Showing posts with label Newseum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Newseum. Show all posts

Friday, October 19, 2018

A 'lost' Newseum book and exhibit of New Yorker cartoons (in 2007)

Every once in a while, you run across something you've never seen. Such as this New Yorker-related book:


Fortunately, there's usually someone else to ask. In this case, I turned to Michael Maslin, New Yorker cartoonist and historian, and writer of the excellent Ink Spill blog.



I have stumped Michael before, notably with a book of New Yorker cartoons collected for a celebration of George Washington University's president Stephen Trachtenberg. He's got a copy of that now though...


To this one, he wrote back, "Wow, completely new to me! Great find!"


I complained from a bibliographic point of view about the book having a completely different second title page.


Michael cut back to the chase, noting the useful information, "Also of interest in the intro is that some of the cartoons were exhibited. So both the book and the exhibit were under my radar," and he continued, "This is exactly why the Spill was created (one of the main reasons anyway): to catch things like that. The stuff that tended to slip by, known only to the folks that were part of it," also summing up why ComicsDC exists as well.

Now I have to find a second copy for him, and a third for Michigan State's Comic Art Collection...

In unrelated news, at the same library sale, I found a copy of the only Gary Larson-signed Far Side book that I've ever seen:



Reader, I bought it.

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Declaration of Independence exhibit, graphic-novel style

The Newseum on July 1 opens “1776 — Breaking News: Independence,” a new exhibit featuring one of only 19 known copies of the July 6, 1776, edition of The Pennsylvania Evening Post, the first newspaper to publish the newly adopted Declaration of Independence. An interactive exhibit presented in a graphic novel style is include. Per the Newseum website:

"Interactive kiosks in the exhibit allow visitors to zoom in and explore the newspaper in high definition. Illustrated panels around the gallery use the format of a graphic novel to tell the story of how and why delegates from the 13 American Colonies gathered in Philadelphia to break the bonds of British rule and forge a new nation."

Courtesy of the Newseum

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

Stephen Hess and Sandy Northrup speak three times on editorial cartoons

Stephen Hess and Sandy Northrup speak on their new book, Drawn & Quartered: The History of American Political Cartoons in three places this spring:
 
Wednesday, April 13, 7PM, National Archives, McGowan Theater

Wednesday, April 27, 12PM, Library of Congress, 6th floor, Montpelier Room

Sunday, May 15, 2:30 PM, Newseum

Saturday, March 05, 2011

American Political Cartoons, 1754-2010 book

Until I met them today, I didn't realize Stephen Hess & Sandy Northrup, the authors of American Political Cartoons, 1754-2010, were both in the DC area. Sandy tells me that they'll be making at least three appearances, "speaking at the National Archives, April 13th, 7PM; Library of Congress, April 27th, 12PM and; Newseum, May 15th, 2:30PM. It should be a lively discussion accompanied with a power point presentation." I plan to attend at least one and will buy the book, which is an update of the first edition (that I already have).

Monday, January 03, 2011

January 6: Civil War political cartoons at Newseum

Here's a tip from Warren Bernard. This is a National Archives event and hopefully will be free, but it doesn't specify on their calendar yet.

Thursday, January 6, at 7 p.m.

Presented at the Newseum's Walter and Leonore Annenberg Theater

555 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Washington, D.C.

Political Cartoons of the Civil War and Their Role in Shaping History

How do political cartoons from the Civil War era reveal what Americans thought about the war and how they participated in the politics of the day? Join us for an illustrated discussion focusing on political cartoons—whether humorous, clever, or scathing—and their role in providing insight into the economic, political and moral issues surrounding the Civil War. Featured will be both Union and Confederate political cartoons. Moderated by Harold Holzer, co-author of The Lincoln Image: Abraham Lincoln and Popular Print, panelists include Joshua Brown, author of Beyond the Lines: Pictorial Reporting, Everyday Life, and the Crisis of Gilded Age America, John Adler, who compiled for the online resource HarpWeek, Illustrated Civil War Newspapers and Magazines, and Richard West, co-author of William Newman: A Victorian Cartoonist in London and New York.

The National Archives Experience is pleased to present tonight's program in partnership with the Newseum.



Monday, December 13, 2010

Jan 6: Political Cartoons of the Civil War and Their Role in Shaping History

Here's a tip from Warren Bernard. This is apparently a National Archives event and hopefully will be free, but it's not on their calendar yet.

Thursday, January 6, at 7 p.m.

Presented at the Newseum's Walter and Leonore Annenberg Theater

555 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Washington, D.C.

