Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Nov 14: Satire and Paper Money talk at Library of Congress

 

New Research at The John W. Kluge Center 

Topic: The Art of Paper Money
Scholar: Amanda Lahikainen, Kluge Fellow 

November 7, 2013 

What roles have artists and printmakers played in the normalization of paper money?

Art historian Amanda Lahikainen, Kluge Fellow at The John W. Kluge Center, is researching the responses of British artists and printmakers to the introduction of paper money in England while at the Kluge Center.

Lahikainen has spent the past six months as a scholar-in-residence at The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. She is looking at the ways in which print artists in England satirized the introduction of paper money and the ways in which art may have helped enable paper money to become normalized in society more broadly. 

"Satire responds to important events. One of those important events was the increased use of paper money in England in 1797," Lahikainen says. "Prime Minister William Pitt declared paper money the de facto currency. Suddenly, people could no longer bring credit instruments to the bank and exchange it for gold. The result was great unease and distrust."

British satirists responded with grotesque and scatological imagery deriding the new system. Some produced imitation, satirical bank notes that challenged the trust in the new currency. A few supported the new instruments. But in all cases, Lahikainen says, the work of satirists helped to normalize a paper money system backed by trust and not by bullion. 

"Even when they're mocking the currency, they're also helping people grow more accustomed to it," Lahikainen says. "This early period of paper money offers an important glimpse into how the process of naturalization took place—a naturalization we take for granted today." 

Among the satirists Lahikainen is researching is little-known engraver John Luffman. Luffman began printing satirical bank notes in 1803, and his notes were re-printed in 1818. The Library of Congress has one of the preeminent collections of satirical banknotes in the world, including Luffman's.

Lahikainen recently shared examples of British satirical bank notes with researchers at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. "They were unfamiliar with this tradition, and it was wonderful to hear their responses," she says. "We then spoke about the definition of money more broadly. It was a great discussion." 

Lahikainen is in residence at the Kluge Center through December. 

Upcoming Events with Amanda Lahikainen 

Graphic Satire, Paper Money and the Art of Engraving in Britain, 1797-1821
with Amanda LahikainenKluge Fellow 
Thursday, November 14 at 12:00 pm in room LJ-113
Amanda Lahikainen, Assistant Professor of Art History at Aquinas College, on the connections between art and money, and how graphic satires and satirical banknotes reflected and helped produce the changing cultures of paper money and engraving in England.

Nov 19: Rep. John Lewis at National Press Club book fair

www.Politics-Prose.com

5015 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington DC 20008
(202) 364-1919
(800) 722-0790

Monday-Saturday: 9 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m.- 8 p.m.
Modern Times Coffeehouse 
opens daily at 8 a.m.

36th Annual Book Fair & Author Night

 

Tuesday, November 19, 5:30-8:30 p.m.

at National Press Club 
529 14th Street NW, 13th Floor
Metro: Metro Center

The 36th Annual Book Fair & Author Night is an opportunity to mingle with an incredible group of acclaimed and bestselling authors while you shop. You can discover the ideal gift for a book lover of any age and pick the brain of the author as he or she signs it.

Plus, the event is a fundraiser supporting the National Press Club's Journalism Institute, which provides training, resources, and scholarships for the next generation of journalists, and their partner The Seed School, which helps under-served students prepare for college.

Wrap up your holiday shopping early and give to a great cause, all in one fun night.  

 

Featuring more than 90 authors, including:

  • Congressman John Lewis, March

Tickets are currently on sale, or you can purchase at the door.

1 ticket = $10; $5 for members
All books must be purchased at the book fair.

Click here to purchase.

Monday, November 11, 2013

'Smithsonian' list includes Wonder Woman

The November 2013 issue of Smithsonian magazine includes 101 objects "that made America," from the Smithsonian's collection. Included on the list: Wonder Woman comics (1941).


Washington Times on Ms. Marvel being Muslim

Washington Times editorial
To sum up the paper's argument on Ms. Marvel being a teenage Muslim girl: "Marvel Comics insists that it won’t evangelize for Islam, but the comic book industry promotes eerie lifestyles."



Sunday, November 10, 2013

Rep. Lewis' March on Rachel Maddow

Rachel Maddow   |  November 07, 2013

Civil rights history illustrated in new book

Congressman John Lewis and his co-authors of the bestselling graphic novel "March" talk with Rachel Maddow about telling the story of the civil rights movement.

