Political cartoonists meet at U.N. to discuss fine line between free expression and respecting religious beliefs
The Associated Press
Published: October 16, 2006
UNITED NATIONS Political cartoonists met at the United Nations to discuss their responsibilities and the pressures they face which were highlighted by the Muslim outrage over a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper.
More than 15 cartoonists from Denmark, the Middle East, U.S., Africa and other countries, drew a fine line between freedom of expression and respecting religious beliefs during a daylong program Monday on their changing profession entitled "Cartooning for Peace: The responsibility of political cartoonists?"
Some of the cartoonists will continue the debate at programs in Geneva and Brussels.
Cartoons "can encourage us to look critically at ourselves, and increase our empathy for the sufferings and frustration of others," U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in opening remarks to the U.N. seminar. "But they can also do the opposite. They have, in short, a big responsibility."
During the seminar, the cartoonists exhibited their work and discussed the power of the medium that incorporates humor, irony and politics — and can sometimes result in a volatile mix.
Many of the cartoonists said their work must not be created primarily to incite tensions that could result in violence, while others acknowledged they cannot always determine when they will cross the line.
But they all agreed they must pay attention to the present political climate of the world.
"We have a job to be more sensitive," said Jean Plantu, a leading political cartoonist for the French newspaper Le Monde and the main organizer of the event.
"It is a new challenge for us," he told reporters at a press conference during a break in the day-long session.
Drawings depicting the Prophet Muhammad were first published in September 2005 in the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten and reprinted four months later in a range of Western media, triggering massive protests across the Islamic world from Morocco to Indonesia.
Carsten Graabaek said during the program that he accepted "with some trepidation" the invitation to speak as one of the 40 Danish cartoonists originally contacted by the newspaper to depict the Prophet Muhammad.
Unlike 12 others who did, he said he declined to render a drawing for the paper because he "hadn't any squabble" with the prophet.
"I think cartooning is about what goes on Earth and freedom of speech is a worldly affair, a secular affair, whereas the prophet and respect for the prophet and the ban on drawing or painting his likeness is a spiritual matter," Graabaek said.
He said the two should remain separate.
"Instead of having these endless discussions that are still going on, I think we should scrap the whole argument, because it leads nowhere," Graabaek said, adding that cartoonists should be politically correct, despite the stigma the term carries.
While Plantu called for more sensitivity by cartoonists, he was joined by others who disagreed with codifying what subjects should be avoided.
"It's not our job to say what should be drawn and what should not be drawn," he said.
Mike Luckovich, a U.S. editorial cartoonist for the Atlanta Journal Constitution and a Pulitzer Prize winner, also said cartoonists should not have to follow political correctness, but should question their own motivations.
"I don't think you should incite people, just to incite them," he said. "And I think that's what the Danish cartoonists, or editors, did."
Annan said he hoped "we can avoid getting into a kind of 'cartoon war,' in which one group seeks to retaliate for the offense it has suffered, or believes it has suffered, by publishing whatever it thinks will be most offensive to another group."
An exhibition of more than 200 cartoons about the Holocaust opened in August in Tehran as Iran's response to the Danish cartoons.
During a visit to Iran, Annan raised concerns with officials over the exhibition.
Speaking about the reaction to the Danish cartoons, African cartoonist Godfrey Amon Mwampembwa said, "It's well documented that many Muslim papers have lampooned the Holocaust, but I guess you've never seen a reaction like that before."
Mwampembwa, the editorial cartoonist for the Kenya-based Nation Media Group, said he did not think "any cartoon merits the burning of the flag or the killing of somebody."
UNITED NATIONS Political cartoonists met at the United Nations to discuss their responsibilities and the pressures they face which were highlighted by the Muslim outrage over a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper.
More than 15 cartoonists from Denmark, the Middle East, U.S., Africa and other countries, drew a fine line between freedom of expression and respecting religious beliefs during a daylong program Monday on their changing profession entitled "Cartooning for Peace: The responsibility of political cartoonists?"
Some of the cartoonists will continue the debate at programs in Geneva and Brussels.
