For Connecticut native Brian Walker, the evolution of cartooning and the community it creates has been an integral part of life, art and connection to others.
With exhibits and connections across the globe, it’s no wonder that a mind focused on creative marvels has spent a lifetime crafting the careful eye that’s bringing the exhibit The Dog Show: Two Centuries of Canine Cartoons to life in The Ohio State University’s Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum on June 19.
Almost two years in the making, the idea for the exhibit was formulated in 2019 in conversations between co-workers taking a deep dive into the vast stores of information in the OSU cartoon archives. When famed cartoonist Brad Anderson’s family donated the Marmaduke collection to the Billy Ireland Museum, it wasn’t long before Walker began talks with museum curator Jenny Robb.
“That’s how amazing it is,” Walker says. “None of us can truly pinpoint who first came up with the idea. It’s been a cooperative effort since the start.”
The gallery features wall-to-wall installations of pop culture’s favorite canine companions like Snoopy, Garfield, images from The Lady and the Tramp, Scooby Doo, Toy Story and so much more. In addition to the dogs lining the walls and the comic strips that will adorn the exhibit, the experience includes virtual and video elements which allow attendees a deeper immersion into the art.
Walker has a history of collaborative efforts spanning decades before his initial encounters with the staff at OSU. Beginning as a painter fresh out of Tufts University in 1974, Brian began painting the Connecticut mansion owned by his father, Mort Walker. The mansion would go on to become the first ever cartooning museum in the world. In the years to follow the opening of the museum, Brian had opportunities and exhibit openings ranging from downtown Manhattan to Madrid.
“Some people joke that I was born with ink in my veins,” Walker says.
Walker’s father Mort is best known for his comic strip Beetle Bailey which graced newspapers across the country for years. With the influence of comics and cartooning built into his upbringing, it was natural for Walker and his brothers to carry on their father’s legacy after his passing in 2018. It’s Walker’s spirit of creation and connection which brought him to the Billy Ireland Museum in 2013.
Now, eight years later, Walker is a key member of the team at the museum, and he travels between Connecticut and Columbus in order to bring creative works to life. The exhibit is open to the public June 19-Oct. 31 in the Robinson Gallery of the museum from 1-5 p.m.
Also on view at the Billy Ireland Museum from June 19-Oct. 31 is Into the Swamp: The Social and Political Satire of Walt Kelly’s Pogo, located in the Friends of the Library Gallery.
Alyssa Burley is an editorial assistant. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
