Art as Witness: Political Graphics 2016 – 18

Saturday, October 6 – Saturday, November 3, 2018

SVA Chelsea Gallery

601 West 26th Street, 15th floor

New York, NY

Reception: Thursday, October 11, 6:00 – 8:00pm, SVA Chelsea Gallery

Event: Thursday, October 18, 6:00 – 8:00pm, SVA Theatre 333 West 23rd Street

August 2018, New York, NY—In today’s political climate, using satire to record and respond to the current state of affairs is an act of survival. This is no more apparent than in “Art as Witness: Political Graphics 2016 – 18,” a group exhibition of over 200 satirical and politically charged illustrations, cartoons and animations from 53 artists, including Milton Glaser, acting chairman of the board of School of Visual Arts (SVA), 2018 SVA Masters Series Award recipient Roz Chast and Pulitzer Prize winning illustrator Art Spiegelman. Each artist’s work addresses the issues and controversies surrounding the most polarizing presidential election and administration in recent history. Timed to coincide with the final weeks of the highly anticipated midterm elections, “Art as Witness” comments on the Trump presidency; the #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter and #NeverAgain movements; the opioid epidemic; and the gun-control and immigration debates to encourage engagement, spark discussion and, depending on the viewer, inspire action. “Art as Witness” was curated by illustrator, caricaturist and SVA faculty member Steve Brodner and SVA’s Director of Galleries Francis Di Tommaso. It will be on view from Saturday, October 6, through Saturday, November 3, at the SVA Chelsea Gallery.

“The long tradition of graphic commentary has seen us through the best and worst of times,” Brodner says. “The need for this collection has only grown with the increasing immensity of our national crisis. While the main focus is on illustration, the variety within that discipline takes us to wild and unexpected places.”

“Art as Witness” features a diverse group of artist-activists, many of them also SVA faculty or alumni. The participating artists include Najeebah Al-Ghadban, Gail Anderson (BFA 1984 Graphic Design), Marshall Arisman, Andrea Arroyo, Istvan Banyai, Melinda Beck, Louisa Bertman (MFA 2015 Visual Narrative), R.O. Blechman, Barry Blitt, Steve Brodner, Nancy Burson, Harry Campbell, Roz Chast, Seymour Chwast, Joe Ciardiello, Sue Coe, John Cuneo, Nathan Fox (MFA 2002 Illustration as Visual Essay), Felipe Galindo, Sally Gardner, Milton Glaser, Robert Grossman, Brad Holland, Frances Jetter, Victor Juhasz, Viktor Koen (MFA 1992 Illustration as Visual Essay), Stephen Kroninger, Anita Kunz, Peter Kuper, David Levine, Nicole Licht, Zoe Matthiessen, Mike McQuade, Oliver Munday, Christoph Niemann, Tim O'Brien, Kevin O'Callaghan (BFA 1980 Graphic Design), Glenn Palmer-Smith, Hanoch Piven (BFA 1992 Graphic Design), David Plunkert, Bill Plympton (1969 Cartooning), Melanie Reim, Rob Rogers, Edel Rodriguez, Chloe Scheffe, Jeff Scher, Nasrin Sheykhi, Yuko Shimizu (MFA 2003 Illustration as Visual Essay), Edward Sorel, Art Spiegelman, Brian Stauffer, Seth Tobocman, Armando Veve and Olimpia Zagnoli.

Animations, collages, posters, sculptures and videos all will be on view. Highlights include Milton Glaser’s call-to-action SVA subway posters, recently featured in the Design Museum’s “Hope To Nope” exhibition in London; Jeff Scher’s animation of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s “Teach Your Children” which draws parallels between the civil rights and student protests of the ’60s and present-day demonstrations against unconstitutional policies; three new videos from MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Chair Marshall Arisman on sexual harassment, gun violence and drug addiction; Nancy Burson’s July 2018 Time magazine cover, which superimposes President Trump’s face on Russian president Vladimir Putin’s; Barry Blitt’s June 2018 New Yorker cover on the Trump administration’s family-separation policy; cartoons by Rob Rogers, who was recently fired from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette after 25 years for his sharp critiques of Trump; and a never-before-seen version of Victor Juhasz’s Rolling Stone cover depicting Trump as a tornado.

“One may wonder what concrete results an exhibition like this can attain,” Di Tommaso says. “They can appeal, through their eyes, to viewers’ consciences, to their sense of civic duty. They can prompt—better yet, incite—in them the will, now as we near the midterm elections, to do something. To do the only thing that truly counts: to vote.”

This exhibition honors SVA’s beginnings as a cartoonists and illustrators school that was founded to encourage social awareness in artists as they develop their craft and pursue creative freedom. More than 70 years later, this philosophy remains an essential cornerstone of the College’s mission.

“Art as Witness” will be accompanied by two free public events. On Thursday, October 11, an opening reception will be held at the gallery from 6:00 – 8:00pm. On Thursday, October 18, a musical performance vocalizing highlights from the U.S. Constitution will precede a panel discussion, moderated by Steve Brodner and featuring designer Bonnie Siegler, artists Anita Kunz, Melinda Beck and Marshall Arisman, at the SVA Theatre, starting at 6:00pm. For more information, visit: http://www.sva.edu/events/art-as-witness-political-graphics-2016-18