Cartoons "can encourage us to look critically at ourselves, and increase our empathy for the sufferings and frustration of others," U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in opening remarks to the U.N. seminar. "But they can also do the opposite. They have, in short, a big responsibility."
During the seminar, the cartoonists exhibited their work and discussed the power of the medium that incorporates humor, irony and politics — and can sometimes result in a volatile mix.
Many of the cartoonists said their work must not be created primarily to incite tensions that could result in violence, while others acknowledged they cannot always determine when they will cross the line.
But they all agreed they must pay attention to the present political climate of the world.
"We have a job to be more sensitive," said Jean Plantu, a leading political cartoonist for the French newspaper Le Monde and the main organizer of the event.
"It is a new challenge for us," he told reporters at a press conference during a break in the day-long session.
Drawings depicting the Prophet Muhammad were first published in September 2005 in the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten and reprinted four months later in a range of Western media, triggering massive protests across the Islamic world from Morocco to Indonesia.
Carsten Graabaek said during the program that he accepted "with some trepidation" the invitation to speak as one of the 40 Danish cartoonists originally contacted by the newspaper to depict the Prophet Muhammad.
Unlike 12 others who did, he said he declined to render a drawing for the paper because he "hadn't any squabble" with the prophet.
"I think cartooning is about what goes on Earth and freedom of speech is a worldly affair, a secular affair, whereas the prophet and respect for the prophet and the ban on drawing or painting his likeness is a spiritual matter," Graabaek said.
He said the two should remain separate.
"Instead of having these endless discussions that are still going on, I think we should scrap the whole argument, because it leads nowhere," Graabaek said, adding that cartoonists should be politically correct, despite the stigma the term carries.
While Plantu called for more sensitivity by cartoonists, he was joined by others who disagreed with codifying what subjects should be avoided.
"It's not our job to say what should be drawn and what should not be drawn," he said.
Mike Luckovich, a U.S. editorial cartoonist for the Atlanta Journal Constitution and a Pulitzer Prize winner, also said cartoonists should not have to follow political correctness, but should question their own motivations.
"I don't think you should incite people, just to incite them," he said. "And I think that's what the Danish cartoonists, or editors, did."
Annan said he hoped "we can avoid getting into a kind of 'cartoon war,' in which one group seeks to retaliate for the offense it has suffered, or believes it has suffered, by publishing whatever it thinks will be most offensive to another group."
An exhibition of more than 200 cartoons about the Holocaust opened in August in Tehran as Iran's response to the Danish cartoons.
During a visit to Iran, Annan raised concerns with officials over the exhibition.
Speaking about the reaction to the Danish cartoons, African cartoonist Godfrey Amon Mwampembwa said, "It's well documented that many Muslim papers have lampooned the Holocaust, but I guess you've never seen a reaction like that before."
Mwampembwa, the editorial cartoonist for the Kenya-based Nation Media Group, said he did not think "any cartoon merits the burning of the flag or the killing of somebody."
UNITED NATIONS Political cartoonists met at the United Nations to discuss their responsibilities and the pressures they face which were highlighted by the Muslim outrage over a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper.
More than 15 cartoonists from Denmark, the Middle East, U.S., Africa and other countries, drew a fine line between freedom of expression and respecting religious beliefs during a daylong program Monday on their changing profession entitled "Cartooning for Peace: The responsibility of political cartoonists?"
Some of the cartoonists will continue the debate at programs in Geneva and Brussels.
Cartoons "can encourage us to look critically at ourselves, and increase our empathy for the sufferings and frustration of others," U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in opening remarks to the U.N. seminar. "But they can also do the opposite. They have, in short, a big responsibility."
During the seminar, the cartoonists exhibited their work and discussed the power of the medium that incorporates humor, irony and politics — and can sometimes result in a volatile mix.
Many of the cartoonists said their work must not be created primarily to incite tensions that could result in violence, while others acknowledged they cannot always determine when they will cross the line.
But they all agreed they must pay attention to the present political climate of the world.
