Cartooning: Has opened new doors to Artists

Through the better part of the decade ‘Cartooning’ has prospered in leaps and bounds. From sweeping a few random strokes on the white paper, Cartooning has come up roses withstanding the hard times. It is a semi-realistic visual art grounded on hyperreal concepts that expose the loopholes in the system. It is a medium that has spoken out on few weighty issues in the recent time, armoured with creativity and wit to bring down the satirical tinge to the incident.

 

Since time immemorial, graphic illustrations have drawn significant interest from the crowd because of its vivid display. Books have been blessed with life only when the alphabets have been finely complemented with referential pictures. ‘Cartoon’ grew powerful as an individual genre for its quirky approach. It evolved into an eye candy more because of its sarcastic slant on reality. Cartoons caricature politics, war, religious intolerance and the like bringing to light few such not known darks in a comical fashion.

Ever since the era of World Wars, a few cartoonists who can evidently be named came up with their brushes, using them as weapons, to get the upper hand over their enemies. Theodor Seuss Geisel was one such political cartoonist in World War II, who turned his energies in solidarity with the U.S war effort. However, moving with time, the valour and glory of war were soon replaced by its futility. Reformed movements started taking place in order to restore peace and consequently ‘Art’ shaped itself. ‘Superheroes’ in comic strips were soon portrayed as moral teachers promoting peace, and hence, the brutality of cartoons were in check.

Taking up the instances from today’s hazards, a simple sketch of the Eiffel Tower inside a circle doodled by Jean Jullien (a French Graphic Designer) started going viral over social media. Jean shook off his initial stretches of shock, and prayed for peace through what he was best at. Nevertheless, the ‘Peace Symbol’ made by him, was not something planned ahead of time, rather, it was more of “an instinctive graphic reaction”. However, Jean regrets the over the top exposure he has gotten that this symbol has brought to him. He humbly opines in one of his interviews, “I want to make people happy and laugh, not draw symbols of tragedies…But if I created something that was helpful for people, then I’m okay with it. It’s a practical image.”

 

                 Across time, the pathos around the world have moulded themselves into various art forms to release their deepest horrors. A poet has woven a poem, a singer has composed music and a cartoonist has detailed truths. Projects like ‘Cartoon Movement’ and ‘Cartooning for peace’ have taken a number of initiatives on social awareness and human rights.Thus, hoping high to see more brushes and pencils than guns!

“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.”

-Erich Fromm

Picture Courtesy: Google