Washington DC [US], July 28 : George Lucas made his first appearance at Comic-Con in San Diego. The 81-year-old got a big ovation from thousands of fans who waited hours just to get inside, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Filmmaker George Lucas, whose 'Star Wars' movies helped create many of the ideas of modern fandoms, also received a standing ovation when he left the presentation, which was devoted entirely to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. He, along with museum board member and fellow art collector del Toro and Chiang, was there to not only give a first look at the museum but also make a case for the importance and validity of narrative art, which includes comic book art, as a vital form of expression.
Queen Latifah, the Grammy, Emmy, and Golden Globe-winning actress and recording artist, moderated the panel.
"This is a temple to the people's art," Lucas said, speaking about the idea for his museum. His first words in Hall H were about how he began acquiring art while in college, but all he could afford was comic book art. With success, he expanded his art collection to over 40,000 pieces, as per the outlet.
"What is important to me, what is magical, is not a man and his collection, it's a lineage of images," explained del Toro. "We are in a critical moment in which one thing that likes to disappear is the past," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"And this is memorialising a popular, vociferous and eloquent moment in our visual past that belongs to all of us. And the museum celebrates this," he added.
A video presentation showcased the interior of the museum -- there are no right angles anywhere, Latifah underscored -- as well as images that will be included in the collection.
Chiang explained that comic art in particular had long been discounted. "It's not taken seriously," he said, and when he was younger was told, "You will outgrow it one day."
"I'm so glad I didn't," he said, before driving home the point that one of the strengths of narrative art is that it's driven by story. "Story comes first. Art comes second," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The idea that narrative art drives community and common belief systems was one to which Lucas, in sometimes elliptical ways, repeatedly returned.
Del Toro also shared philosophical thoughts and explained the differences between art for myth-building purposes and art for propaganda purposes
"Myth belongs to all of us, propaganda belongs to a very small group," he said. "Myth unites us, propaganda divides us."
The Lucas Museum is dedicated to illustrated storytelling across time, cultures, and media, and its collection will include works by Norman Rockwell, Kadir Nelson, Jessie Willcox Smith, N. C. Wyeth, Beatrix Potter, Judy Baca, Frida Kahlo, and Maxfield Parrish. There will also be showcases for work by comic artists, including Winsor McCay, Jack Kirby, Frank Frazetta, Alison Bechdel, Chris Ware, and R. Crumb, as well as photographers Gordon Parks, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Dorothea Lange.
The museum, which has had its opening pushed back several times, is slated to open in 2026, according to The Hollywood Reporter.