The de Young museum recently opened a new exhibition, the first major manga exhibition in the United States. The exhibit is impressively expansive, featuring over 600 drawings and bringing works from multiple publishing houses together in one exhibition. Art of Manga focuses on the creation process behind manga, with sketches and tools from artists.
Manga is a type of Japanese comic book and graphic novel that has become popular around the world. The word manga dates back to the 18th century, translating to “pictures run riot,” and the first key developmental phase of manga started in the 1890s. Today, many popular works have been translated into numerous languages, and some of the most successful stories, such as One Piece, have sold hundreds of millions of copies worldwide.
“Captivating millions around the world with dynamic graphic narratives, manga is one of the most significant visual media of our time,” said Thomas P.Campbell, Director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.“San Francisco has long been a gateway for Japanese cultural exchange in the United States, and we are delighted to honor this legacy by showcasing the artistry and power of contemporary Japanese narrative art in Art of Manga.
While the exhibit promises to be particularly interesting to devoted manga readers, it also welcomes manga novices, with the first gallery acting as a brief introduction to the graphic novels. The room illustrates how to read manga (right to left), and the walls define standard manga terms. The expansive exhibition includes some of the genre’s most iconic works, including One Piece by Eiichiro Oda. After exploring the galleries covered in beautiful artworks displayed on the museum’s walls, visitors are invited to interact with the works as originally intended, hold them in their hands, and read. The de Young has included a manga reading room, stocked with all the works in the exhibition, and comfortable seating for reading.
In a separate section of the museum, you can explore a part of the exhibition showing the print-making process for manga. The room is just off the Wilsey Court, and visitors do not need a separate Art of Manga Ticket to enter.
You can reserve tickets for Art of Manga at the de Young museum here.