Boom! Sam Jacob Studio has unveiled a punchy new home for London’s Cartoon Museum that takes design cues from comics’ bold graphic tropes and often-cheeky humor.
A 3-D explosion graphic marks the entrance, while the exhibition spaces are arranged in boxes like cartoon comic strips. The two main galleries, an education room, and a gift shop (cha-ching!) are encased in a graphic wall of cheery trees, clouds, and drip marks that suggest the museum has leaped off a drawing board. Loony Tunes–esque features abound: The education room is accessed via a hidden door in a fake bookcase, and comically over- and under-sized doors channel visitors into the galleries. A red stairwell is decorated with semi-solemn portraits of famous cartoon characters in a display that’s part comic strip, part Victorian mansion.
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The Cartoon Museum got its start in 1988, and today it features work from Ronald Searle, Ralph Steadman, Steve Bell and Heath Robinson, and other British artists in its 6,000-piece collection. A 18,000-volume library of comics and cartoons complement the art on display. The $2.5 million new building (£2 million) is a guaranteed home for the museum, at least for the next 25 years.
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“I’ve always been interested in the relationship between drawing and architecture, so to be able to explore ways in which graphic, 2-D ideas can be translated into physical space and material things has been a joy,” Sam Jacobs said in a prepared statement.
The architect’s irreverent style complements the museum’s approach. He is best known as a founder of FAT Architecture. More recently at Sam Jacob Studio, his solo project, he designed the V&A Gallery for Shenzhen, China’s Design Society. The gallery was V&A’s first international outpost.
The Cartoon Museum is located at 63 Wells Street, London W1A 3AE. More information on hours and exhibits can be found here.