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/rachel-maddow/53494780/#53494780

Loya's Splotch Monster Island shop

Cartoonist/artist Steve Loya today launched his online Splotch Monster shop, dubbed Splotch Monster Island, is up and running. (Steve is the scheduled cover artist for Magic Bullet #8, coming out in spring 2014.)

Courtesy of Steve Loya

Saturday, November 09, 2013

Even more on The Post dropping Get Fuzzy

The unwelcome loss of 'Get Fuzzy'

Erin Lourie, Silver Spring

Anne Ritchie, Alexandria

Shelley Bond, Fairfax

Roger M. Allen, Takoma Park

Rachel Griffith, Washington

Greg Friedmann, Ashburn

Leonard Keifer, Gaithersburg

  Washington Post November 9 2013

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dont-mess-with-our-get-fuzzy/2013/11/08/7f5a5fe8-466c-11e3-95a9-3f15b5618ba8_story.html

More 'Terrible' in the works

Scott Mills (writer) and Art Hondros (artist) are working on the second chapter of their online comic Terrible: Tsar Ivan IV, which is about Ivan the Terrible. Here is the first panel of the second chapter.

Courtesy of Scott Mills and Art Hondros

Dropping 'Get Fuzzy' continues to rattle around The Post

Friday, November 08, 2013

Comic Riffs interviews Rich Stevens

Eric Gordon's drawings from Cartoonists Draw Blood

Cartoonist Eric Gordon has posted a bunch of the cool portraits he did for folks who donated blood during the Cartoonist Draw Blood blood drive last weekend. Check out his blog.

Photo courtesy of Eric Gordon

D.C. Conspiracy meet up this Sunday

The D.C. Conspiracy, the local comics collaborative that publishes the comics newspaper Magic Bullet, is getting together this Sunday for few drinks and some drawing at Buffalo Billards at Dupont Circle at 5:30 pm-ish. All are welcome!

WaPo article on cartoonists' blood drive

By Bettina Lanyi
“Elizabeth Brewer was pleased with the sketch of her dog — an ink-drawn caricature of the real thing, based on an iPhone photo she showed cartoonist Jake Warrenfeltz. “I’m going to frame it,” she said, “and hang it on the wall.”

Jacob Warrenfeltz draws a sketch.
Photo courtesy of Carolyn Belefski

NPR reviews Jeff Smith's 'RASL'

Noir Storytelling And Art Thievery In Living Color In 'RASL'
By Etelka Lehoczky
"Smith's dark tale of a dimension-jumping scientist, whose name is pronounced "razzle," is relayed in a jaggy style that couldn't be more different from that of the artist's Pogo-esque epic Bone."


The Post reviews the new Thor movie

'Thor: The Dark World' movie review

Loki and Thor cut a deal. (Jay Maidment)

Thursday, November 07, 2013

Flugennock's "Carpetbagger Defeats Teabagger"


"Carpetbagger Defeats Teabagger!"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=1404

A political analyst interviewed on The Daily Show late last week referred to the two major party candidates for Governor of Virginia as the worst candidates he'd ever seen, remarking that Virginia voters were being asked to choose between "cancer and a heart attack". That summed it up perfectly, if you ask me.

So it was that this past Tuesday, Virginians chose former Donkeycratic Party honcho and Clinton money man Terry McAwful -- uhh, MacAuliffe -- over Tea Party loon Ken Cuccinelli to occupy the Governor's mansion... not that it'd make any difference in the long run, except for those of you concerned only about your uteruses.

God, I hate democracy.

________________________________________________________________
Mike Flugennock, flugennock at sinkers dot org
Mike's Political Cartoons: dubya dubya dubya dot sinkers dot org

Interviews with Rep. John Lewis and Jonathan Luna

Comic Riffs on Marvel's new 'television' series

Marvel, Netflix reach deal for 4 new superhero series, including 'Daredevil,' 'Luke Cage'

Washington Post Comic Riffs blog November 7 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/marvel-netflix-reach-deal-for-4-new-superhero-series-including-daredevil-luke-cage/2013/11/07/837650c4-47d3-11e3-a196-3544a03c2351_blog.html

Wednesday, November 06, 2013

Off-topic - Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

CBLDF: First Responder to Censorship

By Calvin Reid
Nov 01, 2013



http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/59821-cbldf-first-responder-to-censorship.html

I'm a member!

11/9: Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn at Third Eye Comics

This Saturday, join us for our ALEX + ADA #1 release party with JONATHAN LUNA (Girls, Ultra, The Sword) & Sarah Vaughn.

 


 
Sounds: Thee Oh Sees - Floating Coffin
Sights:   American Horror Story!
Tastes: Nando's!