NOT FOR CREAMPUFFS: CULTURAL JETLAG
Jim Siergey
Cartooning ain’t
for creampuffs. It takes a strong back, a strong hand and a strong mind. A thick
hide doesn’t hurt either. An acceptance of living an ink-stained life is
a must as well. What kind of person becomes a cartoonist? An observer, a seeker,
a smirker, a truth-teller, a tall story spinner, someone who can see the beauty
in the ring left by a coffee cup on a counter top and the horror of a diamond-studded
dog collar; a person who sees and relishes the absurdity of the human condition.
Technique-wise, one finds a multitude of approaches, from the master of the brush
stroke to the scrawler of scratchy lines, along with crow-quilled cross-hatchers,
technical pen tacticians, mavens of the marker, even concocters of computerized
constructions (one might even come across the alliteration addict.) All these
techniques work, as long as the idea gets across. Undertones brimming with ulterior
motives can be ingested into the unwitting victim’s subconscious to perform
their nefarious work at a later time, hopefully, not from the top of a clock
tower nor to impress Jodie Foster, but merely to see things from a different
angle.
The political cartoonist
should be able to inform, amuse and stimulate thought and discussion. “Cultural
Jet Lag” began as a strip that meshed “high art” with “low
art,” freeing them to co-exist as equals.
Eventually, social
and political commentary seeped their way in, but I still tend to combine pop
culture with political commentary. Pop culture, merchandizing and politics are
all arms of the same octopus. The juxtaposition of these concepts gives people
a different perspective. The alternative press gives one the freedom to shake
things up and be to be daring. “Cultural Jet Lag” does appear in a
single-panel format from time to time, but I tend to work mostly in a multi-panel
way. This method of political cartooning is not normally seen in the mainstream
but is seen quite often in the alternative press. Could this be due to a difference
in the attention spans, the courage, and the passions among the two audiences?
Feel free to use this topic for discussion at your next espresso klatsch or quilting
bee. I sometimes think of my work as absurdity masquerading as political commentary,
but lately it appears that absurdity is what is masquerading as political reality.
Life ain’t for creampuffs either.
