Past Film/Video | Contemporary Screen | Series & Festivals

The Living Book

(Erin Cosgrove, 2021)

Stream | World Premiere

An image of a cartoon figure with a red beard and yellow, frizzy hair. Behind the figure are several gray tubes, each with a person inside.
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Sep 30, 2021–Oct 14, 2021
Online

STREAMS ON THIS PAGE
Free for all audiences

Click here to view our latest COVID-19 safety protocols.

We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to engage fully. If you have questions about accessibility or require an accommodation such as captioning or ASL interpretation to participate in this event, please contact Accessibility Manager Helyn Marshall at accessibility@wexarts.org or via telephone at (614) 688–3890. Requests made by two weeks in advance will generally allow us to provide seamless access, but the Wexner Center for the Arts will make every effort to meet requests made after this date.

Become a Member

We're excited to host the world premiere of Erin Cosgrove's hilarious new animated work, The Living Book, as part of Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC).

Acclaimed artist and animator Erin Cosgrove’s work often represents a collision of disparate subjects (the militant Baader-Meinhof group and romance novels, for example) that reveal a dark sense of humor and a dizzying array of influences. Her latest animation, The Living Book, follows the survivors of an apocalyptic disaster as they search space for a home for their cargo of frozen children, all while trying to rebuild their culture’s database from memory after the files are corrupted. (80 mins., digital video)

Watch a conversation with Cosgrove starting September 30.

Cosgrove’s work has been exhibited at such venues as the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Printed Matter, New York; and The Museum of Modern Art, New York. She has received grants and fellowships from The John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, Creative Capital, and The Jerome Foundation, among other sources. She introduced a selection of her films at the Wex in November 2010.

This year’s CXC festival features both virtual and in-person events presented by Ohio State’s Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, Columbus College of Art & Design, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus Metropolitan Library, and the Wexner Center. Visit cartooncrossroadscolumbus.org for a complete festival schedule.

Read more
Interview: “Erin Cosgrove’s New Animation Puts Culture in Space,” Creative Capital

An image of a cartoon figure with a red beard and yellow, frizzy hair. Behind the figure are several gray tubes, each with a person inside.

The Living Book | Image courtesy of the artist

Two cartoon figures, one in an all green bodysuit with a red beard and yellow frizzy hair. This figure is being held from behind by another figure with dark hair and dark eyes. They wear an all pink body suit.

The Living Book | Image courtesy of the artist

A colorful animated still of a figure with six arms, each of them holding a cat.

The Living Book | Image courtesy of the artist

A figure with dark hair and a pink body suit hunches over looking at a sign that reads "Alone Room Keep Out"

The Living Book | Image courtesy of the artist

Tag(s)

FILM/VIDEO PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY
Cardinal Health
Kaufman Development

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Rohauer Collection Foundation

FILM/VIDEO STUDIO SUPPORTED IN PART BY
National Endowment for the Arts

WEXNER CENTER PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY
The Wexner Family
Greater Columbus Arts Council
The Columbus Foundation
Ohio Arts Council
American Electric Power Foundation
Adam Flatto
Mary and C. Robert Kidder
Bill and Sheila Lambert
L Brands Foundation
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Nationwide Foundation
Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease
Arlene and Michael Weiss

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Carol and David Aronowitz
Michael and Paige Crane
Pete Scantland
Axium Packaging
Bocchi Laboratories
Fenwick & West LLP
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
President Kristina M. Johnson and Mrs. Veronica Meinhard
KDC/ONE
Nancy Kramer
M/I Homes
Voyant Beauty
Huntington
Lisa Barton
Regina Miracle International Ltd.
Washington Prime Group
Alene Candles
Fuel Transport
Russell and Joyce Gertmenian
Liza Kessler and Greg Henchel
Matrix Psychological Services
Paramount Group, Inc.
Ron and Ann Pizzuti
Joyce and Chuck Shenk
Bruce and Joy Soll
Clark and Sandra Swanson
Business Furniture Installations
CASTO
E.C. Provini Co, Inc.
Garlock Printing & Converting
Jones Day
M-Engineering
New England Development
Our Country Home
Performance Team
Premier Candle Corporation
ProAmpac
Steiner + Associates
Textile Printing
Andrew and Amanda Wise

More from this year's Cartoon Crossroads Columbus

Erin Cosgrove stands in front of a wood fence outside
Past Artist Talks

Erin Cosgrove in Conversation

with David Filipi
Thu, Sep 30, 2021 - Thu, Nov 11, 2021
An image of Elsa Charretier and Matt Fraction
Past Artist Talks

Elsa Charretier and Matt Fraction in Conversation

with David Filipi
Thu, Sep 30, 2021 - Thu, Nov 11, 2021
An image of a woman with dark hair and wearing a scarf and an image of the cover of Trots and Bonnie
Past Artist Talks

Spotlight on Shary Flenniken

In conversation with Rachel Miller
Fri, Oct 01, 2021 - Fri, Oct 01, 2021
Jeff Smith wearing eyeglasses and a black t-shirt. His hair is longer and falls to the bottom of his neck. To the left is a black and white image of the comic Tuki
Past Artist Talks

Jeff Smith in Conversation

Tuki, Bone, and 30 Years of Cartoon Books
Fri, Oct 01, 2021 - Fri, Oct 01, 2021
Close

Past Film/Video

The Living Book

Sep 30, 2021–Oct 14, 2021
Wednesday's Hours 10AM–6PM
Online

STREAMS ON THIS PAGE
Free for all audiences

Click here to view our latest COVID-19 safety protocols.

We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to engage fully. If you have questions about accessibility or require an accommodation such as captioning or ASL interpretation to participate in this event, please contact Accessibility Manager Helyn Marshall at accessibility@wexarts.org or via telephone at (614) 688–3890. Requests made by two weeks in advance will generally allow us to provide seamless access, but the Wexner Center for the Arts will make every effort to meet requests made after this date.

Become a Member