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Art Spiegelman

アート・スピーゲルマン

Aato Supīgeruman

Pen Names:

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1948-02-15 （Stockholm, Sweden）
Nationality
American
Languages
English
Religion
Judaism (non-practicing)
Residence History
Stockholm (birth) → New York City (long-term residence) → San Francisco (1970s)

Career

Occupations
cartoonist, editor, teacher, comics advocate
Active Years
1960-2025
Affiliations
School of Visual Arts (faculty, 1978–1987), The New Yorker (contributing artist, 1992–2003)
Memberships
American Academy of Arts and Letters (member, 2015)
Influenced By
Harvey Kurtzman, Will Eisner, Justin Green, Franz Kafka (literature), Wordless woodcut novels (e.g., Frans Masereel)
Influenced
Chris Ware, Marjane Satrapi, Scott McCloud

Education

High School of Art and Design
Period: 1963–1965
Year of Graduation: 1965
Country: United States
Attended high school in Manhattan for art education
Harpur College (now Binghamton University)
Art and Philosophy (studies)
Period: 1965–1968
Year of Graduation: 1968
Country: United States
Left studies early due to a nervous breakdown

Awards

Pulitzer Prize (Special Award)
1992
Work: Maus
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board
Result: 受賞
Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême
2011
Organization: Angoulême International Comics Festival
Result: 受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
1990
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
Edward MacDowell Medal
2018
Organization: MacDowell
Result: 受賞
Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
2022
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 受賞（発表）
Great Immigrants Award
2020
Organization: Carnegie Corporation of New York
Result: 受賞
National Jewish Book Award
2011
Work: MetaMaus
Organization: National Jewish Book Council
Result: 受賞
Yellow Kid Award
1982
Category: 外国人作家部門
Organization: Lucca Comics & Games
Result: 受賞
Inkpot Award
1987
Organization: Comic-Con International
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Maus: A Survivor's Tale

1991 Graphic novel / Biography / Memoir 296 pages

A graphic memoir based on Spiegelman's father's Holocaust experiences, depicting Jews as mice and Germans as cats. The book examines family history, memory, and trauma and took about 13 years to complete.

Holocaustmemoryfamilytraumaidentity
Adaptations
  • [Documentary (TV)] Art Spiegelman's Maus (documentary) (1987)
Translations
  • Maus (Japanese translation)

Breakdowns

1977 Collection / experimental comics 192 pages

A collection of early experimental and autobiographical strips, some of which influenced Spiegelman's later editorial and printing decisions.

autobiographyformal experimentationchallenge to form

In the Shadow of No Towers

2004 Graphic novel / Essay 64 pages

A response to the September 11 attacks reflecting autobiographical reaction and political satire; published as an oversized board book of two-page spreads.

9/11political satirepersonal response

Bibliography

  • Tijuana Bibles: Art and Wit in America's Forbidden Funnies, 1930s-1950s (Introductory Essay)
  • Breakdowns (1977; expanded edition 2008)
  • Maus (serialized in Raw 1980s; completed 1991)
  • Open Me, I'm A Dog (1995)
  • Jack Cole and Plastic Man: Forms Stretched to Their Limits (2001)
  • In the Shadow of No Towers (2004)
  • MetaMaus (2011)
  • Co-Mix: A Retrospective of Comics, Graphics, and Scraps (2013)
  • Street Cop (with Robert Coover, 2021)

Adaptations

  • Art Spiegelman's Maus (1987 ZDF–BBC documentary)
  • Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse (biographical documentary, premiered 2024)

Translations by Author

  • Lynd Ward: Six Novels in Woodcuts (edited with introduction and annotations, 2010)

Translations of Works

  • Maus (translated into multiple languages, including Japanese)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
diagrammatic visual languageconcise, heavily revised dialogueexperimental and formalist
Recurring Motifs
Holocaust and memoryfamily relationships (father-son)trauma and retellingtime and recursion

Health

  • Amblyopia (lazy eye; reduced stereoscopic depth perception)
    生涯（幼少期から）
    Lacks depth perception; Spiegelman has said this physical limitation influenced his visual style.

Legacy

Maus is widely credited with bringing the graphic novel into mainstream literary and artistic discourse. Spiegelman has also influenced the comics field as an editor and teacher, mentoring many younger artists and promoting comics literacy.

Museums

  • Museum of Modern Art, New York (hosted exhibitions featuring Maus) New York City, United States Opened in 1929

Academic Societies

  • comics studies community
  • American Academy of Arts and Letters (member)

Archives

  • Sketches, notes and materials have been preserved and exhibited by various museums and university collections

In Popular Culture

  • Appearances in documentaries and TV, New Yorker covers, cameo on The Simpsons

Quotes

  • “All comic-strip drawings must function as diagrams, simplified picture-words that indicate more than they show.”
    Source: Art Spiegelman

Trivia

  • Born in Stockholm, Sweden, but raised mainly in New York.
  • Maus received a special Pulitzer citation in 1992 and is cited as pivotal for graphic novels.
  • His wife Françoise Mouly co-edited Raw with him and is a noted designer/editor.