Going on this week: the Cartoon Network’s 20th Anniversary Exhibit at Jett Gallery in Little Italy July 11-14th. Over 75 international artists have been assembled to reinterpret their favorite characters.

Fear and Courage by Jack Teagle

Meanwhile, the Cartoon Network pops up again at the New Children’s Museum (a stone’s throw from the Comic-Con craziness itself) with the Adventure Time “takeover” July 11-15th. Harlan was pleased with the giant character that graces the downtown skyline.

I had no previous knowledge of the “Adventure Time” show, but I’m quite sure its fans would enjoy what they would find. There is a transformed side entry to the museum that involves a brief journey down a darkened staircase with characters suspended on high and keys which open lockers filled with Adventure Time paraphernalia.

More intriguing to us was the so-called “fan art” gallery upstairs in the museum, in which artists have re-interpreted the Adventure Time characters in their own pieces.

(bottom: Grant Coghill)

The museum is a gem, as always. The exhibits draw the kids in as much as the modern lines do.

Boo!

“There’s a play area over there, but I’m checking out this modern design,” says Harlan.

Architect Rob Quigley has created an environmentally sustainable space that’s proved to be well-suited to the wandering of the kids and adults alike. Windows are open. You can see outside. You can blow bubbles on balconies.

The current exhibit features trash — a kind of a recycle-reuse theme. One of the main exhibits involves an activity from Brazilian artist Vik Muniz and his brilliant documentary Waste Land. It’s on Netflix streaming — Do it…

So go ahead, Comic-con. We approve, and thanks for providing for the youngins!