Hamilton College will host "Picture This: A Symposium on Political Cartooning and Illustrating" on Saturday, April 8, 2006, from 12:30 to 5 p.m. It will feature Philadelphia Inquirer editorial cartoonist and Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Auth, United Feature Syndicate cartoonist Rob Rogers and freelance illustrator Steve Brodner whose work is seen regularly in a spectrum of publications from Sports Illustrated to Business Week. All three artists will speak about their work and careers. Auth's talk is titled " "Sacred Cows Make the Best Hamburger," Brodner's is "The Satiric Vision" and Rogers' is "I Cross the Line."
Other speakers include Hamilton professor Jay Williams and Boston University professor John Riely, who will trace the rich history of social satire and political illustration and cartooning from the 18th century work of England's Thomas Rowlandson and the 19th century work of America's Thomas Nast to the present day.
The event was conceived and organized by Hamilton senior Tom Booth, who has been drawing cartoons for publication since high school and shadowed Tony Auth at The Philadelphia Inquirer as part of a high school internship. His first published cartoons appeared in high school publications and later the Main Line Life, a suburban Philadelphia paper. He plans to make political cartooning his profession, and intends to pursue graduate study in cartooning and illustration after Hamilton College.
The cartoon symposium, which is free and open to the public, includes lunch. It will be held in Hamilton's Science Center atrium and auditorium. Registration is mandatory. Please call 315-859-4396 to register.
A reception and book signing will follow the speakers' presentations in Hamilton's Emerson Gallery, which is currently exhibiting more than 50 prints, drawings and illustrated books by the British artist and humorist Thomas Rowlandson (1756 – 1827). The show, titled "Humor & Humanity: Through the Eyes of Thomas Rowlandson," will be open through April 15.
Along with the symposium, Hamilton is hosting a high school political cartoon competition that will be judged by the symposium speakers. Winning entries will be published in the Utica Observer-Dispatch. Deadline for entry is Thursday, April 6 Prizes totaling $400 will be awarded. For additional information call Sharon Rippey at 315-859-4656.
Artist Biographies
Tony Auth began drawing political cartoons for the UCLA Daily Bruin while employed as a medical illustrator at Rancho Los Amigo Hospital. Auth joined The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1971 as the staff editorial cartoonist. Auth won a Pulitzer Prize for his work in 1976, as well as five Overseas Press Club awards and the Sigma Delta Chi Award for Distinguished Service in Journalism.
Steve Brodner has been a satirical illustrator for 27 years. His caricatures of pop and political culture have appeared in every major publication in the United States. In visual essays, Brodner has covered seven national political conventions for Esquire, The Progressive, the Village Voice and others. His first book, Fold 'N Tuck, an outgrowth of his Esquire page, was published in 1990, followed by his animated film and book Davy Crockett in 1992. Brodner published Freedom Fries, a political retrospective, in 2004.
Rob Rogers is currently an associate cartoonist for the United Feature Syndicate. His work appears regularly in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Newsweek, and USA Today. Rogers has also appeared on NBC's "Today" and CBS's "Face the Nation."
Tom Booth is a Hamilton College senior from Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, majoring in art. As a high school student, he interned with Tony Auth. The cartoonist taught Booth that "unless everything you draw has to be in the picture, leave it out. A poor drawing can be saved by a great message. Conversely, a great drawing can save a not-so-great message."
