EXPOSITION PARK (CNS) – The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art announced Thursday, Aug. 27, a publication tied to the museum’s inaugural exhibition and Sept. 22 opening in Exposition Park.
The publication explores visual storytelling across centuries and media, bringing together works spanning painting, illustration, photography, comics, children’s books and cinema, according to the museum.
The project, produced with publisher TASCHEN, will be available as a two-volume classic edition and in two smaller formats, including a miniature edition available exclusively through Lucas Museum retail outlets, officials said.
The books feature texts by Lucas Museum co-founder George Lucas and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, along with an introduction by Ryan Linkof, senior curator and head of film programs at the museum.
Artists and illustrators represented include Thomas Hart Benton, Jessie Willcox Smith, Frank Frazetta, Maxfield Parrish, Norman Rockwell and N.C. Wyeth. The works are organized thematically to draw connections among artists, eras and forms of visual storytelling.
A section devoted to cinema will explore the visual world of “Star Wars,” including original production art and concept paintings alongside costumes and vehicles from the film franchise.
The publication coincides with the Sept. 22 opening of the Lucas Museum, which was co-founded by Lucas and business executive Mellody Hobson to explore storytelling through visual art.
The museum is housed in a five-story, 300,000-square-foot building in Exposition Park designed by architect Ma Yansong. Its inaugural presentations will feature more than 1,200 artworks displayed across approximately 100,000 square feet of gallery space.
Among the opening exhibitions will be “Star Wars in Motion,” featuring props, costumes and vehicle designs from the first six films in the franchise, including Luke Skywalker’s landspeeder and the first physical build of General Grievous’ Wheel Bike.
Other galleries will explore comic and graphic storytelling, Japanese manga and anime, children’s book illustrations and imagery from film and popular culture.
The museum’s inaugural lineup will also include works by Benton, Rockwell, Wyeth and Frazetta, along with photography by Dorothea Lange and Gordon Parks and large-scale mural works by artists including Diego Rivera.
The museum will also feature two theaters offering continuous film screenings and Skywalker Grill, a full-service restaurant scheduled to open with the museum Sept. 22.
The Lucas Museum campus includes a park designed by landscape architect Mia Lehrer.