"We have a job to be more sensitive," said Jean Plantu, a leading political cartoonist for the French newspaper Le Monde and the main organizer of the event.
"It is a new challenge for us," he told reporters at a press conference during a break in the day-long session.
Drawings depicting the Prophet Muhammad were first published in September 2005 in the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten and reprinted four months later in a range of Western media, triggering massive protests across the Islamic world from Morocco to Indonesia.
Carsten Graabaek said during the program that he accepted "with some trepidation" the invitation to speak as one of the 40 Danish cartoonists originally contacted by the newspaper to depict the Prophet Muhammad.
Unlike 12 others who did, he said he declined to render a drawing for the paper because he "hadn't any squabble" with the prophet.
"I think cartooning is about what goes on Earth and freedom of speech is a worldly affair, a secular affair, whereas the prophet and respect for the prophet and the ban on drawing or painting his likeness is a spiritual matter," Graabaek said.
He said the two should remain separate.
"Instead of having these endless discussions that are still going on, I think we should scrap the whole argument, because it leads nowhere," Graabaek said, adding that cartoonists should be politically correct, despite the stigma the term carries.
While Plantu called for more sensitivity by cartoonists, he was joined by others who disagreed with codifying what subjects should be avoided.
"It's not our job to say what should be drawn and what should not be drawn," he said.
Mike Luckovich, a U.S. editorial cartoonist for the Atlanta Journal Constitution and a Pulitzer Prize winner, also said cartoonists should not have to follow political correctness, but should question their own motivations.
"I don't think you should incite people, just to incite them," he said. "And I think that's what the Danish cartoonists, or editors, did."
Annan said he hoped "we can avoid getting into a kind of 'cartoon war,' in which one group seeks to retaliate for the offense it has suffered, or believes it has suffered, by publishing whatever it thinks will be most offensive to another group."
An exhibition of more than 200 cartoons about the Holocaust opened in August in Tehran as Iran's response to the Danish cartoons.
During a visit to Iran, Annan raised concerns with officials over the exhibition.
Speaking about the reaction to the Danish cartoons, African cartoonist Godfrey Amon Mwampembwa said, "It's well documented that many Muslim papers have lampooned the Holocaust, but I guess you've never seen a reaction like that before."
Mwampembwa, the editorial cartoonist for the Kenya-based Nation Media Group, said he did not think "any cartoon merits the burning of the flag or the killing of somebody."
UNITED NATIONS Political cartoonists met at the United Nations to discuss their responsibilities and the pressures they face which were highlighted by the Muslim outrage over a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper.
More than 15 cartoonists from Denmark, the Middle East, U.S., Africa and other countries, drew a fine line between freedom of expression and respecting religious beliefs during a daylong program Monday on their changing profession entitled "Cartooning for Peace: The responsibility of political cartoonists?"
Some of the cartoonists will continue the debate at programs in Geneva and Brussels.
Cartoons "can encourage us to look critically at ourselves, and increase our empathy for the sufferings and frustration of others," U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in opening remarks to the U.N. seminar. "But they can also do the opposite. They have, in short, a big responsibility."
During the seminar, the cartoonists exhibited their work and discussed the power of the medium that incorporates humor, irony and politics — and can sometimes result in a volatile mix.
Many of the cartoonists said their work must not be created primarily to incite tensions that could result in violence, while others acknowledged they cannot always determine when they will cross the line.
But they all agreed they must pay attention to the present political climate of the world.
"We have a job to be more sensitive," said Jean Plantu, a leading political cartoonist for the French newspaper Le Monde and the main organizer of the event.
"It is a new challenge for us," he told reporters at a press conference during a break in the day-long session.
Drawings depicting the Prophet Muhammad were first published in September 2005 in the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten and reprinted four months later in a range of Western media, triggering massive protests across the Islamic world from Morocco to Indonesia.
Carsten Graabaek said during the program that he accepted "with some trepidation" the invitation to speak as one of the 40 Danish cartoonists originally contacted by the newspaper to depict the Prophet Muhammad.
Unlike 12 others who did, he said he declined to render a drawing for the paper because he "hadn't any squabble" with the prophet.
