Saturday, November 7, 2009
AAEC - Cartoonist Profile
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Roofus
Cristian Fleming - my descent into satire
In high school I spent half my day drawing on desks and the other half being forced by teachers to clean it off. I loved looking at the opinion section of the newspaper to see the daily distortion of world leaders, events and reality in general. At the time, while it fascinated me, I didn't understand the politics behind any of it so when I tried my hand at editorial cartooning all that came out were nice drawings with no point. After high school drawing was put on a shelf in favor of the newly computerized field of graphic design and for nearly 10 years, I didn't seriously pick up a pencil. Then September 11th happened. I lived in downtown New York City and saw firsthand the effect it had on everyone and everything around me. With an interest in understanding how something like 9/11 could happen I started to read. For 3 years I read every piece of news and non-fiction history I could get my hands on from every conceivable corner of the planet (the non-fiction history part may well have been obtained in high school had I not spent the entire time drawing on desks instead of paying attention).
Then I got cynical.
To me, watching the news is like watching a series of cartoons. The overt absurdity in most of what seems to go on in the world politically is out there for all to see if youre watching and you know your history. When I watch events unfold I can't understand how that absurdity is not apparent. So...10 years after I stopped drawing, I realized that I now have the second part of the equation that was lacking: I understand politics. Now my cartoons hopefully possess the point they were lacking on so many high school desks. So let's see. We've got:
- I understand politics. (ok, well, maybe)
- Apparently I haven't forgotten how to draw.
- I've been driven to irreversible madness by a 24-hour news addiction.
As George W. Bush famously put it "Hey, looks like I hit the trifecta!" Might as well put it to use. Someone told me that no matter what your emotional state, if you can still laugh at the things that drive you crazy then you're alright. I believe it. The world is nuts these days and I know a lot of pissed off people. I've been pissed off. I'd rather laugh and if I can help other people do the same then I think that's alright.
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