Stealing this, thx.
You are correct of course but I have a serious question. Which physical appearances of President Obama would be fair game for caricaturization? Please avoid the use of any that might construe the artist as racist.
All his features are fair game for caricature. At least, I haven’t seen any genuine caricatures that incorporate recognizable racist tropes. Maybe some drawings a little too lippy. Obama is typically shown with big ears, a long narrow head, pointy chin, big toothy grin–exaggerations of his actual appearance.
Portraying Obama as a chimp, besides being racist, isn’t a caricature at all, because Obama doesn’t actually look anything like a chimp.
Quite a few people in this thread, including me, have already addressed this. He has quite prominent ears, for one thing, and that would be fair game. He’s tall and pretty lean, so those attributes could be accentuated. And his general facial appearance can, like anyone else’s, be exaggerated by an artist for comic effect.
All that can be done without portraying him as a chimp or monkey.
I would say that big ears and a big toothy grin are also racist tropes.
Do you understand the differences between caricaturing aspects of an individual’s actual appearance, on the one hand, and simply drawing them as a chimp that bears no resemblance at all to the individual, on the other?
It’s really not an especially difficult concept, i don’t think.
And the image described and linked in the OP wasn’t even an attempt at caricature It was simply a Photoshopped image that placed Obama’s face onto the head and body of a chimp. That’s not caricature.
And which is a weird caricature of Rice since she doesn’t have prominent lips at all. So that seems like a fairly easy thing to say that the cartoonist is taking a racial stereotype and applying it to someone it doesn’t fit.
Yes I do. I’m not referring to the picture from the OP. I agreed with DtC that the picture was obviously racist. I was wondering how I as an artist (I’m not) would caricature President Obama and not worry about my cartoon being construed as racist. If I draw big lips, big ears or a toothy smile, all features that exaggerate his actual characteristics, I run the risk of being labeled a racist. That leaves me with the option of drawing a ridiculously thin person which is not particularly satisfying.
This is a caricature that looks like Obama.
So is this. And this. And this
They all manage to riff on his appearance without seeming at all racist. To me, at least.
They don’t appear racist to me either although depending on the context in which they were used, I could see people objecting to them. They also aren’t funny. Bush as a chimp was (kind of anyways).
Caricatures emphasize a persons obvious features. That is fair.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/07/conservative_activist_forwards_racist_pic_showing.php This is not. It is a frequent sign at tea baggers rallies. The chimp picture falls into that group.
This would really have been just as offensive if it had been an unaltered photo of Obama, sitting in the lap of his “parents”.
I agree.
Nars Glinley, the caricature itself doesn’t necessarily have to be especially funny. Caricatures are often part of cartoons making a bigger statement, and it’s the statement itself that is designed to be funny. For example, the cartoon of Obama dragging Hillary Clinton across the finish line is designed to be a commentary on the candidates’ fortunes during the Democratic primaries. The humor is not meant to rest solely in the caricatures, but in the overall message.
Prince Charles is a gasp negro??!?!
amen brother, amen.
He was not interested in art. He was interested in racism and insulting the president. He knew other bigots would get the message.
Don’t be so faggy, gonzo.
Regards,
Shodan
Although that picture is certainly offensive, it’s at least attempting to make a political comment, albeit a stupid one. The one in the OP isn’t even attempting to do that.