19TH CENTURY FRENCH CARTOONS AND CARICATURES

I'm ashamed to say that I don't know enough about 19th Century French history to comment on the exact political context of these prints. Evidently Napoleon III met a lot of resistance from republican artists,  and that worked its way into the cartoons of the time.

The print above derives from republican sympathies but it would be a mistake to think that republicans were united in support of the new trends in art. An awful lot of them, including some of the funniest caricaturists, were against them.  Caricature magazines roasted Courbet, Manet, and even Rodin.

Lithography created a whole new market for cartoons like the one above. Most of the prints I've seen were relatively small. I guess that made them cheaper and easier to hide if need be. It's too bad because poster size reproductions would have been so much more appealing.

What's being sold here (above) is a lifestyle, a way of seeing the world. The anti-establishment reader is encouraged to imagine himself as artistically and culturally sophisticated and the defenders of the establishment are served up to him as boobs. It's argument by ridicule, which is not a very good way to get at the truth, but its appeal to artists and readers alike is irresistible.

A commenter wondered if this was the era that pioneered caricature with big heads (above) and little bodies. Is it? Who's responsible for that?  BTW, click to enlarge.

Here's a color lithograph by Daumier. Was a different stone used for each major color? It sounds expensive. Maybe silk screen or hand coloring would have been cheaper. I'm not sure.

According to Alberto's comment, even Monet did caricatures (above) for the humor magazines. It looks like he was pretty good at it.

A COUPLE OF MY REJECTS

I spent part of the morning deleting old files of pictures and projects that were intended for this blog, but which didn't make the final cut. Most were okay I guess, but they didn't grab me on the second viewing. I thought you might be interested in seeing what gets rejected around here.

Aaargh! I had high hopes for this post (above and below) but it just didn't look funny in print. I talked to John about it and he came up with gags that were absolutely hilarious, but which just didn't seem to fit somehow. What you see here are fragments of what would have been a longer "Dating Game"-type story. The title card (above) is from a real site that actually arranges dates for dogs. 

Sigh! I think it (above) would have come off better if I'd drawn it. Photos are too conservative for this type of thing.. 

Here (above) I tried out a scene from "David Copperfield." I played both David and McCawber.

I thought I made a pretty good McCawber (the role W.C. Fields played in the film), but my David was nothing to write home about, so I put the story on hold. Hmmm....maybe I was a little hasty. I think I'll move this over to the active file. 

One of these days I hope I can do a blog story with Kristen McCabe. She looks great distorted like this. Imagine her as the wicked Queen of Hearts in "Alice in Wonderland."

http://kristens-sketchblog.blogspot.com/

TOMOKAZU TASATA: MASTER CARICATURIST

If you like to draw caricatures then hold your hat, because this blog will be one of the most important that you're likely to read this year...well, this week, anyway. We'll discuss a wonderful Japanese caricaturist, Tomokazu Tabata, and we'll investigate how he manages to draw drastic portraits without offending people. 

In the previous post commenters EZ, Jennifer and Pappy remarked that some of the recipients of Aaron's caricatures didn't seem too happy about them. The guy above is an example.  Why the sour face? The caricature was a good one; he should have been delighted. Aaron must have felt pretty bad.

My first reaction was that Asians must react negatively to caricatures that give them linear eyes. They don't think of themselves that way, and maybe they're insulted by it.

But Tomo, who's Asian himself, routinely draws linear eyes and Asian subjects love it. What gives? How come they accept it from him, and not from Aaron?

I thought about this all morning, then the answer hit me. People accept it from Tomo because his drawings are so doggone happy and cartoony.  His desire is not to humiliate his subjects infront of a crowd, but to bring them into the cartoon world where everybody looks goofy. His purpose is to glorify cartooning. 

Contrast that with this portrait of an American kid who's slightly wall-eyed.  Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to do it this way. It's realistic enough to suggest that the kid actually has a serious deformity. It's bound to make the kid self-conscious about his eyes.

Look at how Tomo handles a similar problem.  The guy in the upper left is handsome, but he's also a bit chunky. An unsympathetic artist could shred him, but Tomo chooses instead to bring him into the world of stylized cartoons where everybody is distorted. The finished drawing of the guy pulls no punches, yet it still succeeds in having a good-time feel.

This (above) is a terrific picture. It's also philosophical. The value of remembering moments of happiness can't be over-estimated. Remembering those gives us hope that good times are ahead. and in moments of solitary depression, reminds us of the importance of being with friends.

Never pass up the opportunity to be drawn by a first-rate caricaturist. it's always worth the money.

A happy kid (above), with a happy portrait. I suspect that downright gloomy portraits would succeed too, provided the gloom was funny and cartoony. Portraits like that are also happy, just in a different way. It's Tomo's simplicity and directness that sells the picture. 

That approach even works when you pile on a lot of detail (above).  This picture was done by Sakiko Ushiodo.

Tomo also sculpts. Wouldn't it be great to have a sculptured caricature done in his style? It would cost, though. You can't sculpt as quickly as you can draw.

