Exhibition

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 (SVA’s acting chairman of the board), 2018 SVA Masters Series Award recipient Roz Chast and 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 activism, spark discussion and, hopefully, 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, and will be on view from Saturday, October 6, through Saturday, November 3, at SVA Chelsea Gallery.

“Art as Witness” will be accompanied by two free public events. On Thursday, October 11, a reception will be held at the gallery from 6:00 – 8:00pm. On Thursday, October 18, a musical performance composed by Neil Rolnick, vocalizing highlights from the Declaration of Independence, will precede a panel discussion, moderated by Steve Brodner and featuring artists Anita Kunz, Melinda Beck, Bonnie Siegler and Marshall Arisman, at the SVA Theatre, starting at 6:00pm.

“Times of national emergency require a call out to everyone to speak out and take the necessary action,” Brodner says. “Artists are no different. The long tradition of graphic commentary has seen us through the best and worst of times. 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. In a time of editorial instability, the work in this discipline may, on the whole, be at an all-time peak.”

“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, André Carrilho, 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, Glenn Palmer-Smith, Hanoch Piven (BFA 1992 Graphic Design), David Plunkert, Bill Plympton (1969 Cartooning, in collaboration with Billy Shebar and David Roberts), 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 animated “Teach Your Children” music video, which draws parallels between the civil rights 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 face; 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. “But there is one effect that these 200-plus eclectic, provocative and often humorous images can have: 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 socially aware artists in the pursuit of their creative freedom. More than 70 years later, this cornerstone remains essential to the College’s mission.

PRESS: 

The Guardian, “Art as witness: celebrating the best post-Trump political cartoons,” October 4, 2018

HOW Design, “Art As Witness: A Chat with Steve Brodner,” October 10, 2018

Fast Company, “Trump is inspiring a renaissance of biting political caricature,” October 10, 2018

NY City Woman, “Activist Artists Focus on Politics Past and Present,” October 10, 2018

Quartz, “Why it’s important to shame the shameless,” October 19, 2018

Design Week, “Art as Witness: an exhibition protesting Trump, sexism, racism and injustice,” October 22, 2018

Magenta, “The Best Political Art of the Trump Era,” October 25, 2018

Observer, “From Controversial Cartoons to Political Purses, 5 Ways Artists are Getting People to Vote,” October 30, 2018

Architectural Digest, “Just in Time for the Midterms, a Political Exhibition Takes on Donald Trump,” October 31, 2018

Artnet News, “From Coast to Coast, Here’s How Artists Are Mobilizing Before the Midterm Elections,” November 2, 2018

The Irish Times, “Cartoonists Take on Trump,” November 8, 2018