[NYTr] Cartoon Exhibits Put Gender History on Display
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Womens ENews - Aug 10, 2006
http://www.womensenews.org
Cartoon Exhibits Put Gender History on Display
By Beverly Wettenstein - WeNews correspondent
(WOMENSENEWS)--Trina Robbins, a cartoonist, author and pop historian of
women in comics, has a good sense of humor.
But she didn't think it was funny when she learned that a major museum
exhibition of cartoonists spanning the 20th century included no women.
Over a year ago, Robbins was planning "100 Years of America's Women
Cartoonists," an exhibit that opened in May at the Museum of Comic and
Cartoon Art (MoCCA) in New York City and was originally scheduled to close
in September.
Coincidentally, the "Masters of American Comics" exhibit, organized by the
Hammer Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, ran
November 2005 through March 2006. That exhibit features 14 of "the most
innovative and influential American comic artists."
When Robbins discovered that exhibit was all male she complained; the Hammer
Museum later invited her to give a talk.
"The fact is that the comic strip and comic book fields have been dominated
by men," says Brian Walker, an independent scholar and co-curator of the
"masters" exhibit. "We welcome the debate that this exhibit has generated
and hope that future exhibits will have a broader range of artists."
Robbins meanwhile, defends the female-only limits of her own show, which
features 50 artists and 100 artworks. "We are not so much excluding men as
we are including women who are usually excluded," says Robbins.
"The majority of female comic book cartoonists working today are
self-published, on the Web, in zines or books from small presses because
mainstream comic books are focused on boys," Robbins says.
Exhibit Run Extended
The all-female cartoonist exhibit has been extended until Nov. 6 to overlap
with the all-male "masters" exhibit, which is opening on Sept. 15--at the
Jewish Museum in New York and the Newark Museum in New Jersey--and running
through Jan. 28, 2007.
Both museums will offer programs with female cartoonists and Robbins will
speak at the Jewish Museum on Nov. 16.
In the meantime, the extended stay of the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art
exhibit gives visitors more time to mull over the major milestones for
female cartoonists, whose story begins in the early 1900s when their work
first began appearing on Sunday newspaper pages and in women's magazines.
Rose O'Neill, who created cupid-like creatures that she called "Kewpies,"
was one of the pioneers. Until the 1920s her Kewpies appeared as cartoon
characters in women's magazines and her Kewpie dolls are still manufactured
and collected today.
Grace Drayton's cherubic urchins also emerged in the early 1900s, appearing
in comics, magazines, children's books and as paper dolls. In 1905, her
apple-cheeked Campbell Soup Kids appeared in the company's first marketing
campaigns. Nell Brinkley inaugurated a new school of glamour art to capture
the 1920s "New Woman," the flapper-influenced feminine ideal that emerged
with the proliferation of the mass media. Her signature Brinkley Girls, with
a mound of stylish curly hair, were accompanied by commentary on working
women, suffrage and women in sports.
Dale Messick, creator of "Brenda Starr, Reporter," credited Brinkley as her
greatest influence. Messick's comic strips, according to the museum exhibit,
were rejected for years until she changed her name from Dalia to Dale.
Brenda Starr Paves the Way
"Brenda Starr," the only adventure strip starring a woman and drawn by a
woman, debuted in the Chicago Tribune in 1940 and led the way for future
action heroines. Messick--who named her daughter Starr--drew "Brenda Starr"
for 40 years and retired in 1980. The strip survives today, drawn by June
Brigman and written by Mary Schmich.
In the 1940 war years, Barbara Hall created "Black Cat," the first female
comic book superhero. "Torchy Brown," by Jackie Ormes, the first black woman
to have her own syndicated comic strip, appeared in 15 black U.S.
newspapers. Her "PattyJo" in the late 1940s was the first black heroine
doll.
Since 1946, only two women have received the Reuben Award for Cartoonist of
the Year from the National Cartoonists Society, now based in Winter Park,
Fla. The award is named for Rube Goldberg, the Pulitzer Prize-winning
cartoonist.
Lynn Johnston, creator of "For Better or For Worse," the syndicated strip
based on her family since 1979, became the first Reuben winner in 1985.
Cathy Guisewite, whose single career woman "Cathy" cartoon premiered in
1976, became the second female winner in 1992.
'Six Chix' Hit Syndication
The comic strip character "Sylvia," created by Nicole Hollander in the
1970s, came to embody the silliness and dilemmas facing women caught in the
sweeping changes of that era, as it routinely mocked gender bias. The
syndicated strip runs in 80 newspapers and Hollander has published 16 books
of her cartoons, as well as being honored by the Library of Congress.
("Sylvia" is featured on the Women's eNews Web site.) The latest syndicated
cartoon strips by women include "Six Chix," which features the work of six
female cartoonists on alternating days. Hilary Price, creator of "Rhymes
with Orange," was the youngest woman, at 25, to have a syndicated daily
comic strip in 1995.
"The Pajama Diaries" by Terri Libenson debuted in many newspapers this year
and portrays a multitasking suburban mother like herself.
Today 22 of the 215 comics distributed by the seven largest newspaper
syndicates are created or co-created by women, up from five in the early
1990s. The subject matter is mainly autobiographical about work and family
issues.
Only three female editorial cartoonists have drawn for, or been distributed
by, major syndicates over the last decade: Signe Wilkinson; Ann Telnaes, who
draws a weekly cartoon for Women's eNews; and Etta Hulme.
Two women have won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning since 1922.
Wilkinson was the first in 1992; Telnaes was the second, in 2001.
Liza Donnelly, author of "Funny Ladies," a history of female cartoonists at
the New Yorker, is one of eight female cartoonists currently drawing for the
magazine. Roz Chast has published more than 800 cartoons in the magazine
since 1978.
Stay tooned.
[Beverly Wettenstein is a New York-based journalist and women's historian.
She speaks nationally on "A Woman's Place in the 21st Century," is founder
of the "Women in History and Making History Today--365-Days-A-Year" database
and is writing her third edition of "A Woman's Book of Days."]
For more information:
"Almost Laughable: Dearth of Female Cartoonists" -
http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2264/context/archive
Museum of Cartoon and Contemporary Art -
http://www.moccany.org./exhibit-shedraws.html
The Jewish Museum -
http://www.thejewishmuseum.org/site/pages/onlinex.php?id=140
Copyright 2006 Women's eNews.
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