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Eric Reynolds on Paul Hornschemeier Show at Fantagraphics Book Store (PR)
posted July 17, 2007
 

Contact: Eric Reynolds
[email protected]
206.524.1967 x218

For immediate release:

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS PRESENTS:

"ADVENTURES IN WELTSCHMERZ: COMIC ART BY PAUL HORNSCHEMEIER"

Fantagraphics is proud to celebrate the release of Chicago artist Paul Hornschemeier's long-awaited graphic novel, THE THREE PARADOXES

(Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2007) with a month-long exhibition of Hornschemeier's artwork and an opening night reception with the artist at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood on Saturday, August 4th.

The exhibition is titled "Adventures in Weltschmerz." The exhibition includes original pages from The Three Paradoxes as well as work from Let Us Be Perfectly Clear, the short stories collection published by Fantagraphics in 2006. Hornschemeier's work is defined by its formal experimentation and emotional tone, weaving interconnected visual styles, playing with traditional comic book tropes, and using color as a crucial narrative tool. All of these devices are used to bolster his emotional & philosophical concerns in a fairly direct, though subtle, manner.

The writer JONATHAN LETHEM states, "Hornschemeier doesn't resolve the tension between the ironic and confessional poles in his work, he exploits it. Beautifully. The result hums with brilliance." The public is invited to meet this extraordinary artist at a festive reception on Saturday, August 4 from 6:00 to 8:00PM. Admission is free.

LISTING INFORMATION:

WHAT: "Adventures in Weltschmerz: Comic Art by Paul Hornschemeier"

WHEN: Opening receiption Saturday, August 4, 6:00 -- 8:00PM.
Exhibition continues through August 29, 2007.

WHERE: Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale St.
Seattle, WA
206.658.0110
http://www.fantagraphics.com/bookstore.html
Open daily from 11:30AM – 8:00PM, Sundays until 5:00PM

Hornschemeier's new book, The Three Paradoxes -- which he will be signing at the event -- is an intricate and complex autobiographical comic about the nature of personal change, leaping forward and backward through time, revolving around the events surrounding a beating near a funeral home when Paul was in fifth grade. Amid these temporal bounces and stylistic shifts, we are taken many places, including the time of Zeno and the pre-Socratic philosophers, where we abruptly dissect Zeno and Parmenides' relationship and their refutation of the existence of change. And with each step Paul takes on his journey, he gets closer -- and yet somehow not -- to figuring out how to end his story. This is one of the major graphic novel releases of 2007.

A selection of digital imagery is available for publication. Additional information on Hornschemeier can be found at www.forlornfunnies.com. To arrange an interview with the artist, or obtain any other info, contact Eric Reynolds at the number above