The Infinite Canvas: Perpetual Immersion of Sequential Narratives

Abstract

In the past century, comic books have been represented as the lowest of art forms. As time progressed, the comic book as a medium evolved and became increasingly popular. The depth of the characters and the stories they enclose within their covers immerse the reader in worlds that through other mediums could not be properly depicted and experienced.

The scope of this thesis will be to design a museum to host comic book art by means of analyzing its development as a popular art form and its relationship to architecture. The mission of the museum is to create an immersive comic book experience, promote the understanding and appreciation of comic art as well as to detail and discuss its artistic, cultural, and historical impact upon society.

The city of Baltimore was selected as the site for this proposal. The ample diversity and grandeur of its history and character render it with a degree of richness and uniqueness rarely found in other cities. The duality of the setting in terms of affluent areas vs. impoverished ones helps denote it as a live example of the duality represented in the cities inside the comics.