Political Cartoons of the Civil War and Their Role in Shaping History

How do political cartoons from the Civil War era reveal what Americans thought about the war and how they participated in the politics of the day? Join us for an illustrated discussion focusing on political cartoons—whether humorous, clever, or scathing—and their role in providing insight into the economic, political and moral issues surrounding the Civil War. Featured will be both Union and Confederate political cartoons. Moderated by Harold Holzer, co-author of The Lincoln Image: Abraham Lincoln and Popular Print, panelists include Joshua Brown, author of Beyond the Lines: Pictorial Reporting, Everyday Life, and the Crisis of Gilded Age America, John Adler, who compiled for the online resource HarpWeek, Illustrated Civil War Newspapers and Magazines, and Richard West, co-author of William Newman: A Victorian Cartoonist in London and New York.

The National Archives Experience is pleased to present tonight's program in partnership with the Newseum.



Monday, March 22, 2010

April 11: Rob Rogers at the Newseum

Inside Media: The Best of Editorial Cartoonist Rob Rogers
Guest: Rob Rogers
Date: Sunday, April 11, 2010
Location: Knight TV Studio, Level 3, 2:30 p.m.

The editorial cartoons of Rob Rogers have been gracing the pages of newspapers since 1984 when he was hired by the Pittsburgh Press.

A syndicated cartoonist with United Features Syndicate, Rogers has covered a diverse range of topics, including the Cold War, gun control, smoking, racism, the environment, 9/11 and presidential elections.

He talks about his new retrospective "No Cartoon Left Behind! The Best of Rob Rogers," which recounts his humorous path to cartooning. He also shares his own personal perspective on the major news stories of the past 25 years.

In a chapter called "Where's the Beef: Fear and Drawing On the Campaign Trail," Rogers shares his best cartoons from the last seven presidential races, including President Barack Obama's historic win in 2008. This unique retrospective includes a chapter for every White House he has covered.

Rogers's cartoons appear regularly in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Newsweek, and USA Today.

A book signing will follow the program.

thanks to Bruce Guthrie for the tip.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Matt Wuerker's appearance at Newseum continued

The recordings of Matt Wuerker's appearance on the Newseum's Inside Media have appeared on Youtube - part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, and part 5.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Matt Wuerker's appearance at Newseum last weekend


Matt Wuerker spoke at the Newseum last weekend, and the talk was recorded and should be online eventually. In the meantime, Bruce Guthrie has put his photographs online.

This image is me on the left, and IDW's GI Joe artist Shannon Gallant on the right. I had just met Shannon, but I think we'll be doing an interview here with him after the holidays.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Newseum offering news?

Bruce Guthrie sent in this link to a story about Brenda Starr on the Newseum's website - "A Starr Is Mourned," By Sharon Shahid, senior Web editor, Newseum March 26, 2009.

While the comics are certainly part of a newspaper (take that, Washington Post), I have no idea why the Newseum would be devoting a writer to this given that they probably don't have anything about Brenda Starr on display.

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Oct 25: Campaign Cartoons with KAL (Kevin Kallaugher)

Another missive from Bruce Guthrie:

Campaign Cartoons with KAL (Kevin Kallaugher)
Saturday, Oct. 25 at 2:30 p.m., Knight Studio, Level 3

Award-winning editorial cartoonist Kevin Kallaugher brings his drawing and animation skills to the Newseum for a high-tech, humorous look at the presidential campaign and the candidates. Kallaugher will present additional sessions, including "Talk and Draw," an interactive group activity in which the artist works with the audience to create cartoons with a message, and "Learn to Draw with KAL," a hands-on activity for the whole family.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Wish You Were There #4 - Telnaes and Moss exhibit reviews

These two are from the International Journal of Comic Art 4:1 (Spring 2002). I was still feeling my way with writing these.

Pens and Needles: The Editorial Cartoons of Ann Telnaes. Rosslyn, VA: The Newseum, October 26, 2001--March 3, 2002.

The Newseum is closing in 2002 to move to Washington, DC so the Telnaes show (entitled Pulitzer Prize 2001: Editorial Cartoonist Ann Telnaes in the exhibit) will be the last one for several years. Telnaes, the second woman to win the Pulitzer, has no home newspaper; instead she is under contract with Tribune Media Services. The small exhibit consisted of 16 cartoons, 11 of them originals. 5 were on the disputed 2000 presidential election, 2 on the separation of church and state, 1 on Elian Gonzales, 2 on China's human rights record and the last on OSHA's regulating the home workplace. Telnaes worked as an animator for Disney and Warner Bros., and now does a weekly strip as one of the 'Six Chix.' Her line is very distinctive, probably due to her animation work; one can immediately recognize her art. Telnaes draws in pencil, inks her work and then scans it into a computer to add color. She now produces both black and white and color versions of each cartoon; this show reveals the color detracts from the impact of the cartoon. While this was a pleasant little show, the public would benefit from a larger one showing a larger amount and demonstrating a wider range of her cartoons. The exhibit is online at http://www.newseum.org/telnaes/gallery/open_index.htm. If that site is taken down, many of the cartoons in the exhibit can be seen at http://cagle.slate.msn.com/news/telnaes/main.asp; Telnaes' own site at http://www.anntelnaes.com is under construction as of this writing.