"I think cartooning is about what goes on Earth and freedom of speech is a worldly affair, a secular affair, whereasSpeaking about the reaction to the Danish cartoons, African cartoonist Godfrey Amon Mwampembwa said, "It's well documented that many Muslim papers have lampooned the Holocaust, but I guess you've never seen a reaction like that before."
Mwampembwa, the editorial cartoonist for the Kenya-based Nation Media Group, said he did not think "any cartoon merits the burning of the flag or the killing of somebody."
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Thursday, October 12, 2006
A bit of Zapiro for Tutu's birthday
Pretoria, South Africa
06 October 2006 01:55
Archbishop Desmond Tutu received an original Zapiro cartoon as a present for his 75th birthday at the University of South Africa (Unisa) on Friday.
Upon receiving the gift, Tutu said: "I am always intrigued because, if you will notice, Zapiro always draws my nose peeping into my mouth.
"A very big thank you to the [Desmond Tutu Diversity] Trust and university. I am deeply touched and lack words to express my appreciation."
Unisa vice-chancellor Barney Pityana said it was a privilege hosting a man held in high esteem the world over.
Judy Henning, the chief operating officer of Unisa library, handed over the cartoon.
"We admire you, and your achievements have reached across barriers of society in terms of class, race and religion to restore humanity," she said.
An exhibition -- organised by the trust -- containing quotations from Tutu's speeches, pictures and books, was held at the Unisa library in Tutu's honour.
Tutu said he was bowled over and deeply touched by it. While viewing it he was flanked by a throng of students. He greeted them and gave hugs to some.
On what he would like to achieve in his remaining years, he said: "I would like to see the achievement of peace in Darfur, Zimbabwe and in the world over where there are trouble spots. Peace. Children and people living happy and peacefully."
On Saturday the trust will host a black-tie gala dinner to celebrate his 75th birthday at the Sandton Convention Centre. Former president Nelson Mandela and Tokyo Sexwale are among the dignitaries expected to attend.
He said of his birthday celebrations: "People expected me to die as a baby. I had polio. I then had TB when I was 13, and they thought I was going to die again. Then I was diagnosed with cancer. The years after that are all a bonus."
06 October 2006 01:55
Archbishop Desmond Tutu received an original Zapiro cartoon as a present for his 75th birthday at the University of South Africa (Unisa) on Friday.
Upon receiving the gift, Tutu said: "I am always intrigued because, if you will notice, Zapiro always draws my nose peeping into my mouth.
"A very big thank you to the [Desmond Tutu Diversity] Trust and university. I am deeply touched and lack words to express my appreciation."
Unisa vice-chancellor Barney Pityana said it was a privilege hosting a man held in high esteem the world over.
Judy Henning, the chief operating officer of Unisa library, handed over the cartoon.
"We admire you, and your achievements have reached across barriers of society in terms of class, race and religion to restore humanity," she said.
An exhibition -- organised by the trust -- containing quotations from Tutu's speeches, pictures and books, was held at the Unisa library in Tutu's honour.
Tutu said he was bowled over and deeply touched by it. While viewing it he was flanked by a throng of students. He greeted them and gave hugs to some.
On what he would like to achieve in his remaining years, he said: "I would like to see the achievement of peace in Darfur, Zimbabwe and in the world over where there are trouble spots. Peace. Children and people living happy and peacefully."
On Saturday the trust will host a black-tie gala dinner to celebrate his 75th birthday at the Sandton Convention Centre. Former president Nelson Mandela and Tokyo Sexwale are among the dignitaries expected to attend.
He said of his birthday celebrations: "People expected me to die as a baby. I had polio. I then had TB when I was 13, and they thought I was going to die again. Then I was diagnosed with cancer. The years after that are all a bonus."
