St. Petersburg museum offers a glimpse into the world of anime

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A special exhibit exploring comic and anime art is opening at the Imagine Museum in St. Petersburg. The exhibit hopes to shine a light on the art of comic books.

"At the heart of this exhibition lies the want to showcase comics, manga and anime art as the true fine art forms that they really are," Imagine Museum Communications Manager Francesca Brown said.

A view inside the Imagine Museum.

A wide array of mediums is featured in the exhibit. These include paintings, drawings, sculptures and, of course, glass art. Some feature well-known heroes and villains, like Spider-Man and Batman.

Some are original comic creations. The deep history of the medium is also explored through multimedia presentations.

"For us to be able to bridge that gap between popular culture, museum culture, and fine arts, that was our goal with this whole exhibition," Brown said.

Sculpture featured at the Imagine Museum's comic and anime exhibit.

Artists from all over the world are featured, with several local artists highlighted. Professional glass artist Jack Alden created a glass dragon fruit inspired by the long-running anime series "One Piece."

"I started watching the show, and just the idea behind the dragon fruit is it gives the person who eats it these kinds of mysterious magical powers," Alden said. "Who doesn't, as a kid, imagine having these magical powers."

Oil painter and sculptor Blake Emory went big with his contributions, including a large painting of Conan the Barbarian.

Artist Blake Emory stands in front of his Conan the Barbarian painting on display at the Imagine Museum.

"The number one motivational piece for every artist, I believe, is that when someone comes and looks at the art, they inspire to create themselves," Emory said.

Fine artist Heather Tapia was inspired by vintage comics like Wonder Woman and created her own comic book cover art.

"I thought of, in my own life, different friends or women, people who have inspired me, and I kind of came up with characters based on that because I thought that would be like a neat spin on it," Tapia said.

All three artists were thrilled to be a part of an exhibit that can be viewed by many.

"It opens a road to like all new possibilities, and then when you come in here, look at what this other artist made, look at what was done, and you see all these like things that it's like limitless," Tapia said.

Graphic Worlds: Exploring Comic and Anime Art will be on display until Jan. 5.

For more information, visit the Imagine Museum’s website here.