I often draw political events and awards shows on television. It seems to be something I enjoy and people enjoy seeing my quick sketches. I have done it for a few years now for The New Yorker, BET, Theatermania, Fusion and Medium. This time I did it for myself and my own personal audience….as I wasn’t even sure I could do it at all. The Golden Globes this year followed an incredible tragedy: it was so close to the deaths of the four cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, and I was in such a fog about that, and still very sad. It seemed odd to being doing something so frivolous. But I decided–or imagined–that the four irreverent cartoonists who were killed would approve of my lampooning Hollywood. They would have done a much more forceful job of it than I, but that’s neither here nor there.
Above and below are the results. I have a feeling that cartoonists were on people’s minds as they watched the Golden Globes (some actors commented on the tragedy), because my work got more attention than usual. Cartoonists are being thought of. It’s nice, I hope it lasts, but for better reasons. Cartoonists are a wonderful asset to our society, I must admit. I like cartoonists: they are, generally speaking, good people. And we provide a much needed service.
My tweet drawings for the Golden Globes got a shout out on twitter from @NBC, and Retweeted and favorited by thousands of others. The following day, my drawings were shown on the Today Show, I was profiled in People and also on USA Today. Quite something.
It seems that people like cartoons, no matter whether they are hard hitting or silly. We all need to laugh.
I was excited and honored to be invited to live draw Rise Up As One, an amazing, historic concert on the border of Mexico, put on by Univision and Fusion. Lucky to be situated on the side of the stage, I drew what I could onstage (sadly I missed a few early acts). It was exhilarating, the music was beyond great, the audience was incredibly pumped, and after the sun went down, it was freezing?—?my hands stopped working! During a few acts, my visibility was limited because folks backstage were crowding to watch the performers. The energy was infectious. In the current political climate, we need to express more unity and less hatred.
