Chronicling over half of US history, the comic strip is a uniquely American art form. Ever since the scrappy slang-spewing bald headed Yellow Kid from Hogan's Alley appeared in 1895’s New York newsprint exposing urban immigrant squalor, the American audience has feasted on illustrated social commentary in a box.
Often the readers’ first go-to, the comics fueled newspaper sales and competition between publishers, all pushing to be the most entertaining. Full weekday pages and entire Sunday sections featured dozens of comic strips (color reserved for weekends), many with dramatic storylines that pulled devotees from one day to the next.
Popularizing characters spawned a rich mixture of American cartoon and caricature: from waxed paper comics lining bubble-gum wrappers to urbane sketches in The New Yorker. The genre even earned the ultimate badge of Americana with a seminal United States Postal Service stamp design honoring the newspaper comic strip. By the 1990s, a national museum of cartoon art opened and closed, but importantly became the largest collection of cartoon art at the US Library of Congress. It's a national treasure trove with depictions that mirror history. Cartoonists have long plied us with simple, often scorching visuals.
Today, on America's 250th birthday, we feature the finest in contemporary narrative imagery. Syndicated cartoonists Nick Anderson and Mike Luckovich take daily swipes in newspapers. Their mastery of this cross-generational American tradition, considered among the most prized and beloved of homegrown art forms, jumps off the page. In quizzical, often playful ways, these artists visually journal the absurdities of America at 250, and summon us to reflect and repair.
We are excited to exhibit two Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonists who fill our gallery walls this spring into summer with some of the finest lampoons. “What’s So Funny?” includes original drawings as well as enlarged, signed and dated editions. The artists address the most pressing issues of the day. Their delivery may startle, puzzle, even prompt you to reflect. That’s what they’re meant to do.
Join us June 11th from 6pm - 7:30pm for the opening at Amy Kaslow Gallery.