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Kenya | | GADO's Cartoon Gets A Standing Ovation In America
Last year’s rioting in response to Danish drawings of the prophet Muhammad showed that, in some cases, cartoons are no laughing matter. They don’t just lampoon the political landscape; they have the power to shape it as well. Provisions Library’s current exhibit, Drawing Back: Cartoon Critiques of America, examines the power of cartoons as a means of social protest.Not surprisingly, the grimmest images come from Middle Eastern newspapers, which showcase depressing depictions of torture at Abu Ghraib prison. For a pick-me-up, take a look at the goofy, farcical drawings by Kenyan artist Gado on the adjacent wall.
One of Gado’s drawings for Nairobi’s Daily Nation shows Osama bin Laden with a wide, toothy grin. He is holding up a U.S. newspaper announcing death tolls from Katrina. Delighted, Osama picks up the phone and says into the receiver: “Can I speak with Katrina, please??” Once again, the idea is simple, but the absurdity of a giddy bin Laden’s efforts to reach out to ‘Katrina’ from the depths of his cave effectively ties together two seemingly unrelated strands of current events.
The cartoons are presented simply, with very little accompanying context. While this allows the viewer to draw her own inferences, it would have been helpful to have a bit of background info on the newspapers that ran the cartoons, as well as the artists themselves. Provisions has anticipated this hunger for more information, and has supplemented their exhibit with weekly films and a lecture series on related topics. Be sure to check them out before Drawing Back closes at the end of the month.
One of Gado’s drawings for Nairobi’s Daily Nation shows Osama bin Laden with a wide, toothy grin. He is holding up a U.S. newspaper announcing death tolls from Katrina. Delighted, Osama picks up the phone and says into the receiver: “Can I speak with Katrina, please??” Once again, the idea is simple, but the absurdity of a giddy bin Laden’s efforts to reach out to ‘Katrina’ from the depths of his cave effectively ties together two seemingly unrelated strands of current events.
The cartoons are presented simply, with very little accompanying context. While this allows the viewer to draw her own inferences, it would have been helpful to have a bit of background info on the newspapers that ran the cartoons, as well as the artists themselves. Provisions has anticipated this hunger for more information, and has supplemented their exhibit with weekly films and a lecture series on related topics. Be sure to check them out before Drawing Back closes at the end of the month.
Kenyan cartoons elicits diplomatic row
THE newly appointed Kenyan High Commissioner to Tanzania, Mr Boaz Mbaya, has distanced his government from a spate of negative Kenyan media reports on Tanzania, and advised the government to take urgent measures through diplomatic channels.
The envoy who had just called in yesterday at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Dar es Salaam to officially introduce himself, described the published materials as 'bad taste'.
He admitted that he was aware of the negative coverage already published, especially the cartoon carried out by one weekly Kenyan recently.
"Would you please take it from me that I was personally disturbed with them, and my government has no connection with any of the sentiments expressed? I implore Tanzanian envoy to Kenya to follow up the matter, to enable appropriate action to be taken", he said.
Mr Mbaya added that since Kenyan media enjoy their freedom, Tanzanian government should now contact the management of concerned papers, alongside the Kenya government to hold them accountable if necessary.
In less than two weeks, there has been negative reports by a section of Kenyan media, with one attacking President Kikwete 'to stop poking his nose on Kenyan politics whereas matters are not as cool in his own backyard in Zanzibar' and another one portraying the local media as president's boot-lickers.
Ambassador Mbaya has taken over from his predecessor Mr Muburi Muita who left the country in August.
Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the Media Council of Tanzania (MCT), Mr Anthony Ngaiza, has described the belittling media as 'very unfortunate' and urged restraint to prevail with the country's leadership as well as the media.
He said that the timing of such unwarranted outbursts was bad, taking into consideration how East Africa is contemplating to enshrine cooperation to Federation levels. He said the media should have been the last group to create bad blood.
The envoy who had just called in yesterday at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Dar es Salaam to officially introduce himself, described the published materials as 'bad taste'.
He admitted that he was aware of the negative coverage already published, especially the cartoon carried out by one weekly Kenyan recently.
"Would you please take it from me that I was personally disturbed with them, and my government has no connection with any of the sentiments expressed? I implore Tanzanian envoy to Kenya to follow up the matter, to enable appropriate action to be taken", he said.
