Syracuse University explores the history of fandom
Syracuse University explores the history of fandom
Current exhibitions at the SU Art Museum and Bird Library highlight the evolution of how people develop community through shared interests.
A fang from 1976 sits in a glass case on the sixth floor of Bird Library. Teddy Kavowras, a young reader at the time, sent it to Forrest J. Ackerman, the editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine because he thought the “fan(g) mail” department deserved to have his tooth. Kavowras also created mini illustrations of Ackerman on this letter, which he would later turn into an action figure called “Super Ack.”
“People are really finding different ways to build community,” said Melissa Yuen, the curator at the Syracuse University Art Museum. “People mailing stuff in, including a tooth, which, how do you even, like, care for that?”
Ackerman gifted his paper archives to the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) via his estate almost 20 years ago. They now serve as a gateway to understanding fan culture at the SCRC’s exhibit, “Destroy All Monsters: Developments in Fandom and Participatory Culture.” About 20 attendees gathered Wednesday to tour this showing along with the LANscapes exhibit at the Syracuse University Art Museum, which explores video gaming.
Community centered the conversation, while guests looked at artifacts from often siloed groups such as science fiction, video game, and horror fans. The “Destroy All Monsters” exhibition draws a connection between early science fiction fans in the 1920s and ’30s, horror movie fans in the 1950s and ‘60s and punk rock fans in the 1970s to the ’90s. Self-published magazines called “fanzines,” archived mail and images of early cosplay costumes cement this connection.
“It’s asking how fandom generally has developed over the last hundred years,” said Daniel Sarmiento, the curator of the exhibition. “How it has sort of shifted to become a more sort of active participatory thing.”
Yuen led attendees down this same path of questioning when she gave a tour of the LANscapes show. The artist, Mauro Martinez, explored the video game culture in three parts: “Terrestrial,” “Celestial,” and “The Internet.” The 6-by-8-foot paintings of teenagers playing video games lined the maroon wall. Pizza boxes, Mountain Dew cans and a Doritos bag filled one of the oil paintings demonstrating the teenagers’ dedication to the game. A sculpture of a blue Linksys router and wires sat in the corner to represent the shift in technology.
“When I first installed these works, frankly I was a little worried because I was worried that we were going to get a lot of pushback from the campus community, saying, ‘How dare you show images of video gaming,’” Yuen said.
Historically, artists reserved large oil paintings for the most prestigious works. Martinez, who documents the internet, breaks away from this gatekeeping culture by painting large images of video gamers. He demonstrates the fandom present in video game culture by showing one teenager sitting on a ladder to be at eye level with the game on his TV. Another painting showed around ten gamers in a closed garage staring at their computers.
But, all viewers don’t digest art the same way. Some attendees expressed the joy of fanning over video games in a closed space with friends. While another said that being cooped up in a garage with minimal natural light could evoke feelings of loneliness.
“With our experience of artworks in particular, we bring our own lived experiences to understanding each image that we see,” Yuen said. “In a way, these works are never neutral. Art museums are never neutral.”
Both exhibits will be open until the end of the semester. Destroy All Monsters at Bird Library ends Jan. 23, 2025. LANscapes ends Dec. 10, 2024, but will reopen on Jan. 16, 2025 at SU Art Museum.