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Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave. SE
Washington DC 20540
February 26, 2013
Public contact: Sara Duke (202) 707-3630, sduk@loc.gov
"Herblock Looks at 1963" Exhibition Opens March 30
In 1963, during the third and final year of his presidency, John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) faced repeated opposition to legislative initiatives—the nuclear test ban treaty with the Soviet Union, tax cuts to reduce economic stagnation, efforts to increase resources for schoolchildren and protection of the wilderness. Also in 1963, through the "March on Washington" on Aug. 28, the civil rights movement gained momentum.
Herblock, the award-winning editorial cartoonist for the Washington Post, addressed all these topics. His drawings will be on view in the exhibition "Herblock Looks at 1963: Fifty Years Ago in Editorial Cartoons," opening Saturday, March 30, 2013, at the Library of Congress in the Graphic Arts Galleries on the ground floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C.
The 10-cartoon exhibition, which runs through Sept. 14, 2013, is free and open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
The exhibition is located in the Herblock Gallery, part of the Graphic Arts Galleries, which celebrates the work of Herbert L. Block with rotating displays of 10 original drawings. The display changes every six months. A second set of drawings from 1963 will be placed on exhibition from Sept. 21, 2013 to March 22, 2014.
Cartoons on view will include "We Can't Burden Our Children with Deficit Spending," which Herblock created to challenge Congress not to cut funding for education, because the result would be ignorance, poverty and crime. Also on view will be "Reminds Me of That Crazy Idea of Henry Ford's That You Can Make More Selling at Lower Prices," which depicts legislators as old-fashioned businessmen out of step with the times. Herblock penned the drawing in response to Republican congressmen who challenged Kennedy to reduce spending rather than cut taxes to spur productivity.
Herblock actively promoted civil rights for African Americans during the 1960s. On Aug. 28, 1963, the cartoonist sat in the press tent as the crowd grew around him for the "March on Washington." His support is evident in the drawing "Conceived in Liberty and Dedicated to The Proposition That All Men Are Created Equal."
Herblock was a four-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize. He spent more than 55 years at the Washington Post, taking on political corruption wherever he saw it and championing the rights of "the little guy."
The Herb Block Foundation donated a collection of more than 14,000 original cartoon drawings and 50,000 rough sketches, as well as manuscripts, to the Library of Congress in 2002, and has generously continued to provide funds to support ongoing programming.
The Library has been collecting original cartoon art for more than 140 years. It is a major center for cartoon research with holdings of more than 100,000 original cartoon drawings and prints. These works, housed in the Prints and Photographs Division, span five centuries and range from 17th-century Dutch political prints to 21st-century contemporary comic strips.
The Prints and Photographs Division holds the largest-known collection of American political prints, the finest assemblage of British satirical prints outside Great Britain and holdings of original drawings by generations of America's best cartoonists and illustrators that are unequaled in breadth and depth. Extensive runs of rare satirical and comic journals from Europe and the United States represent another distinguishing facet. The Library acquired these materials through a variety of sources including artists' gifts, donations by private collectors, selective purchases and copyright registration.
For sample images from "Herblock Looks at 1963," contact Donna Urschel at (202) 707-1639.
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PR13-36
2/26/13
ISSN: 0731-3527
WASHINGTON, DC, February 25, 2013 – Dan Perkins, pen name Tom Tomorrow, was named the winner of the 2013 Herblock Prize for editorial cartooning.
Perkins is the creator of the weekly political cartoon, This Modern World, which appears in approximately 80 papers, mostly altweeklies. He is the editor of the comics section he created in April 2011 on Daily Kos. His cartoons have been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, U.S. News & World Report and The Economist. He lives outside of New Haven, Connecticut with his wife and their son.
The prize is awarded annually by The Herb Block Foundation for "distinguished examples of editorial cartooning that exemplify the courageous independent standard set by Herblock." The winner receives a $15,000 after-tax cash prize and a sterling silver Tiffany trophy. Perkins will receive the prize April 25th in a ceremony held at the Library of Congress.
Jack Ohman, the editorial cartoonist for The Sacramento Bee, was named this year's finalist and will receive a $5,000 after-tax cash prize.
Gwen Ifill, moderator and managing editor of "Washington Week" and senior correspondent for "The PBS Newshour," will deliver the annual Herblock Lecture at the awards ceremony. Previous speakers have included Ben Bradlee, then-Senator Barack Obama, Sandra Day O'Connor, Tom Brokaw, Tim Russert, Ted Koppel, George Stevens Jr., Jim Lehrer and Garry Trudeau.
Judges for this year's contest were Matt Bors, a nationally syndicated cartoonist in altweeklies and winner of the 2012 Herblock Prize; Jenny Robb, curator of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at Ohio State University; and Steve Brodner, satirical illustrator who has covered eight national political conventions for Esquire, The Progressive, The New Yorker and others.
The judges felt there were many strong portfolios in this year's contest, including several animated-only entries and other alternative multi-panel submissions.
Bors said Tom Tomorrow's portfolio included "hands down, some of the smartest political cartoons of the year." Subjects included "consistently hilarious takedowns of women-bashers, gun culture and the president's abuse of executive power."
"Tom Tomorrow is both fearless and funny, two qualities that make him a first-rate editorial cartoonist," Robb said. "He has developed a unique graphic style that perfectly suits his wry and clever assaults on politicians, political parties, and bad policies while also making his work instantly recognizable."
Brodner said, "Dan Perkins' output for the year was consistently strong, intelligent and witty. The work discussed the most important issues in a way extremely compelling and illuminating. The sequential political cartoon is a vivid and powerful form in his hands."
The judges also had strong praise for the work of Jack Ohman, the finalist.
Robb said, "In addition to producing strong traditional editorial cartoons, Jack Ohman has developed a unique and effective multi-panel strip that is part journalism, part memoir and part satire. He courageously used the format and his platform at The Oregonian to effect change in his local community and to focus attention on issues of both local and national importance." Brodner added that Ohman's work is "politically brave, formalistically daring and artistically free, while retaining great design and draftsmanship."
The Herb Block Foundation seeks to further the recognition and support of editorial cartooning.
Ben Katchor
Date: Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Time: 7:00 PM
image The first cartoonist to receive a MacArthur Fellowship reveals the ways urban planning and architecture influence and reflect cultural values in his new graphic narrative, Hand-Drying in America.
Here are window-ledge pillows designed expressly for people-watching and a forest of artificial trees for sufferers of hay fever. The Brotherhood of Immaculate Consumption deals with the matter of products that outlive their owners; high-visibility construction vests are marketed to lonely people as a method of getting noticed.
A master at twisting mundane commodities into surreal objects of social significance, Katchor reveals a world similar to our own—lives are defined by possessions, consumerism is a kind of spirituality—but also slightly, fabulously askew. This surrealist handbook for the rebuilding of society in the twenty-first century ensures that you will never look at a building, a bar of soap, or an ATM the same way.
Tickets are $12 or receive 2 FREE tickets with the purchase of the book through Sixth & I ($30). Tickets and books can be purchased online or by calling TicketFly (877.987.6487). There is a $1.50 fee per ticket for phone orders. Doors open at 6:00 pm