Mr Mbaya added that since Kenyan media enjoy their freedom, Tanzanian government should now contact the management of concerned papers, alongside the Kenya government to hold them accountable if necessary.
In less than two weeks, there has been negative reports by a section of Kenyan media, with one attacking President Kikwete 'to stop poking his nose on Kenyan politics whereas matters are not as cool in his own backyard in Zanzibar' and another one portraying the local media as president's boot-lickers.
Ambassador Mbaya has taken over from his predecessor Mr Muburi Muita who left the country in August.
Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the Media Council of Tanzania (MCT), Mr Anthony Ngaiza, has described the belittling media as 'very unfortunate' and urged restraint to prevail with the country's leadership as well as the media.
He said that the timing of such unwarranted outbursts was bad, taking into consideration how East Africa is contemplating to enshrine cooperation to Federation levels. He said the media should have been the last group to create bad blood.
Patrick Gathara
Patrick Gathara was born in 1972. A self-taught cartoonist, he studied Math and Physics at Moi University. Though he has been drawing since childhood, Gathara only took up cartooning after dropping out from the university. He founded the Kenyan cartoonists' website Kenyatoons.com and has been serving as its webmaster from the beginning. He has also organized cartoonists' exhibitions and workshops in his home country of Kenya. In 2002, he organized an international cartoon exhibition on the theme of international terrorism. Titled "Cartooning Terror" the exhibition attracted works from over 30 countries and was widely reported on in both the local and international press. He is currently the Executive Director of the East Africa Cartoonists Association (KATUNI). His cartoons have been published in leading Kenyan newspapers and exhibited in Rome and Italy. He is a member of the Amateur and Professional Cartoonists Association (APCA).
Paul Kelemba (Maddo)
Cartoonist Paul ‘Maddo’ Kelemba describes himself as a natural artist.
But if his parents had had their way, he would have become an accountant.
"When I completed Form Four, my parents enrolled me for an accounting course at a college in Mombasa. But I refused to attend because I knew I was poor in mathematics," he says.
Instead, he wrote to Coast Weekly, a newspaper, asking to be allowed to do a comic strip for it. He was asked to send samples and they were published. His career as the first indigenous political cartoonist of national prominence had begun.
Maddo says the schools he attended — Kisumu’s Victoria Highway Primary and Vihiga’s Nyang’ori Secondary — did not teach art. He learnt to draw and sketch on his own.
When he was not in class, he drew characters in comic books and strips such as Dandy, Toppere, Bino, Archie and Modesty Blaze. The latter —by a Spanish comic — was his favourite because it was on life experiences.
It was not, therefore, surprising that the work he did for Coast Weekly was based on real life drama.
"After a couple of episodes in 1981, I got a Sh2,000 cheque and I thought I had arrived! I pitied workers who earned Sh800 a month," he recalls.
But his joy was not eternal as the strip was discontinued after four years. He then did casual jobs at Shimanzi, Mombasa Town’s Industrial area.
"I carried gunias (sacks) from one place to another at a fee," he says.
He later got a job as a clerk with a tea export transport company at a salary of Sh5,000 a month, much less than what he earned as a comic.
But before long, he saw a newspaper advertisement by Ginewa Designs, a graphic design firm, calling for an illustrator. He applied and got the job.
Four years later, he moved to Nairobi and joined Viva magazine as art editor. His responsibilities included drawing illustrations and cartoons for the publication. Two years later, when the magazine folded up, he worked for Drum and True Love.
In 1986, Maddo moved to the Nation newspapers as an editorial cartoonist.
"The job was very challenging and I had to stay on top of social and political issues to offer visual commentary," he says.
While the job gave him national prominence, it also came with a lot of criticism.
"My cartoons that commented on social issues were popular because they dwelt on drug abuse and domestic violence. Political cartoons elicited and still elicit positive and negative comments," he recalls.
If he features a politician from the National Alliance of Kenya (NAK) wing of Narc, he is accused him of being a Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) sympathiser and vice versa, Maddo points out.
