The Cover: The “Cartoon Takeover” theme begins on Robert Sikoryak’s cover as cartoon characters whitewash text. Read a Q&A with the cover artist here. The Cartoonists: The Cartoons: Right off the bat, it should be noted that this issue is unlike the “Cartoon Issue” once produced this time of the year beginning in 1997; that series ended after a fifteen
Read moreTag: John Updike
Video of Interest: John Updike & New Yorker Cartoons; From Ink Spill’s Archives: Art of The New Yorker Ephemera
The late John Updike (he died in 2009) wrote almost as much about the magazine’s cartoons and cartoonists as any New Yorker contributor outside of the Art/Cartoon Department [see below]. Here we have a chance to see him for five and-a-half minutes, up close with some of the magazine’s most iconic drawings, including James Thurber’s Seal in the Bedroom,
Read moreUpdike & Roth (John & Arnold)…and Henry Bech
“All cartoonists are geniuses, but Arnold Roth is especially so. The first time I saw a Roth drawing, I was zapped…A superabundant creative spirit surges through a Roth drawing like electricity; the lines sizzle.” — From John Updike’s introduction to Poor Arnold’s Almanac (Fantagraphic Books, 1998). I’ve been running into Arnold
Read moreAaron Bacall Exhibit; Keillor Notes Updike’s Birthday; Chast to Speak in Syracuse
Work by the late Aaron Bacall (he died in June of 2015) is on display now til the end of May at The Jewish Community Center of Staten Island. Here’s a video news piece on the exhibit. Mr. Bacall, who supplied his self-portrait to this site a few years ago, is a distinguished member of Ink Spill‘s One Club.
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