So, have I abandoned Aaron (the two pictures above) for Tomo? No, not at all.

 I like them both for different reasons. Aaron's more grotesque than Tomo, but his best work is so outrageous that it elicits involuntary laughter, and that's the gold standard for caricature. 

T00 SLEEPY TO BLOG...BUT I"LL PUT UP SOMETHING UP LATE TUESDAY AM

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WOW! CARICATURES BY AARON PHILBY!

Who is this Aaron Philby guy!!?? I'm always seeing his caricatures on the net, but they're never accompanied by biographical material. Usually they're not even signed. Whenever I see good people doing what they do anonymously I always assume they're on the lamb from the law, or are in the Witness Protection Program.

 Oops! Sorry Aaron. I hope what I said doesn't get you killed.

Wouldn't it be fun to go to the beach and get a funny caricature done like the one above? What a nice, clean line!

Aaron does what looks like acrylic portaits, too.

The man does what the best modern caricaturists do: he sees his subjects as weird, biological specimens. You see it in his two-man "friend" portraits, which always look like the love of a sea urchin for a flounder. I mean that as a compliment.

Friendship is one of the great mysteries of life. Two weird organisms (above) with different tastes and different physiology find each other and somehow just "gel." It's a strange and wonderful phenomenon and only caricature seems to capture it adequately.

 Wonderful (above), just wonderful!

Asians (above) can be a challenge to draw. The linear eyes are first thing Europeans see, but if you draw them like that some Asians get offended. That's because they don't see themselves that way. Look at Manga which always portrays Japanese as having huge, wide-open, glassy eyes. What's a caricaturist to do?

I think Aaron has the right approach. Just draw what you see. At least it's honest, and maybe one day  Asians won't be so touchy about it.

I love portraits where a big giraffe head (above) just leans in from the side. How do you like the arrangement of the teeth?

Above, another "biological specimen" portrait. You imagine David Attenburough describing the creature as a bottom feeder which uses its nose to stir up the sand, and its mouth to suck up the worms that live there. I'm guessing that the father of this technique was John K who watches animal shows on TV in order to understand humans better.

Very Nice (above)! I also like the way the chair comes off as an irregular-shaped cloth frame in this photo.

Probably these (above) were just-for-fun sketches, done at home. The task for a caricaturist is to retain this cartoony, class clown style even in a worked-up painting. 

Oops! I just discovered that this one (above) might be by Briam Oakes, I'll investigate.

I could write a whole article about these last three pictures (above). They look primitive but are actually very sophisticated. It takes real comedic and graphic talent to simplify faces this way. It's hard to do that when your subject has paid you and is sitting right in front of you. In that situation you delete everything funny in an attempt to chase the likeness. The funniest pictures are always drawn the next day when you're on the scent of a remembered impression.

This reminds me of something caricaturist Marlo Meekins said. She said she didn't mind it when people moved a lot while she was sketching them. The movement made her focus on her impression of the subject, rather than fidelity to reality.

Anyway, great work Aaron!

Aaron's blog:

http://aaronphilby.blogspot.com/

RECOMMENDATION FOR A CHRISTMAS PRESENT

Hi, Uncle Eddie here! Well, the holiday season's upon us and it's time to start thinking of Christmas presents for family and friends. If you're strapped for ideas I thought I might be able to help. I have in mind the present I recommend every year at this time...

...the "EXTENDO FORK!"

Well actually, I use...Ahem!... the "Freeloader Fork ...'PRO' " model. Stainless steel, oiled shaft, nice balance...an advanced instrument for advanced users. Since you guys are just starting out I figure you'll want to begin with the cheaper, but serviceable "Extendo Fork. "

When the target isn't looking, quickly extend it to it's full length of 2 1/2 feet...

...and DINE! Dine off your friend's plate that is. The rule here is, be fast! It tales practice to harpoon your food, bring it back to your plate, and collapse the fork in one continuous motion. Practice on an unwitting friend...heh, heh...like I did with Mike.

Okay, what else have we got here....

...okay, next is the Soup Sucker. You'll need a drink to go with that food you just forked, and the Soup Sucker doubles as a terrific drink infiltrator.

The Sucker can be had at any hardware store. It's called shrinkable insulation, and it's used to cover wires. It sells for 20 cents a foot, and it comes wrapped around a big spool. You'll need about 3' of the 3/8" size.

Thread the tube into your shirt sleeve so you have one end coming out of the cuff, and one end coming out of your collar.

Simply allow the cuff end of the tube to fall (fall stealthily) into your neighbor's drink, then suck on the other end.

When you're finished, you'll find that he curl the tube got from being on the spool really comes in handy. You just move your arm a little and and the Sucker recedes into your cuff, all by itself! Nifty, huh?

Oh...er, be careful that you don't get a siphon going. I tapped into Mike's tomato juice once and the juice kept coming out after I stopped sucking. I didn't notice it, and a big red stain formed on my shirt. Mike saw it and had a fit. He thought I'd been shot. He wanted to take me to the hospital!

Anyway, good luck with finding this stuff! May all your meals be free!