHOLOGY; and Paul Levitz, president and publisher, DC Comics.
11:45 a.m. "The Boys in the Hoods: The Costumed Vigilante as Urban Dandy." Scott Bukatman, associate professor, Department of Art and Art History, Stanford University.
2 p.m. Costume Designers Panel: Geoff Klock, assistant professor, Borough of Manhattan Community College; Adi Granov and Phil Saunders, illustrators and concept designers, IRON MAN; and Gordon Smith, costume designer, X-MEN films.
3 p.m. Artists Panel: Alex Ross, comic artist; Stanford Carpenter, assistant professor, Visual and Critical Studies, School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
4 p.m. " The Gods of Greece, Rome, and Egypt Still Exist—Only Today They Wear Spandex and Capes!," Michael Uslan, executive producer, THE DARK KNIGHT.
Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 5th Avenue & 82nd Street, New York, New York.
All programs are in The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium and are free with museum admission. Note that visitors in costume will not be admitted to the museum.
No reservations or tickets are required. For more information, contact lectures@metmuseum.org or call 212-396-5460.
