American comics author Alison Bechdel (*1960) became known to a wide audience through her graphic novel and “New York Times” bestseller “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic,” published in 2006. This masterpiece, which was named Book of the Year by “Time” magazine in 2006 and went on to achieve worldwide success, focuses on Bechdel’s family history and relationship with her father, which was shaped by his repressed bisexuality.
Six years later, her second autobiographical story, “Are You My Mother?—A Comic Drama,” shed light on her complex and confusing relationship with her mother. Both are touching books, with references to classic literature, incorporation of psychological findings, and clever analysis characterized by honesty, insight, and humor. Bechdel is also the author of the queer comic strip “Dykes to Watch Out For,” which first appeared in 1983. Readers of this intelligent and witty soap opera follow the everyday lives of a group of friends in a medium-sized city in the United States. The experiences of the mostly lesbian friends and some befriended males are sophisticatedly interwoven with social and political themes. This comic strip also introduced what later became known as the “Bechdel-Wallace test,” a tongue-in-cheek way to assess gender stereotypes in cinema: A film is sexist if it does not feature at least two separate female characters talking to each other about something other than men.
Cartoonmuseum Basel is presenting Europe’s first ever major retrospective on this artist, whose accolades include the Eisner Award. Striking ink drawings from all Bechdel’s works are complemented by originals from her recently published autofictional graphic novel “Spent,” in which old acquaintances from her comic universe appear and her alter ego deals with the question of whether an ethical life is possible under capitalism. Preliminary works, photographs, films, and references to the history of Switzerland’s gay and lesbian movement round off the exhibition.

Website
cartoonmuseum.ch/en/ausstellungen/alison-bechdel

Where
Cartoonmuseum Basel
St. Alban-Vorstadt 28
4052 Basel

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