A wide shot of a ceramics studio, featuring students working with pottery wheels and other tools.

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Anya Pauline Davidson

Lecturer

Contact

Bio

Education: BFA, 2004, School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Exhibitions: Missouri State University, Ohio; Billy Ireland Cartoon Museum, Wisconsin; John Michael Kohler Art Center, Central Connecticut State University, University of Chicago, Chicago; Sullivan Gallery. Books & Publications: School Spirits, Picturebox Inc, 2013. Band For Life, Fantagraphics Books, 2015. Lovers in the Garden, Retrofit Comics, 2016, Best American Comics 2015, The Comics Journal, Mad Magazine, The Fader Magazine, Pitchfork Magazine, VICE, Chicago Reader, Kramers Ergot #8 & #9
Bibliography: Paste Magazine, Bookforum, Globe&Mail, The Comics Journal. Awards and Nominations: Ignatz Award Nominee, Outstanding Online comic, 2014. Outstanding Graphic Novel, 2016.

Personal Statement

I'm a cartoonist, musician and printmaker, and a writer for the Comics Journal. I've been involved with the DIY community in Chicago for many years, and I believe it's important to make the things you want to see in the world without waiting for permission from gatekeepers. My hope is that students come away from my class with the tools to build their art practices outside of institutions.

Courses

Title Department Catalog Term

Description

This team-taught class is an intensive, three-week immersion in comics. The faculty consists of two SAIC faculty members and one visiting-artist-in-residence, working in a studio alongside students. Students work with faculty one-on-one, participate in group critiques, and attend lectures prepared by the faculty members.

Class Number

1240

Credits

3

Description

For over a century, illustrators have used the comics medium to document current events and disseminate information, but due to globalization, the ascent of the graphic novel and the birth of the internet, the practice is now more vital than ever. From global conflicts to cultural events, cartoonists are documenting the defining moments of our era as they happen, and are creating works that help readers comprehend the complex historical, political and cultural forces shaping our world. In this class, students will read classic works of graphic journalism, learn best practices for artists in the field, and create their own short works that explore various aspects of contemporary life in Chicago and beyond.

Class Number

1940

Credits

3

Description

Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy comics began as popular entertainment, intended to sell units on newsstands with lurid cover art and shocking story titles, but artists have always used the genres to investigate such complex topics as identity, illness and the body, and to lay bare the structural forces behind racism, sexism and political oppression. Students will read some classic works as well as a handful of contemporary pieces that use genre as a jumping-off point. Throughout the class, they will make a number of short comics that investigate contemporary life through the lens of the fantastic, to be collected and presented in the form of a printed zine.

Class Number

1659

Credits

3