This weekend, if you’re in Columbus, Ohio or anywhere nearabout, the only place to be is the Jeff Smith: Bone and Beyond exhibit opening at the Wexner Center for the Arts. Of course it contains mucho awesome Jeff Smith art, but there is more:

The exhibition also includes a selection of original comics whose artists Smith cites as direct influences, among them examples from Walt Kelly’s Pogo, Will Eisner’s The Spirit, George Herriman’s Krazy Kat, Charles Schulz’s Peanuts, Carl Barks’s Uncle Scrooge, Garry Trudeau’s Doonesbury, and E. C. Segar’s Thimble Theatre. The exhibition is organized by Lucy Shelton Caswell, professor and curator of Ohio State’s Cartoon Research Library, and David Filipi, the Wexner Center’s curator of film and video. The catalogue features an introduction by Caswell, essays by Filipi, Sandman creator Neil Gaiman, and cartoonist and scholar Scott McCloud, and an extensive and wide-ranging interview/conversation with Jeff Smith, Caswell, and Filip.

A related show, titled Jeff Smith: Before Bone, is on view nearby in Ohio State’s Cartoon Research Library from May 1 until September 5. (The library entrance is just north of the Wexner Center’s main entrance, along the sidewalk under the “grid.”) That exhibition is open 9 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday, and on Saturday, May 10, from 1 to 5 PM. Admission is free.

There are a host of related events, as well, starting this Saturday at 2:

• Jeff Smith and Scott McCloud in Conversation Book signing follows Sat, May 10, 2008 | 2:00PM Mershon Auditorium

• Lucy Shelton Caswell and Dave Filipi on Jeff Smith: Bone and Beyond
Wed, May 14, 2008 | 12:30PM Wexner Center Galleries

In this informal gallery talk, the curators of Jeff Smith: Bone and Beyond talk about the project’s development and selected pieces in the exhibition. Lucy Shelton Caswell is professor and curator of Ohio State’s Cartoon Research Library. Dave Filipi is the Wexner Center’s curator of film and video.

• Terry Moore
Artist’s Talk Book signing follows Thu, May 15, 2008 | 7:00PM Film/Video Theater

• Paul Pope
Artist’s Talk Book signing follows Tue, May 20, 2008 | 7:00PM Film/Video Theater

Bonus: See photos of the show set-up at the Bone blog.

ALSO: Smith talks about the exhibit with Vaneta Rogers.

Technorati Tags: Jeff Smith