Author: liza

Live Drawing The 2019 Women’s March In Washington DC

For the third straight year, I have live-drawn Women’s Marches in Washington DC and New York City. This year, I took a train down for the day to Washington and drew my impressions of what I saw and felt. I made the trip in part for myself, because I wanted to see where the movement was and where it may be headed. (more of my thoughts here at CNN.com)

 

What I noticed immediately was that it seemed very well organized. Workers greeted us as we emerged from the Metro, giving us directions to the rally. It was really cold, and when I inquired as to if there was a coffee shop nearby, I was directed to a stationary “warming shuttle,” the purpose of which was solely to help people get warm. There were a million porta-potties, probably more than they needed. The music that was broadcast on a loudspeaker was fantastic, and when they played Aretha Franklin singing “Respect,” the crowd responded by breaking out in dance and song. It seemed like it was the anthem of the day.

 

There were some pink hats on the heads of marchers?—?I frankly didn’t expect to see any this year. What there were a lot of were signs. Signs of all kinds: about voting, the ERA, intense (and sometimes vulgar) anger at the president, pleas for kindness, equality, inclusiveness, equality, freedom. There were not as many humorous signs this year, but clearly more signs in general. As if people wanted to not only be seen, but heard.

The crowd was racially mixed, with a good handful of men and a few children. Marchers represented many generations as well. The speakers were very diverse, from all religions, races, gender definitions and sexual orientation. It was a friendly and passionate crowd.

 

The signs and the speakers addressed the controversy that has followed this march in recent months, in fact it was dealt with head-on. In general, that attitude was warm, friendly and there was a feeling of a desire to be inclusive and not hateful going forward.

 

Since there were women’s marches all over the world on the same day, I now believe that this movement is about grass roots organizing in individual communities. This is as it should be. The large marches are effective in bringing national attention to the need for equality and respect for women. But how to acheive that will have to be done on the local level in many cases.

Electing women to higher office and as heads of companies, along with changing legislation, is key . But each individual community has to decide for itself how to implement change at the local level.

 
As a cartoonist, it’s my job to observe society. I see what needs to be changed and understand that the lionshare of change has to happen on the personal level. Change comes one person at a time.
 
 

For my editorial on this event for CNN.com, go here.

 

NIghtmare At The White House: Strong Women

I knew I had to draw something about this.  The 116th Congress saw more women representatives being sworn  in this January than ever before, under the leadership of Nancy Pelosi. I find it exhilerating and hopeful. Others may not, and so I drew this three panel cartoon about what the current occupant of the White House might be worried about.  Trump may not be thrilled about this change in Congress. 

Drawing The Everyday: A street vendor puts me in a trance

Wherever I go– even in my favorite city of New York where I live– I like to live draw. 

 

 

 

How many times have I passed by people just doing their jobs and don’t notice them? Hundreds of thousands of times. 

While waiting for a meeting, I sat in a coffee shop and drew what was in my line of vision. What sat squarely in front of me and my cappucino happened to be this man in his magazine stand. There was a few feet of sidewalk and glass between us, so I could draw him unoticed. The man seemed very happy to be doing what he was doing: selling candy, chips, water, soda, gum, lottery tickets, perhaps a newspaper (there were only a few offered), and rearranging his merchandise.

I enjoyed watching his smile as he greeted the people who stopped to buy something. For the nine minutes it took me to draw him and his wares, I was in a sort of trance, focusing on the colors and shapes, his smile and his hat. I was momentarily oblivious to my emails, the news of the day and world events.

The above video was done with video screen capture. Here is the finished product.

 

It was a lovely few moments of noticing the everyday.

Drawing In China: Politics and Women’s Rights

Recently, I was invited to travel to China to speak about editorial cartooning and women’s rights. It was an amazing experience, one that I will never forget. My host was the China Women’s Film Festival.  They believe that art is a way to express important concerns and can do so in a powerful way. The people I met are brave and were very friendly, asking so many questions as we discussed how to express injustice in both our countries.  

I wrote about the experience and share all the drawings I did while there in a post on my Medium page, here.  And I explain the context and the people I met in a post called Under One Moon,  here. I also show some of the feminist cartoons I showed in my talks in China. 

Please go visit my Medium site to read and see more.  

 

BBC Profile

Recently, I had the pleasure to be profiled and interviewed by the BBC. Journalist and filmaker, Harriet Constable, came to my studio in the country and spent the day with me. She also was with me when I conducted a panel discussion about women cartoonists at the Society of Illustrators in New York, which was held on the night of the opening of the exhibit that I curated there about women who draw and have drawn cartoons for The New Yorker. The exhibit is called “Funny Ladies At The New Yorker, Then and Now” and runs until Oct 13th. The show is based on my history, “Funny Ladies: The New Yorker’s Greatest Women Cartoonists and Their Cartoons” 
Here is the BBC profile:
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20180817-the-female-cartoonists-who-draw-for-change

Packed House For Cartoonists Who Are Women in NYC!

Photo by Michael Maslin
Who knew that an exhibition about women cartoonists from The New Yorker would draw a huge, standing-room only, out-the-door-and-around-the-block crowd ?  When the room downstairs was full, they sent people to the second and third floors (where the bar was) and to the lower level (where the food was).  The evening was the opening event, and included a lively–at times hysterical– panel discussion with cartoonists Roz Chast, Liana Finck, Carolita Johnson, and New Yorker cartoon editor Emma Allen.  It was so much fun!  I selected and moderated the panel, and each participant was so funny and told stories and shared what the life of a cartoonist was like. Then we showed cartoons that are particularly feminist in tone, and talked about those. 
I curated the Funny Ladies At The New Yorker, Then and Now exhibition to include original art from 1925 through 2018. It is based in part on my book, Funny Ladies: The New Yorker’s Women Cartoonists and Their Cartoons,a history of the women who drew for The New Yorker from the very first issue of the magazine in 1925. But the motivation for the show was also to celebrate that on Dec 4, 2017,  for the first time in its history,  the magazine published the first issue ever that included more women drawing cartoons than men. 
The show runs until Oct 13. There will be another panel event on Oct 11th!  It’s at the Society of Illustrators, 128 East 63rd, NYC. It’s a wonderful three story townhouse museum dedicated to art and illustration!  They have a restaurant bar on the third floor, check it out.
The Society of Illustrators, photo credit Steffen Kaplin, @Spinitsocial
Outside the Society of Illustrators. Photo credit Steffen Kaplin, @Spinitsocial

 

The panelists. Standing: Carolita Johnson, Emma Allen, Roz Chast; seated, Liana Finck, Liza Donnelly. Photo by Stephen Nadler.
Some of the cartoonists whose work is in the exhbition. Sharon Levy, Roz Chast, Liza Donnelly, Carolita Johnson, Liana Finck, Emily Sanders Hopkins (nee Richards), Sophia Warren, Mary Lawton, and Maggie Larson. Photo by Michael Maslin

 

    (Above photos credit Steffen Kaplan,  @SpinItSocial)

And here are photos of the exhibition:

 

 

Photo credits: @SpinItSocial, @lizadonnelly