Syracuse Sun

Two events this summer highlight the scholarly and cultural contributions of College of Arts and Sciences faculty. "Comics: A Nine-Film Series" at The Dryden Theatre in Rochester, New York, will explore comic book adaptations in film. "Canvas: An Exhibition" at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, New York, will juxtapose Indigenous perspectives on land with 19th-century American landscape paintings.

**From Page to Screen**

Comic books and movies have been intertwined for over a century. The first adaptation of a comic to a live-action film was in 1939, featuring Captain Marvel. Fifty faculty members have teamed up with Jared Case, curator of film exhibitions at the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York, for a nine-film series exploring how filmmakers adapt comic books to the screen.

Will Scheibel, professor and department chair of English, and Kendall Phillips, professor in communication and rhetorical studies from the College of Visual and Performing Arts, collaborated with Case on "Beyond the Universe: Comic Books and Film." The series will run from June through August at the Dryden Theatre in Rochester and spotlight films from the past 45 years.

In addition to Marvel and DC Universes popularized over the past 15 years, the series will include adaptations such as “Rocketboy” (1991), “Road to Perdition” (2002), and “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” (2010). It will examine diverse methods filmmakers use to adapt comic book stories to the big screen, focusing on themes and visual expressions essential to comic books.

Admission is $9 for George Eastman Museum members, $12 for nonmembers, $5 for students with ID, and $5 for those aged 17 and under. The full schedule and tickets are available on the Dryden Theatre website.

**In Context: Hudson River School and Indigenous Art**

Scott Manning Stevens, associate professor of Native American and Indigenous Studies, curated an exhibition at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill titled “Native Prospects: Indigeneity and Landscape.” This exhibition explores Indigenous perspectives on land alongside Thomas Cole’s American landscape paintings.

The exhibition contrasts Indigenous views on their homelands with Cole’s European-influenced landscapes. Cole is known as the founder of the Hudson River School of landscape painting.

It features contemporary art by Indigenous artists such as Teresa Baker (Mandan/Hidatsa), Brandon Lazore (Onondaga, Snipe Clan), Truman T. Lowe (Ho-Chunk), Alan Michelson (Mohawk, Six Nations of the Grand River), and Kay WalkingStick (Cherokee). Accompanying essays by Manning Stevensis Karoniaktatsie (Akwesasne Mohawk) and other Indigenous scholars provide additional context.

Stevens directs Syracuse University’s Center for Global Indigenous Cultures and Environmental Justice. The exhibition runs from May 4 to Oct. 27 before moving to Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, Connecticut until early February 2025. It will then be displayed at Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine until July.

For more information, listen to a podcast conversation between Stevens and chief curator Betsy Jacks at Thomas Cole National Historic Site or read Thomas Cole’s “Landscape Painting Through an Indigenous Lens” on Hyperallergic's website.