Rude Britannia on the road at Bestival and Big Chill festivals

(with thanks to French Kiss Vintage for the news tip): As well as the 'static' exhibition in London, Tate Britain's Rude Britannia exhibition has been on tour this Summer, and there are workshops and other events planned at two more festivals in the next few weeks.

• Camp Bestival (Ludworth Castel, Dorset, 30th July – 1st August): 

Listen to an informal lecture by curator Cedar Lewisohn which explores the links between art and humour past and present. Inspired by Tate Britain's exhibition Rude Britannia: British Comic Art the lecture will ask can art be funny? And if it can, what are the jokes about? There will also be a selection of films from the exhibition Rude Britannia: British Comic Art, jointly selected by Tate curators and comedian Harry Hill.  The programme includes works by artists including Oliver Michael and Edwina Ashton, who tells the story of twig that works in a Library!

• The Big Chill (Eastnor Castle, Deer Park Hertfordshire, 5- 8 August): In the Words in Motion tent Tate Britain curator, Cedar Lewisohn and artist Doug Fishbone present a talk outlining the history, vision and artists of Rude Britannia. The event includes  life drawing inspired by Benny Hill and the like!

Rude Britannia at Tate Britain, London charts the evolution of British Comic art, encompassing drawings, sculpture and film from the 1600's through to modern day and runs until 5th September 2010. Admission is £10, concessions £6.

• More info at: www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/britishcomicart/default.shtm

• Tate Britain is at Millbank, London SW1P 4RG. Tel: 020 7887 8888 E-mail: visiting.britain@tate.org.uk. Web: www.tate.org.uk/britain/. Entry is free except for major exhibitions. Open every day 10.00–18.00. Last admission to exhibitions

Rude Britannia Competition Winners

The lucky winners of our Rude Britannia book competition - marking the launch of the Rude Britannia Exhibition at Tate Britain in London - were Chris Williams from Liverpool; Paul B. Rainey, from Milton Keynes; and David Humphreys from Crawley.

Congratulations to the winners and commiserations to our many entrants, all of whom correctly nited that Steve Bell's If appears in The Guardian.

Rude Britannia: British Comic Art by Martin Myrone, Tim Batchelor and Cedar Lewisohn can be purchased from the Tate Britain shop for the exhibition price of £17.99 until 5th September 2010.

This 160 page, entertaining and irreverent history - featuring 100 colour illustrations - aims to present a wide-screen vision of comic art, from the eighteenth century to the present day, it features works by classic cartoonists and caricaturists, from Gillray, Rowlandson and Cruikshank, to Steve Bell, Robert Crumb, David Low and Ronald Searle. Beginning with the origins of the caricature, the book encompasses cartoons, comic books, film, photography, audio, new media and contemporary art. It traces the development of different genres and techniques, and deals with the development of successive media, from the engraving through to the newspaper and the online blog.

Through extensive illustrations of classic and little-known facets of comic art, the book succeeds in telling an alternative history of Britain. Leading critics are joined by well-known comedians, cartoonists and historians, making this a very contemporary take on what is still a rich and vibrant seam in the public life of the nation.

• More about the book here on the Tate Britain web site


• Rude Britannia runs until 5th September at Tate Britain is at Millbank, London SW1P 4RG. Tel: 020 7887 8888 E-mail: visiting.britain@tate.org.uk. Web: www.tate.org.uk/britain/. Entry is free except for major exhibitions: Entrance to Rude Britannia is £10, Concessions £6. Open every day 10.00–18.00.

Tube Surfing: Dez Skinn, Fanzines Galore and Simone Lia

Right, what's happening out there...

Lew Stringer's ace comics blog informs us that Dez Skinn has a new website. Dez was, of course, the man behind such titles as Warrior, Comics International and Doctor Who Weekly (still with us as Doctor Who Magazine).

Warwick Johnson Cadwell has posted his ace A.B.C Warriors strip from new 2000 AD fanzine, Nu Earth online at his blog. Warwick sent me a copy of the fanzine and I have to say it's, well, zarjaz. Will Kirkby has done the same with the pencils for his cracking contribution, a fab Rogue Trooper strip. Tharg, employ these men now!!!

