This is the last week to view the artwork of Jeff Henriquez in the Bentley Art Space. The work has been on display since the opening reception on Sept. 30, when students had the opportunity to meet the artist and speak with him about his work.

Taking its place soon is the artwork of students who participated in the exhibit previously hosted by the Haverhill Public Library entitled “Art and Literature of the Graphic Novel.”
According to professor Marc Mannheimer, “The students’ work will be up by next Tuesday, Nov. 11 at the latest, and be up until Nov. 30.”

A reception has not yet been scheduled.

Artists and guests attended an opening reception in the Johnson auditorium at the public library on Sept. 11 and the artwork was on display there through the month of September.

This display is the product of students enrolled in the Spring 2014 semester of a learning community class co-taught by Mannheimer and professor Ginger Hurajt. The class is also called the art and literature of the graphic novel and it explores the connection between art and literature.

Students first wrote a short story. They then illustrated them in the style of a comic, relying heavily on the illustration to tell the story. Twenty-one stories were compiled into a 44 page book which was created entirely on the Haverhill campus, called “Tales From the Valley, Volume 1.”

This book is Volume 1 because this is the first year this class was offered. The feedback from students was overall very positive, and Mannheimer said that he is looking forward to many more volumes to come.

“I liked this class and doing this project, but I’ll probably focus on art more than writing in the future,” said Benjamin Pintor. Pintor is one of the artists and an industrial design
major at NECC.

Dane Cecil is an art illustration major at NECC. He was not one of the artists on this project but was there to support his peers and examine their work.

“These pictures are really nice,” Cecil said. “I like the way they use the details in the pictures to tell the story.”

Only the framed first page of each story-board will be on display, but books can be purchased for $5 by contacting professor Marc Mannheimer at mmannheimer@necc.mass.edu.