MIAMI, Oct. 27, 2009 – Miami-Dade College’s Art Gallery System (AGS) and the Miami Book Fair International have joined forces to present two unique exhibitions that celebrate both the visual and literary arts at 6 p.m. on Nov. 4, 2009 at the Wolfson Campus Centre Gallery in downtown Miami. A special component of this year’s Book Fair, scheduled for Nov. 8-15, 2009, both exhibitions will feature illustrations from their respective novels.

The Photographer: Into War-Torn Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders is a unique exhibition of photos and illustrations from the best-selling and highly praised graphic novel of the same name. The exhibition offers a sample of the book that combines the late photojournalist Didier Lefevre’s dramatic images and graphic novelist Emmanuel Guibert’s stunning artwork to bear witness to the hardships endured by the Afghan people throughout the Afghan-Soviet conflict and the present day.

This exhibition will give audiences a glimpse of how the book went from an idea born of a conversation in a Paris apartment to a fully illustrated narrative in graphic novel format. By combining original photography used to inspire the novel, and the illustrations used in the book, this exhibition will give the visitor an insight into how one photojournalist’s journey into war-torn Afghanistan can be translated into a format for the entire world to experience.

The second exhibition opening on the same evening is the Color of Comics, a definitive study of one of the comic culture’s favorite formats, the evolution of the comic book as a potent form of narrative art is revealed.  Simply put, this exhibition exists as an effort to illuminate the diversity of characters of color in comic art.  Through the characters may be African, Africa-American, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, Middle Eastern and so forth, their creators may not be.  Knowledge of the diversity behind the comic book panels is often elusive, or ignored.

Color of Comics is a unique opportunity to better understand not only the aesthetics but also the vocabulary for evaluating the art of the comic with insights that are especially valuable, demonstrating how words and pictures  function together to tell stories in ways unique to the medium. 

For a complete listing of all Miami Book Fair International events, including these exhibitions, visit http://www.miamibookfair.com/.

WHAT:  Miami Dade College's Art Gallery System and Miami Book Fair International Collaborate to Present Two Exhibitions, The Photographer and Color of Comics

WHERE:   Centre Gallery, Miami Dade College, Wolfson campus, 300 N.E. Second Avenue, Building 1, Room 1365

WHEN:     Wednesday, Nov. 4, 6-8 p.m. opening reception

Exhibit open through January 22, 2010, Tuesday-Friday, 12 - 5 p.m.

For more information about this exhibition or MDC’s Art Gallery System, call 305-237-7700.