An unapologetically prejudiced portrait of the artist

Frequent visitors to this blog know two things: 

One is that I don't think much of awards and plaques and so forth. Too many subjective factors are involved and the main thing an award accomplishes is to impress employers and potential clients, and even that isn't foolproof in this era of cloth-eared editors and short-sighted beancounters.

The other is that I really like the work of Ann Telnaes.

So that fact that she has added a Reuben -- a truly big prize in cartooning -- to a substantial stash of plaques and trophies that includes a Pulitzer left me very pleased, despite my misgivings about awards.

Which is to say, I'm delighted for her and I hope being designated the Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year will help her keep on keepin' on.

And I'm pleased that her colleagues recognize the quality of her work.

And don't look for objectiveness here today, if ever you did.

You can read about all the awards here in Michael Cavna's wrap-up, or here at the National Cartoonists Society page, and if you want to see the number of times I have saluted her work since this blog began seven years ago, just type "Telnaes" into the search box on the right rail and brace yourself.

And here are some pieces I singled out before I began CSotD:

This caricature of Attorney General John Ashcroft is from 2002, when he both ratcheted up surveillance in post-9/11 America and hung curtains in the Justice Department building so that the statue of the Spirit of Justice would not be in the background during his press conferences anymore.

Because she has a naked titty. 

It's not that "you can't make this stuff up," but, rather, that you don't have to. You just have to pay attention and think, and Telnaes does both.

This isn't just a really John Ashcroft, but a really good John Ashcroft that adds devastating wit, as distinct from "wise-ass mockery."

Any sophomore -- whether college or high school -- can be a wise-ass. Wit requires making a point, preferably one that is fresh but clear to your audience.

One that penetrates to devastating effect.

The rapier, not the meat ax.

At some point, Ann and I began emailing. I'm not sure quite when it began, but I can date it back to 2002 when she countered the ghastly commercialization of 9/11 with this piece. 

I've told the story before of how corporate headquarters had wanted to know our plan to boost circulation on the anniversary of that devastating disaster with a "commemorative edition" that would equal the income we had earned with single-copy sales the day after the tragedy.

Because 3,000 people must not die in vain, y'know. We had to monetize their sacrifice.

I emailed her to ask if any papers had actually run the piece and she replied that she suspected they hadn't but that it was not a priority at least this time around.

Given the number of editorial cartoonists competing to come up with some melodramatic, maudlin salute that editors would grab, I found it an uplifting attitude.

As we waddled into that pointless, bloody war, I continued to find her fearless refusal to kowtow inspiring.

This 2003 piece is only one of a number of similar warnings from my favorite Cassandra. I particularly liked the critique of a lapdog press festooned with flag lapel pins, marching arm-in-arm with the chickenhawk promoters of the coming disaster.

 

And, while she often depicted cynical manipulators wrapping themselves in the flag, she used Old Glory that same year in a patriotic setting, decrying our loss of freedom and privacy in the name of safety and obedience.

 

It was a theme she returned to in my most-often cited Telnaes piece, which I used in presentations to high-school students not only to raise the question of when safety becomes surrender, but to illustrate good art: The resigned slump of the woman contrasts with the just-walking-through tilt of the man.

It's an excellent example of how, while good writing can often redeem bad art, the combination of good writing and good art is explosive.

And she continues as a Cassandra: This remains an issue that was unaddressed then and has accelerated since.

When, in 2006, I began a weekly educational feature on editorial cartooning, she became as frequent an artist there as she has become here. (Along with some other excellent cartoonists!)

 

Feb. 15

 

April 26

 

May 3

 

June 28

 

July 13

 

Aug 2

 

Oct. 11
(My favorite of the entire series. Danziger and Telnaes made a devastating combination!)

 

Dec. 27

I was sorry when that feature -- and that job -- ended, and I hope, between the feature and my visits to lecture on cartoons at local schools, I inspired some kids to follow the art form.

(Pause for Message: It was also a nice thing to have corporate backing on that feature so that I could pay for cartoons. I do hope readers here are subscribing to GoComics and Comics Kingdom and picking up a few comics collections from time to time. This really does matter.)

In any case, it had implanted an itch, and four years I started CSotD to fill the gap.

In the mean time, Ann had left freelancing and landed a gig at the Washington Post, where she continues her Cassandra mission, this offering from the day before the elections being an example of an accurate prophecy to which nobody listened:

Finally, some 17 years or so after we met on-line, she came to town this March to lecture at the Center for Cartoon Studies and we had coffee together in three dimensions.

In November, I'm planning to see her again -- along with a lot of other interesting people -- at the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists convention, which will get full coverage here. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, pay attention: She's not always polite, but she's not often wrong, as with this portrayal of the top nations for executions:

Comments

[sean martin]

Wow. I had almost forgotten about the whole dust up over the naked tits on the statues. Yeah, that was... uhm.... something. If I remember right, didnt they cover them with cloth or something so the administration snowflakes wouldnt be upset or consumed with lust for bronze women or something or other?

And I wonder how many people today will see the flagpole with cameras image the same way we who lived through the heady days of the ironically-named "Patriot Act" do. Sometimes, yeah, you just had to be there.

Thanks for profiling this obscenely talented woman. The award is well earned.