Good Grief, Charlie Brown!
Exhibition at Somerset House 25 Oct 2018 – 03 Mar 2019
I had a wonderful time visiting the ‘Good Grief, Charlie Brown!‘ exhibition at Somerset House on Saturday 16 February 2019.
I found this exhibition celebrating the life and work of cartoonist Charles M. Schulz and his famous characters of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the other members of the Peanuts gang to be something really special. Not only did it explore different aspects of the history and development of the original Peanuts cartoon strip, and its subsequent development into books, merchandise, and TV specials; it also had various works from contemporary artists responding to the world of Charlie Brown.
Having grown up reading Peanuts, I thought the exhibition would be fun and a bit of a trip down memory lane. What I didn’t expect was to find it so emotional!
I was powerfully struck by the exhibition’s themes of childhood and friendship, getting a bit misty eyed at times. And that wasn’t a reaction based purely on nostalgia, although that was there. I was reminded how much those funny ink drawings spoke to me as a kid but also how much they still resonate with me as 40 something adult.
There is real wisdom in those stories of a boy and his dog (and the dog’s bird) and his friends.
Good grief! The doctor is IN
For more photos I took at the exhibition see this gallery.