Geoffrey Moss: A Pen as Mighty as a Sword. Rosslyn, VA: The Newseum, Fall 2001--March 3, 2002.

A very small exhibit of six pen and ink cartoons drawn after the terrorism of September 11 was tucked into a corner of the main exhibit hall. Moss, who calls his captionless cartoons "Mossprints" is syndicated by Creators. The six drawings were in the classic tradition of newspaper illustration, showing death as a gasmask-wearing skeleton and the Israel / Palestine issue as part of the larger problem. A larger exhibit with more information on Moss would be a pleasure; this show functioned as an appetizer.

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Wish You Were There #1 - Comics exhibit reviews 2000-2001

The following are reviews for DC exhibits from 2000-2001. They were originally published in the International Journal of Comic Art 3:1.

Blondie Gets Married! Comic Strip Drawings by Chic Young. Harry Katz and Sara Duke. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, June 22-September 16, 2000.

Herblock's History: Political Cartoons from the Crash to the Millennium. Harry Katz, Sara Duke, and Lucia Rather. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, October 17, 2000--February 17, 2001.

Al Hirschfeld, Beyond Broadway. David Leopold. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, November 9, 2000--March 31, 2001.


At the turn of the millennium, Harry Katz and Sara Duke continued to make the Library of Congress one of the premier spaces for the display of comic art. These three exhibits examined different aspects of comic art: comic strips, political cartoons, and caricature.

Blondie, beginning in 1930, has evolved with the comic strip. Early strips were large and had continuity, but by the 1972 strip in the show, the size had shrunk and Young made it a gag strip. The exhibit of 27 strips out of a donation of 150 had minimal labeling and was divided into typical tropes: naps, courtship, wedding, family, mailman, food, work, love, homemaking, and baths. Young used a delicate line in the 1930s, typical of some cartoonists of the era, that is a pleasure to see in the original. His 1931--1933 courtship and marriage strips were wildly popular during the Depression and Young's artwork conveys now a vivid sense of the time. In the 1938 Sunday dream strip, "We'll be back in a few hours," Young was playfully surrealistic while still drawing the pretty girls he was known for. While an exhibit devoted to original art, not commentary or history, needs few labels, an explanation of the blue penciling seen on many strips over the regular graphite pencil would be helpful; the blue was used to indicate where mechanical tones and shading needed to be added by the syndicate. "All quiet on the Bumstead's front!" from 1945 contained clear marginal instructions about the shading, and showed an interesting piece of comic history now that computers handle all such details. A good brochure was distributed at the show with articles by Duke and Young's daughter, and an electronic version of the exhibit can be seen at http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/blondie/.

Herbert "Herblock" Block has cartooned through nine decades, won three Pulitzer Prizes, and coined the word "McCarthyism." This exhibit was drawn from 119 cartoons that he gave to the Library. The show was mounted in a grand space on either side of the Jefferson Building's great hall on red, white, and blue panels. It was divided into roughly chronological sections except for overarching ones like "Herblock's Presidents." Herblock's masterly use of pencil, ink and crayon can be seen throughout the show, although correction overlays become more common and his latest work resembled collages. Seeing the evolution of Herblock's style and subjects over 70 years was fascinating. Although the exhibit was excellently done and displayed the breadth of his career, Block's work can be fairly easily seen in other media. He has published many collections of his work, and this exhibit has a short catalogue produced by the Library. One clever idea made this show especially interesting. The Library solicited caricatures of "Herblock by Other Cartoonists" and displayed them at the end of each panel. Fifteen colleagues like Mike Peters, Ann Telnaes, Jules Feiffer, Signe Wilkinson, and Mike Luckovich produced pointed, but obviously respectful, drawings of Block, frequently with his bete noire Richard Nixon. Katz, Duke, and Rather deserve credit for a truly fine exhibit.
The exhibit on Hirschfeld is somewhat problematic because it was designed to be. When faced with a career even longer than Herblock's, guest curator and Hirschfeld archivist David Leopold chose to focus not on Hirschfeld's well-known pen-and-ink entertainment caricatures, but rather on his other artistic pursuits. Exhibiting 24 pieces, many donated to the Library by the artist, Leopold produced a wide-ranging survey of works in all media, especially including some early art. The result was an interesting and ambitious show, but not a complete success since Hirschfeld's best work is his caricatures. Leopold included obscure material like drawings of North Africa from 1926 -- material that was reminiscent of magazine illustration of the time. Other early work like a 1923 gouache advertisement for Woman to Woman magazine recalled Szyk's work in miniatures, and his 1931 lithograph Art and Industry owed much to Daumier. Hirschfeld's color caricatures, usually for magazine covers like "Walter Lippman" for American Mercury in the 1940s, show that he could have continued doing similar work and had a full career. Recently, printing advances have made it possible for him to use color for caricatures and one from the New York Times in 2000 is in the show. The exhibit, accompanied by a well-done brochure, was an interesting example of Hirschfeld's lesser abilities, but not a major view of his career.

