Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse

Southeast US Premiere

This fascinating documentary explores the extraordinary life and groundbreaking work of Art Spiegelman, the Queens-born artist who transformed comics into a powerful medium for exploring profound and often harrowing themes. Best known for Maus—his Pulitzer Prize-winning Holocaust narrative hailed by the New York Public Library as one of the 125 most important books of the last 125 years—Spiegelman's body of work also includes In the Shadow of No Towers, Breakdowns, and The Wild Party.

Featuring vivid illustrations from his comics and insights into his provocative New Yorker covers, the film delves into Spiegelman's creative journey, shaped by his Holocaust-survivor parents and his love for MAD Magazine's irreverent satire. It also highlights his role as a fierce advocate for free speech, stepping into the spotlight to defend against book bans and censorship after Maus was controversially removed from a Tennessee school curriculum in 2022.

Through candid interviews and rare archival material, Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse offers a portrait of an artist who confronts both historical and contemporary fascism with unwavering wit and intellect. As one of the nation’s leading public intellectuals, Spiegelman demonstrates the power of art to illuminate our personal and collective histories, making sense of a turbulent world with his chosen medium of comics.