But he soldiers on in the belief that cartoonists shape society through their commentaries. He says they get away with a lot because when a picture depicts rather than describes, the cartoonist can always plead ignorance if push comes to shove.
However, it has not been all smooth sailing for the cartoonist. There have been instances when politicians sent aides to intimidate him.
Last year, one sued The Standard over a cartoon Maddo had drawn. She claimed it had libelled her.
In the early years of his work, Maddo consulted editors a lot. But now he knows what is good, what the limits are and how to edit himself. As a result, he consults them much less.
While at the Nation, he teamed up with writer Wahome Mutahi — popularly known as Whispers who died last years — to establish Views Ltd. In 1991, he joined The Standard as an editorial cartoonist and illustrator and is the creator of "Penknife", a Sunday Standard insert that has been running since 2003.
Before this, he published "Penknife" independently as Penknife Weekly. "Penknife" was preceded by yet another publication, African Illustrated.
Maddo’s flagship is: "It’s a Madd, Madd World". He also has a cartoon commentary in The Standard on Saturday.
Maddo says he enjoys himself illustrating some topics more than others. He, for instance, loves cars and whenever he illustrates a scene on them, he joys knows no bounds.
Throughout his career, Maddo’s trademark has been his protruding eyes. Even in his CV, he cites his outstanding features as "protruding eyes and greenish brain matter".
In 1997, he teamed up with other renowned cartoonists Frank "Fran" Odoi and Godfrey "Gado" Mwampembwa to establish Communicating Arts Ltd.
The company does visuals, cartoons and illustrations for United Nations, publishing and advertising agencies.
During a visit, this writer was surprised to find that Maddo shares an office with his greatest rival, Gado.
"We do our newspaper work separately but many other things together," Gado says.
One of their common projects is a United Nations Population Fund publication, Pop-Ed.
Maddo works six days a week. He says with the gains that have been brought by information technology, the cartoon business will grow and create more opportunities for the practitioners.
Maddo has received several awards for his work: Outstanding contribution in humorous and satirical cartoon drawings by the Giant Group of Nairobi in 1990, Special Recognition and Merit by Kisima Awards in 1997 and last year's Sober Drive and Infrastructure Award from the Kenya Union of Journalists.
Maddo spends his free time with his family or drinking with friends. Maddo, 42, is married and has two daughters and a son.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Profile: Zapiro
Zapiro (Jonathan Shapiro)
South African cartoonist
Family Name: Shapiro
Given Name: Jonathan
Pseudonym: Zapiro
Dates: born 1958
Gender: Male
Country: South Africa
Positions
Positions listed are those which are held currently or have been held in the past. Dates are given wherever possible. Where there are no dates, positions are ordered alphabetically.
* Cartoonist - Sunday Times (South Africa)
Selected Works
Where there are no dates, works are ordered alphabetically
Publication
* Long Walk to Free Time [Collection of Cartoons, Double Storey Books, 2004]
* Dr DoLittle and the African Potato [Collection of Cartoons, Doubleday, 2003]
* Bushwhacked [2002]
* The ANC Went in 4X4 [2001]
* The Devil Made Me Do It! [2000]
* Call Mr Delivery [1999]
* End Of Part One [1998]
* The Hole Truth [1997]
* The Madiba Years [1996]
South African cartoonist
Family Name: Shapiro
Given Name: Jonathan
Pseudonym: Zapiro
Dates: born 1958
Gender: Male
Country: South Africa
Positions
Positions listed are those which are held currently or have been held in the past. Dates are given wherever possible. Where there are no dates, positions are ordered alphabetically.
* Cartoonist - Sunday Times (South Africa)
Selected Works
Where there are no dates, works are ordered alphabetically
Publication
* Long Walk to Free Time [Collection of Cartoons, Double Storey Books, 2004]
* Dr DoLittle and the African Potato [Collection of Cartoons, Doubleday, 2003]
* Bushwhacked [2002]
* The ANC Went in 4X4 [2001]
* The Devil Made Me Do It! [2000]
* Call Mr Delivery [1999]
* End Of Part One [1998]
* The Hole Truth [1997]
* The Madiba Years [1996]
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