As Resident Cartoonist of CBS News, I was invited to create animations for a story on CBS This Morning. The story is about people who wear “uniforms.” Not the traditional police or nurse type of uniform, but clothing they select and then buy numerous sets and wear every day. Like Michael Kors and Steve Jobs, for example.
When President Barack Obama was in office, he wore the same type and color of suit all the time. Remember when he appeared on tv in a tan suit
and the Internet went wild with speculation? I immediately drew this image to the right as I watched him on television. No one listened to what he said, which was a serious talk about terrorism.
Steve Jobs said if you wear the same thing all the time, people will listen to what you are saying and not what you are wearing. I believe this, and acknowledge that this can be a complicated discussion when it comes to gender.
The animations were integrated in a very creative way, I was thrilled to be a part of this. Here is the link to the story, and the drawings are below. CBSN’s Vlad Duthiers was the correspondant who told the story, and performed an interesting workplace “experiment.” Kira Kleaveland was the creative producer of the piece.
It makes me very happy that my work was able to travel, it can speak as well (if not better) as I can in person. Seeing my cartoons about women’s rights be shown in different countries, as well as my cartoons about politics and life in the United States means a great deal to me.
India has a long, fascinating history of political cartoonists, and I have read some about it in Caricaturing Culture in India, by Ritu Gairola. It is fascinating to me to see how different cultures approach cartooning, and how different countries find humor in their lives. A vital art form that often is a risky profession, in many countries cartoonists are jailed for creating satire about their governments.
Cartoons can cross borders–in important ways, and in difficult ways– when words cannot. We have seen with the Danish Cartoon Controversy in 2006, and then the Charlie Hebdo murders in Paris in 2015 that cartoons can be misunderstood and the result can be deadly. A firm believer in total freedom of speech, nevertheless I am finding it a complicated line to walk. It is a line that requires trying to understand how one’s work might affect others, while drawing about issues that are important to you and you feel need to be expressed. I wrote about this in The New York Times following the death of cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo publication in 2015, here.
Many thanks to the organizer, V.G. Narendria, and his colleagues at the India Institute of Cartoonists for giving me the honor of having my work cross the border into India, a country I find fascinating.
Interview with the New Indian ExpressInterview in The Times Of IndiaCartoonists and Amarnath KamathMr. Girish Karnad, actor and writer
For many, Earth Day is about picking up trash to make our surroundings more beautiful. As I thought about that, I came up with the visual idea that while Earth Day takes many forms and many activities, it is ultimately about putting our Earth back together.
Here is my initial sketch to flesh out the idea:
Here is the animated version that was published by CBS News:
Finally, I decided to complete the initial sketch and make a still graphic narrative piece, with an ending that for me, brings it all together:
I remember when I was growing up, along with the comics in the Washington Post, I always looked forward to the Sunday magazine, Parade. It was visual, so right down my alley. I am very pleased that this week, I appear in the online version of Parade. Journalist Dr. Nancy Berk did a wonderful job interviewing me in advance of my speaking at the Erma Bombeck Writer’s Workshop next week, April 5th in Dayton, Ohio. Also thrilled about that! Thanks to my friend and very funny comedian Wendy Liebman, for making that happen. Wendy is an instructor at the workshop every year. I can’t wait!
I arrived at the Women’s March in NYC around 10:30am and easily moved to the press area. There was a buzz of activity and musicians were onstage testing equipment. I had seen protesters—many with signs and pink hats—on the subway on my way to Columbus Circle, but the area was not crowded yet.
A volunteer who was so cheerful, it was clear she would never need or want to use her megaphone.
While I waited for the speakers to begin, I interviewed a mother and daughter standing next to me, and the video of me drawing them along with audio interview can be seen here.
As soon as the program began, the area got very crowded. I was able to draw the first speakers, but soon was unable to draw anymore because it was too crowded. And it was freezing, my hand wouldn’t really function until it warmed up.
I left the stage area and after warming up in a cafe, began walking around. Columbus Circle was amass with people, most of whom appeared to be there for the march. Traffic was nowhere to be seen, and baracades attempted to keep people contained to certain areas. I overheard someone say the marchers were backed up to 84th street (Columbus Circle is at 59th). They were waiting for the marching to begin once the speaker part of the rally was over.
I wandered around somewhat aimlessly, looking for interesting subjects to draw. I stumbled on a table set-up for children to draw and write signs for the protest.
There were signs everywhere, and I tried to chose the ones that were more positive in nature. As I saw it, the march was about a variety of concerns: extreme disagreement with President Trump, hope and desire for women’s and girls’ rights, a call to get out the vote and a call to elect more women to public office. One woman just stood in the middle of the street and held her sign for a long time. Another group of young women expressed their strong feelings, chanting and holding their signs about the importance of diversity in the women’s movement.
A father had brought his two sons, and they posed for me. I had not seen any boys of any age, so I thanked these two for being there.
Some of the other signs I saw:
I started to walk south as the march began, following them at a distance because the police would not let us get close.
As I watched the marchers and drew them, I had the chance to hear a policeman standing next ot me answer quite a few questions from passers-by. He was patient and quite funny. To one questioner, he said,
“Are those angry people with pink hats bothering you?”
Eventually, I got closer to the marchers as they turned onto Central Park South. Sign carrying on-lookers stood on the rock wall in the park, across from my position on the sidewalk.
I enjoyed watching people watching the march, too. Sign carriers were asked to stop for photos, and people generally just hung out on the sidelines observing the mass of humanity marching down the street. Sometimes the marchers were thick in numbers and moved as if one unit. Other times it was thinner. It was fun to see doormen stand by their buildings on Central Park South, watching the marchers. One man was looking out the window and smiled broadly at me as the march reflected behind him in the window.
Around 45th Street, the marchers began to disperse, being told by police?—?there were a LOT of cops everywhere?—?to turn right and head towards Broadway. Everyone dutifully did, politely and quietly. As I headed that way too, I saw pink hatted protesters looking for food and drink. I saw them go into into pubs and coffee shops. Hot dog anyone?
Just as I left the area, I spotted a group of people looking down at the street, between several baricades arranged in a triangle. Apparently, marchers had been tossing their signs into the pile of signs. To be thrown away? Used again? Or perhaps saved in a museum.
in person. Seeing my cartoons about women’s rights be shown in different countries, as well as my cartoons about politics and life in the United States means a great deal to me. 
I arrived at the Women’s March in NYC around 10:30am and easily moved to the press area. There was a buzz of activity and musicians were onstage testing equipment. I had seen protesters—many with signs and pink hats—on the subway on my way to Columbus Circle, but the area was not crowded yet.
