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Ellen W. Horowitz lives in the Golan Heights with her husband and six children. She is a painter, writer and political activist.
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By Ellen W. Horowitz
November 30, 2003
I used to be an avid political cartoonist and at one time made a living drawing caricatures. But aside from drawing the occasional cartoon, I stopped. It seems we've gotten beyond the absurd. We're at a place where perceived fantasy has become reality and what we thought to be reality is nothing more than illusion - a world inverted.
When bombs were bursting at the British consulate and HSBC bank last week in Istanbul, I mumbled to a couple of friends, "Well, you can cross Turkey off of my vacation list." One friend admonished me for being a bit callous - she nevertheless let out a nervous giggle. Black humor is something we all dabble in nowadays, as these are dark times.
Grotesque, evil mockery is another matter...
The awarding, by the British Political Cartoon Society, of the cartoon of the year award to Dave Brown signals the crossing of yet another forbidden parameter in this fast-deteriorating, mixed-up world of ours. The cartoon depicts a naked Prime Minister Ariel Sharon eating the head of a Palestinian baby against the backdrop of a burning city. The caption reads, "What's wrong? Have you never seen a politician kissing a baby?"
When teaching drawing, I often reprimand my students when they disregard two essential attributes of art - contrast and line quality. Without careful observation, consideration, and sensitivity the piece becomes overworked, gray and loses definition. The honesty and clarity of the work is gone. When that happens, it's back to basics. We begin again with simple line-drawing exercises. I often use cartooning as a tool to help a frustrated student work through a creative block. I find the humor helps.
Through the use of subtle humor, minimal lines and basic black and white, a cartoonist can elicit, from the viewer, a wealth of thought provoking questions on a variety of profound and disturbing issues.
On the other hand, a caricaturist crosses into the realm of the illicit, and can extract feelings of deep-hatred and prejudice on the part of those who perceive his drawings.
The cartoonist asks questions, the caricaturist draws conclusions.
Part of this has to do with the drawing style. When depicting a personality, a cartoonist presents a simple, crudely drawn representation of an individual, whereas a caricaturist renders a well drawn, realistic illustration, which includes grossly exaggerated physical flaws or features. The illustration becomes the person, rather than being symbolic. This is a dangerous line to cross. A cartoon encourages the imagination - a caricature leaves nothing to the imagination. By the way, political satirists who use the genre of photo montage or who plagiarize and distort the meaning and spirit behind classical works of art are also swimming in ethically murky waters. In this particular case, Brown claims he was "inspired" by a Francesco De Goya painting.
A talented and skilled caricaturist has a choice: he can expose terrible truths and ironies, or create blatant lies.
Ariel Sharon doesn't eat babies. Last I heard, Israeli doctors were performing life-saving heart surgery on a baby girl from Iraq, and had done their very best to save the life of a critically ill Arab boy who was brought to a military base outside of Kalkilya.
There is another point to consider, and this gets personal...
The caricaturist also exposes himself through his drawings. If you are what you eat, then you can be assured that the same axiom applies to what and how you draw.
The award by the British Cartoonist Society may be a blessing in disguise. It exposes a different truth - it may help put to rest the legend, stereotype, and caricature of the fair and distinguished "British gentleman."
You can cross England off my vacation list too.
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
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