Politics in Black and White: Local, State, and National Cartoons and Caricatures. Dan Voss and Ellen Vartanoff. Rockville, MD: Montgomery College VCT Department Gallery, October 10--November 10, 2000.

This small exhibit was aimed at students in the College's graphic arts department. According to Voss, the "idea was to be topical and to bring in a little bit more local connection than you would expect." With eight artists (Joe Azar, Chip Beck, Steve Brodner, Chris Curtis, Kevin "Kal" Kallaugher, Marcia Klioze-Hughes, and Lucinda Levine) and 55 pieces in the exhibit, students and other visitors saw a wide range of comic art. The only label in the exhibit was a short introductory panel with brief biographical information. Azar (a conservative political cartoonist for the Legal Times and the Washington Times), Kal, and Curtis (cartoonist for the Gazette chain of local newspapers) all produce standard "modern" political cartoons; while competent, no cartoon displayed was particularly memorable. Caricaturists were well represented. Levine's work looked like that of unrelated David Levine. Klioze-Hughes' color work caricatured historical figures like George Washington. Beck's pieces were unfortunately reminiscent of the cartoonists working in chalk in shopping malls. Brodner works for national publications like the New Yorker, Time, and Newsweek and his distinctive style was well represented. "We hope to bring [the students] the real thing," Voss stated, and the exhibit succeeded in being an engaging look at the styles and ability of a small range of working professional cartoonists.


Cartoons and Campaigns. Arlington, VA: The Newseum, October 7--November 12, 2000.

Pens and Needles: The Editorial Cartoons of Joel Pett. Arlington, VA: The Newseum, November 10, 2000--January 7, 2001.

"Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus." Arlington, VA: The Newseum, December, 2000.

Cartoons and Campaigns added political cartoons to Every Four Years, an exhibit on press coverage of the Presidential campaign. The cartoons, a mixture of originals and reproductions, totaled approximately 40 pieces of art. Included in the show were originals by Luckovich (who still uses tone shading), Breen, Conrad, Wilkinson, Horsey, Borgman, Peters, and reproductions by Marlette, Toles, Handelsman, Chip Beck, Morin, Higgins, Kal, Pett, Gorrell, Gerner, Telnaes, Bok, Benson, Herblock, and Szep. The show presented a snapshot of election cartoons, and was enjoyable in a casual sense, but did not add anything significant to the study of comic art.

Pins and Needles was a significantly better exhibit in terms of learning. Ten original cartoons with commentary by Pett were displayed, unfortunately in a hallway leading to a movie theater. Seven reproductions from the twenty cartoons that Pett submitted to win the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning were also included. Pett's commentary on his process of cartooning included exhibiting three drafts and the final cartoon. This was a minor, but interesting show.

"Yes, Virginia..." is the Newseum's annual show of Thomas Nast's Harper's Weekly engravings of Santa Claus. The exhibit included artwork from 1863, 1865, 1866, 1871, 1879, 1884, and 1885 and showed how Nast's artwork and concept of Santa progressed through a twenty-year period. According to Nast, by 1884 Santa was answering telephone requests. Since Santa Claus is so deeply embedded in American culture, an annual show devoted to the cartoonist who created him helps keep Nast's work alive.


The Art of John Cederquist: Reality of Illusion. Washington, DC: National Museum of American Art's Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, March 31--August 20, 2000.


John Cederquist stretches the definition of comic art. He creates artistic wooden furniture. Cederquist is influenced by Popeye cartoons and he has copied two-dimensional furniture from the cartoons to produce three-dimensional pieces. Although this show, organized by the Oakland Museum of California, did not include any of his Popeye works among its thirteen pieces, the influence of cartoons could still be seen. "Tubular" (1990) appeared to be a bookcase made of shipping crates but had a Hokusai-style wave rolling out of the top. "Steamer Chest III" (1995) looked as though it was a coiled pipe, supported by stacked wood, with puffs of Crumb-like smoke emerging from each end of the pipe. Cederquist's titles were puns that helped define the piece -- words and pictures working together -- leading to the beginning of the definition of a cartoon. The exhibit provoked thought on what comic art really is.