As my artist's statement explains, my work is utterly incomprehensible and is therefore full of deep significance. -- Calvin and Hobbes

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

#16 The New Yorker; 31 days of rhinos


#16 Ode To The New Yorker; 31 days of Rhinos
Prismacolor on Bristol Smooth paper

#16 in the series, yet another ripoff of one of the iconic images of the 20th century; The New Yorker's highly hatted Mascot!

The New Yorker first hit news stands in 1925, and part of the legacy of this brilliantly written and presented magazine are its cartoons, which have been an integral part since the very beginning. So much so that most identify the magazine with the cartoon logo! They recently compiled a book of all All 68,647 cartoons ever published in The New Yorker! That's a lot of cartoons!

Cartoons, in fact, have become such an important part of our culture, that their influence on us is barely fathomable. Consider that many of our greatest cartoonists perhaps were inspired by The New Yorker growing up, and that alone makes it formidable. Great cartoonists, illustrators and satirists abound here!
Regrettably, and it pains me to say this, but Wikipedia is down today, so I can't give you a fun wee history on The New Yorker and its indelible mark on art history. Perhaps I can add some more tomorrow. For now, below are some of the greats.

Roz Chast is one of many to influence us, and it's great to have a female cartoonist in the mix, because it seems that not many women take the path of cartoonist. Roz first contributed to The New Yorker in 1978 and became a staff cartoonist in 1979, and has contributed over 1000 cartoons to the magazine. [from CBSnews.com: "
Editor David Remnick wrote that her cartoons convey a comic sense of "domestic anxiety." ]

Robert Mankoff,
is currently the cartoon editor of The New Yorker. He captures that cross section of American business and politics with his humor, as well as every day life in the US. Robert is also the creator of The Cartoon Bank, which is the largest cartoon licensing business in the world. So, if you are a cartoonist, maybe you should start there!

Charles Addams, adored by many as the creator of the Addams Family, spent most of his career drawing for The New Yorker! It all started as the Gothic, dark, bizarre, macabre but humorous cartoon in the New Yorker, which resulted in the beloved TV series and 2 movies! Aren't tidbits fun?

James Thurber, humorist, cartoonist, writer. A distinguished figure of American Literature, He wrote
"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", and others, which put him in the history books as more than just a cartoonist!
Saul Steinberg, among the most prolific artists of the 20th century, appeared in The New Yorker for nearly 60 years! Now that's a career! Visit his site and be awed by the archives!
Their cartoons were political, controversial and funny. Satire at its best! Maybe not that well known to the average person, but if you grew up with this magazine, you were influenced by them! And, well, maybe you do really know a few!

The New Yorker has had a profound effect of US Popular Culture since its inception, and I think it is fitting to mention in my 31 days of rhinos series.


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2 comments:

  1. I just love these Rebecca! So very clever.

    ReplyDelete
  2. So interesting. Just looking at the drawing my first thought without seeing the script was New Yorker.

    ReplyDelete

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