In my mail from Bonnie Bendon Campbell, a pointer to a Maggie Larson cartoon in the 12/4 New Yorker and to Michael Maslin’s Inkspill column about that issue:
(#1) From the 12/4/17 New Yorker, the first issue with more women artists than men
What Bonnie pointed me to was “Cartoon by Maggie Larson ’10 Part of History-Making Issue of The New Yorker” on the 12/13 Bryn Mawr College News and Headlines site (Bonnie is a Bryn Mawr alumna, class of mumble-mumble), which had the link to Maslin and added:
Another cartoon of Larson’s is featured in the Dec. 18 and 25 issue of the magazine and [two further cartoons] appeared in a September New York Times article about the exhibition “Not OK — Great Cartoons That Weren’t Good Enough.”
First, the cartoons:
(#2) “Awake”, from the 12/18&25/17 New Yorker
(#3) “Crosswalk High Five”, from the “Not OK” exhibition
(#4) “Downward Facing Manspread”, from the “Not OK” exhibition (my favorite of the 4 here)
Then the Maslin, “The Monday Tilley Watch: The New Yorker Issue of December 4, 2017”, with a wry look back at a piece of history:
Back in February of 1996, the New Yorker celebrated its 71st anniversary with a “Special Women’s Issue.” Of the 23 cartoonists in the issue, 20 were men. The three women cartoonists were Victoria Roberts, Roz Chast, and Liza Donnelly. The cover, a take-off on Eustace Tilley, dubbed “Eustacia Tilley” was handled by a man, R.O. Blechman. [Final score for the women’s issue: 21-3.]
Now, just 21 years later, we have what I believe to be a first: this is the first issue of the New Yorker where the number of women artists outnumber the men (if anyone can provide an earlier issue where this was the case, please let me know). Of the 14 cartoonists contributing to this latest issue, 8 are women. The cover is by a woman as well [my 12/2 posting about Kim DeMarco’s cover is here; it also discusses two cartoons from the issue, one by a woman (Liana Finck), one by a man (Jon Adams)].
The NYT about the “Not OK” exhibition, “The New Yorker Said No, but These Cartoons Just May Make Your Day” by George Gene Gustines on 9/21/17:
Of the 1,000 cartoons submitted to The New Yorker each week, only about 15 [1.5%] are published in the magazine. That is a pretty high bar, though logic might suggest there are some gems among the rejects. At least, that is David Ostow’s theory. He has been submitting his cartoons to the magazine since early last year, but has yet to be published in it.
Instead of reeling from repeated rejection, Mr. Ostow, an architect and illustrator, decided to embrace it: Why not share his illustrations and the work of others with the public, who may appreciate the attempts at wit? The result is the exhibition “Not OK — Great Cartoons That Weren’t Good Enough,” with 45 pieces by 15 artists at Kave Espresso Bar and Event Space. [The show closed on 12/15.]
There are some really funny cartoons in there — as there pretty much would have to be, given the ca. 98.5% rejection rate.
Finally, about Larson, from her website:
Maggie Larson is an artist and cartoonist living in New York City. Her work has been featured in The New Yorker, and commissioned for cards, posters, and album covers. Maggie grew up in Portland Oregon, graduated from Bryn Mawr College just outside of Philadelphia and gets much inspiration for her work from the cities she has called home as well as her own life. Maggie primarily works with pen and ink and her pieces include both single panel and sequential art. When she’s not at her drawing table, Maggie writes and plays music, performs improv comedy, makes earrings, and works at an education nonprofit.
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