Paul Gravett's new article about and interview with cartoonist Simone Lia is well worth checking out. In the interview, Simone talks about various topics, including her new work-in-progress, a graphic novel about her relationship with God:

"I was passing through Leicester Square almost three years ago and the bubbling inspiration came to me and I had a fuzzy vision of the completed story whilst standing near a red telephone box," she explains. "I was so excited and happy to be suddenly inspired again, I had a sense the book would be about an adventure with God. When it came to starting the work however I really didn’t know how to go about having an adventure with God and how I might show it in a comic. Showing that relationship is such a personal thing. Part of me definitely did not want to open that up for everyone to see but the feeling to make the book didn’t go away. It’s been taking a long time to produce partly because of that uncertainty of depicting this personal area of my life and also because the story in real life has had to unravel."

Paul also sends word of an opportunity for creators of humorous zines and comics to have their work displayed in the reading room at Tate Britain as part of their Rude Britannia exhibition.

Here's the skinny, from the Tate's website:

"Help us curate the reading room of the Rude Britannia exhibition with an array of humorous fanzines, comics and home made publications. Rude Britannia: British Comic Art celebrates all that is comical, satirical, political, absurd and bawdy in British art from 1600s to today and we would like you to respond to these themes. The best fanzines will be selected by curator Cedar Lewisohn and placed in the exhibition space for a period of time. Please only send publications that you think are funny. We will notify you if your publication has been selected, but we cannot commit to sending your publication back to you."

And finally, small press comics news blog Bugpower draws our attention to another opportunity for self-publishers:

"Cerebus.TV are starting a "Small Press Comics Focus" feature, and they are looking for submissions for future episodes. Email indie@exoss.net for details. You can see a promo for the first one HERE. The 'pilot' has been put together by the guys at Cerebus.tv and features the minicomics of Dan Fish (Hey, that's ME). It appears as part of Episode 30, which streams online starting Friday 18th June and 24/7 all week long."

Culture Show Discusses Comics Tonight

Just a quick 'heads-up' to advise you to tune into tonight's The Culture Show on BB2 (at 7.00pm, repeated at 12.20am Friday morning). The programme will be exploring "the past, present and post-election future of British comic art" which is the focus of a new exhibition, Rude Britannia: British Comic Art at the Tate which opens on 9th June.

And if that's not enough to persuade fans of all things cult to tune in, they're also be a Noel Clarke interview (that's Mickey from Doctor Who) in which the writer, actor and director will be discussing his latest film, 4,3,2,1.

Put together with some the country’s best-known cartoonists and comedy writers, Rude Britannia: British Comic Art at the Tate explores British comic art from the 1600s to the present day and the exhibition also includes a number of special events, detailed on its dedicated web site. Bringing together a wide array of paintings, sculptures, film and photography, as well as graphic art and comic books, the exhibition celebrates a rich history of cartooning and visual jokes.

The room on the Absurd is curated by comedian Harry Hill, and includes such diverse materials as Alice in Wonderland illustrations, David Shrigley’s sculpture, and films by Edwina Ashton and Oliver Michaels. Within the Bawdy, Donald McGill’s 'smutty' seaside postcards, can be seen with works by artists as different as Aubrey Beardsley, Sarah Lucas, and Grayson Perry.

The rooms exploring Politics, Social Satire and Cruikshank's Victorian masterpiece The Worship of Bacchus, have been put together with Gerald Scarfe, Steve Bell, and the cartoonists from Viz. These show the power of comic art as a form of social and political commentary throughout history, from satires of Georgian society by Rowlandson and Gillray to Spitting Image's damning Thatcher puppet.

Looking at comedy that is both timeless and of-its-time, Rude Britannia contrasts contemporary artists such as Angus Fairhurst with key historical pieces, and covers everything from Hogarth to the YBAs.

Gasp, cringe, or have a sly chuckle: Rude Britannia will certainly cause a reaction. See politicians brought down to size and the great and the good exposed; blush at the saucy postcards and laugh out loud at the slapstick fun - but watch out for that banana skin!

• BBC Culture Show: www.bbc.co.uk/cultureshow

• Tate Britain is at Millbank, London SW1P 4RG. Tel: 020 7887 8888 E-mail: visiting.britain@tate.org.uk. Web: www.tate.org.uk/britain/. Entry is free except for major exhibitions: Entrance to Rude Britannia is £10, Concessions £6. Open every day 10.00–18.00. Last admission to exhibitions