Art 2022

We at the Geek/Art CONfluence are especially focused on art and creativity in geek culture. See here for last year’s artwork and exhibitions.

Syracuse Art Museum

This year we are pleased to connect once again with the Syracuse University Art Museum. They are extending the length of their exhibition on New Yorker cartoonist Mary Petty, one of the few women cartoonists of her era, so that visitors to the CON can see the show. See Mary Petty; A Reader’s Privilege, A Woman’s Place at the Syracuse Art Museum, right next to the CON’s space off the Galleria in the Shaffer Art Building at Syracuse University. The Museum will be open from 10am-4pm the day of the CON.

Biblio Gallery

The Biblio Gallery in Syracuse University’s Bird Library is currently featuring an exhibition of student work with a geek art theme from March 10-April 10. This exhibition is both in-person at the library and online.

Pictures of the students’ excellent work, and the official statement regarding the show, are below. Click on the artwork to for the artists’ name and title. Markus Denil’s plate was accidentally damaged during installation and has been temporarily removed from the physical location.

A woman's black wig and dripping blood float on a tan background, reminiscent of Mia Wallace from Pulp Fiction.

Characters from history speak in different languages in this series of comic panels.

Astronauts example a giant mechanical face in an image washed with muted reds, purples, and blues.

A colorful comic page featuring people leading a gorilla in a shirt around an elementary school.

A porcelain plate with Pokemon symbols arrayed around the edges.

A young woman in a gossamer dress holds a glowing light between her hands as a wolf looks on.

A stark black and white comics page featuring an action scene in an enclosed space.

A comics cover showing a mannikin-like woman with purple hair helping a man in ropes.

Furiosa from Mad Max, drawn in edgy black and white on a tan background.

Art from the Geek/Art CONfluence
The Geek/Art CONfluence is a comic con which will be held in the Shaffer Art Building at Syracuse University on Sunday, March 27 from 10am-6pm.
It celebrates the enthusiastic creativity, skill, and thoughtfulness that springs from geek culture. Every year, the CON features talks by students, faculty, and professionals about geek culture, as well as vendors, activities, games, and cosplay. The CON is especially interested showing off the artistic nature of fandom and upholding its diverse and inclusive nature.
In addition to the various forms of art found at the CON—performance, cosplay, comics, and vendors’ crafts and designs—the CON also builds ties to traditional expressions and venues for art. Here, nine SU students exhibit their artwork, which derives from and reflects the joys of geek culture.
Here you will find images of personally-designed and existing commercial characters, some representing iconic illustrations of brands you know and love and some reimagined to create new spaces for interpretation. You will see stories that are told in classic comics panels, by turns humorous and dramatic, and ambiguous scenes resembling dreamscapes.
Yuanjing Chu, Markus Denil, Ahyana Gaskins, Brian Hall, Atagun Ilhan, Anastasia Powell, Braeden Raymer, Siobhan Rogers-Harrington, and Feimo Zhu all make works that show the confluence between art and geek culture; enjoy the art and the culture it springs from.