Art-iculate interpretation of the news

THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN EDITORIAL CARTOONISTS (AAEC)
50th Anniversary Convention
July 4-7, 2007
Mayflower Hotel
Washington, DC

* Attendees: Drew such a crowd that the number of cartoonists exceeded seats.

* Lower Common Denominator: Town Hall comment about newspapers today: “It’s the only industry where as they lose customers they make the product worse.”

* Views on View: The “Bush Leaguers” political cartoon competition features 99 winners drawn from some 800 entries; they’re on view a few weeks at the American University/Katzen Museum of Art.

* Deciding on a Decider theme: Said Rob Rogers, AAEC president and cartoonist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, cartoonists would have trouble digging back any further. These artists dwell in and on the here and now. The contest received 800 entries.

* Ha to the Chief: Referring to the exhibition, syndicated correspondent and special guest speaker Helen Thomas said there’s not much to laugh about with this White House, but it’s a gold mine for satirists.

* Crank Case: Pulitzer winner Walt Handelsman with Newsday draws 4 cartoons a week and produces an animation video each month for the paper’s website. These include “Pirates of the Constitution” and an NSA musical send-up reimagining the lyrics of Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You.”

* Truth and Dare: From the AAEC’s 50th Anniversary commemorative book: Jeff MacNelly once described the profession as such: “Political cartoonists violate every rule of ethical journalism – they misquote, trifle with the truth, make science fiction out of politics and sometimes should be held for personal libel. But when the smoke clears, the political cartoonist has been getting closer to the truth than the guys who write political opinions.”

Sampling the Sessions:

- Blog Or Die! (“Is this the wave of the future or just an act of desperation to hold on to readers and advertisers?)

Does blogging trivialize journalist? Or is it a vital medium for airing views that don’t get published in newspapers? Who has time to read blogs? The public – or it is mostly other bloggers?

What about hecklers with keyboards? Bozo filters let the blogger post comments visible only to the commenter.

Why blog? “There are more things I’m angry about than cartoon slots,” replied one blogging cartoonist.

- Funny People Who Don’t Draw

Kevin Bleyer, writer for the Daily Show and previously for Bill Maher and Dennis Miller, admitted he could be characterized as a centrist or intellectual prostitute. He described serendipitous moments like noticing that the Bushism, “When the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down” had 17 syllables, leading to a hilarious haiku for the Daily Show. And then there was the Metaphorical Mapquest....

- What’s So Funny About War?

What’s the role of the cartoonist in wartime? Panelists such as Ted Rall contrasted being embedded with the troops and drawing from the safety of a cubicle.

“You don’t have to depict Mohammed in your cartoon to get threatened,” said Signe Wilkinson, whose daughter’s teacher was among those picketing the Philadelphia Daily News in protest of one of her panels.

War correspondent David Axe learned a novel treatment overseas for the parasite giardia: eat a whole garlic and wash it down with beer.

- What Do You Mean You’re Not Animating Yet?

Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher, longtime Baltimore Sun and The Economist cartoonist, described the process of creating 3-D figures for animations, starting with styrofoam blocks. He then blends shapes, paint skin, textures and colors of puppets – then use motion capture technology to animate bodies quickly. An actor wears a suit lined with LEDs; as he moves around, the sensors plot and track, create a moving character.

He showed a gardening-themed satire of pro-war politicians: “You’re either for poison ivy or against it ... is this just a ploy to distract from your failed gardening projects?”

* Election Prospects: Political analyst Mark Shields quipped: “this is a field in which Bill Clinton could be the family values candidate.” And speaking of that former president’s don’t ask/don’t tell military policy: “It’s OK if Uncle Sam wants you, but if you want Uncle Sam, keep it to yourself.”

As for John Kerry: “so unexciting that his secret service name is...John Kerry.”

And with a nod to Red Smith: “I love writing except for the paperwork.”

* Resources:

Association of American Editorial Cartoonists

www.editorialcartoons.com

Article on related exhibition of recent editorial cartoons of note:

http://dcpaper.examiner.com/content/e-edition/2007/07/07/2/23.pdf

Animated editorial cartoons

www.newsdayinteractive.com/project/2007/pulitzer-winner/walt-handelsman.html

Alternative Presidential Library:

www.cluelessgeorge.com