Twenty-two years after the release of his Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel MAUS, Art Spiegelman makes his exclusive Australian debut with Wordless!, an innovative hybrid of slides, talk and musical performance created with acclaimed jazz composer Phillip Johnston.

In his Pulitzer prize-winning masterpiece, MAUS-a moving father-son memoir about the Holocaust drawn with cats and mice - Art Spiegelman changed the definition of comics forever. In WORDLESS!, a brand new and stimulating hybrid of slides, talk and musical performance exclusively commissioned for GRAPHIC, he probes further into the nature and possibilities of his medium.

Spiegelman, noted as a historian and theorist of comics as well as an artist, collaborates with Phillip Johnston, the critically acclaimed jazz composer who wrote all-new scores he will be performing live with his sextet. Johnson's music accompanies the cartoonist's guided autobiographical tour on the influence upon his career of the first legitimate "graphic novels"- silent picture stories made by early 20th century masters like Frans Masereel, Lynd Ward and Milt Gross. As Spiegelman explores "the battle between Words and Pictures", he smashes at the hyphen between High and Low Art in a presentation featuring a new work drawn specifically for this project, Shaping Thought.

Sydney-based New Yorker Phillip Johnston is best known for his work as a jazz composer (Microscopic Septet, The Coolerators), and as a creator of music for silent films, most recently Lotte Reineger's 1927 animated feature, The Adventures of Prince Achmed.

Named one of Time magazine's '100 Most Influential People', Art Spiegelman has been translated into over 25 languages. He has always been an innovator, whether creating scurrilous bubble gum cards for kids, politically charged New Yorker covers for grown-ups or pushing the boundaries of comics in RAW, the influential avant-garde magazine that he co-edited in the 1980s with his spouse and frequent collaborator, Fran oise Mouly. (Ms. Mouly, art editor of The New Yorker, will also be appearing at GRAPHIC in a panel on publishing and editing.) Spiegelman's most recent book, CO-MIX, A Retrospective of Comics, Graphics and Scraps will have its first Australian release at GRAPHIC. On the concert stage of the Sydney Opera House, Spiegelman will continue to innovate and provoke with lots of words on classic Wordless stories.

PRICES:
A Reserve $64.00 + booking fee
B Reserve $49.00 + booking fee
C Reserve $39.00 + booking fee

DURATION: 2 hours, no interval, includes 30min Q&A (approximate and subject to change without notice)

LIVE CONTENT WARNING: This presentation contains adult themes.

GRAPHIC at Sydney Opera House is back for its fourth year and it's bigger than ever. A weekend celebrating the art of graphic storytelling, animation and music, this year's line-up is our best yet, featuring world premiere performances and a host of Sydney exclusive talks, music, workshops and more!

Tickets on sale Wednesday 31st July 2013, 11:00am AEST 

**IMPORTANT INFORMATION PLEASE READ**
When purchasing tickets from Moshtix your exact seat allocation will not be confirmed at the time of purchase however your allocation will be in the Section and Row you have seleceted. You will be sent a PDF ticket which you will need to print and take to the Sydney Opera House Box Office on the day of the event to exchange it for your allocated tickets.

View Sydney Opera House Concert Hall Seating Plan

Please visit http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com for more information