“An illustration is a visual editorial - it 's just as nuanced. ” or at least Charles M. Blow says. In all actuality, what would the world be without illustrations? As ironic as it may sound, the world would be flat without 2-dimensional illustrations. Illustrations bring more context to the world around us as styles and aesthetic expectations evolve. From cave paintings to Google’s Material Design, humanity has made many innovations in art and design. Thomas Nast deserves a spot in history for his contributions to aesthetic progress. Thomas Nast has made the world a much more aesthetically pleasing world with his revolution to integrate illustrations in media. His revolution ultimately created a more ethical world with his opposition against …show more content…
True, he may not be the inventor of pen and paper and he is certainly not the first to make caricatures. His techniques were fairly common at the time with the brush and ink wash technique. He was inspired by some illustrators like John Tenniel to adopt new styles according to Paine (135-6). In fact, he did not create many of the icons in politics today. All he has done is popularize them in the American culture. The Democratic donkey or Uncle Sam were not created by Nast (Dewey 14-8), but he has made them commonplace. Even though he did not invent some of the caricatures we see today, is it not an achievement to make those icons memorable? Is not the fame of the piece just as important as how the piece actually stands artistically? To turn relatively unnoticed pieces and symbols into the cornerstone of politics is an achievement in itself. Not to imply that fame is in direct correlation to artistic value, but while it is a shame that many artists never come to light, the ones that do change the way one would see the world. The artist has made the public look inside the eyes of the artist. It is a shame to know that one would never see through the eyes of many artists, but one can see through the “Father of the American Cartoon” who created the depictions of the Republican Party and one can also see through the eyes of the forgotten …show more content…
It is worth noting that his integration of symbols in American politics goes hand-in-hand with media. While politics and media have a collaborative relationship, it is worth noting that the elephant of the Republican Party and even the modern representation of Santa Claus according to Bruce D. Forbes (89) have been integrated with media. As previously mentioned, Thomas Nast has made politics a more tangible concept for the American public. However, if the American public can keep the vision of a fat man in a red suit alive for a couple of centuries for the sole purpose of the free market, this just goes to show his profound impact when the mere icons are plastered in the minds of adults and children alike long after his death. This legacy allows for the American Public to visualize the dynamics of the world, no matter how abstract the idea is. A mysterious man delivering presents around the world? The Republican Party? How does one even materialize that idea? How does one tangibly think about a political party? The personification of these abstract ideas makes it so that individuals can reciprocate and contribute to society. Perhaps, one thinks of a political party as a mass of individuals, but Thomas Nast has personified political parties for a much more dynamic political sphere because his personification makes the idea much more
On Saturday, March 15, 2014, I visited the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The gallery #753, which is a part of so-called American Wing, features oil paintings of the revolutionary period in America. The paintings seen in this gallery celebrate heroes and hard-fought battles of the new nation. The most popular type of painting of that time remained portraiture. Portraits in extremely large numbers figured in interiors, where they were arranged to convey not only domestic, but political messages as well. Hence, it is natural, that such iconic figure like George Washington became a model for numerous artists of that era, including Gilbert Stuart and Charles Willson Peale, for whom Washington actually sat. Two exceptional portraits of Washington, the general and the the first President of the United States are highlighted in this paper.
Fairlie, Henry. The Parties: Republicans and Democrats in This Century. New York: The New Republic Magazine, 1978.
Americans have become so engrossed with the rhetoric of political parties that many are unable have real discussions about “freedom, fairness, equality, opportunity, security, accountability.” (Lakoff p.177) The election of 1828 gave birth to the “professional politician” it demonstrated how “ambivalence” on issues, how image and the right language or narrative can influence voters. Partisanship did increase competition and empower voters to a greater degree, but it has also divided Americans and obstructed communication. As one historian declared the “old hickory” killed the ideal of nonpartisan leadership. (Parsons p.184) For better or for worse American politics were forever be changed in 1828.
When America was founded in 1776, political factions were far less distinctively partisan than they are today. They more closely represented conservative and liberal sides of the political spectrum. Men ran for political office, holding their beliefs as their flag, not the party they belonged to. Unfortunately, this method did not last long. By the late 1820s, a strong party system had developed. However, there was still one group opposed to the party system, the Whig Party. Its history shaped the ideals it valued. Regrettably, the Whig Party’s short lifespan affected the national political conversation forever. The Whig Party’s interesting history and tragic demise are important to understanding the political system of the United States.
Hofstadter, Richard. The American Political Tradition and the Men Who Made It. New York: Vintage, 1989.
American Political Thought: Toward an Understanding of Symbols as Political Texts." The Western Political Quarterly 41.4 (1988): 653-73. JSTOR. Web. 09 Oct. 2011. http://www.jstor.org/stable/448488.
... to remind a young nation that they were not alone. In the context of the nineteenth century American story, what mattered was developing a connection to the past. Art such as the murals in the Thomas Jefferson Building tells a version of the truth, and should be accepted and interpreted as such. It is doubtful that anyone is basing a historical curriculum on The Evolution of Civilization; surely, the fact that students learn both the importance of cuneiform and hieroglyphics in modern-day schools is after all, what truly matters. It is also worth remembering that the truly valuable act of writers or artists in any period of history is that they bothered to paint or write at all. No matter how imperfect, humanity tells a story with its cuneiform alphabets, its hieroglyphics and its murals; the fact that we have a story to tell about ourselves is worth celebrating.
While his life was building up to the moment he became rich off of his creativity, it helped him become the man he is today. No matter how unique his life has been, one thing has been a constant in his life, along with many others; He was influenced by the color and personality shown through a piece of art, which was the intent in the first place.
Hofstadter, Richard. The American Political Tradition and the Men Who Made It. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1948.
Today, political parties can be seen throughout everyday life, prevalent in various activities such as watching television, or seeing signs beside the road while driving. These everyday occurrences make the knowledge of political parties commonly known, especially as the two opposing political parties: the Republicans and the Democrats. Republican and Democrats have existed for numerous years, predominantly due to pure tradition, and the comfort of the ideas each party presents. For years, the existence of two political parties has dominated the elections of the president, and lower offices such as mayor, or the House of Representatives. Fundamentally, this tradition continues from the very emergence of political parties during the election of 1796, principally between Federalist John Adams and Anti-federalist Thomas Jefferson. Prior to this election people unanimously conformed to the ideas of one man, George Washington, and therefore did not require the need for political parties.1 However, following his presidency the public was divided with opposing opinions, each arguing the best methods to regulate the country. Ultimately, the emergence of different opinions regarding the future of the United States involving the economy, foreign relations, ‘the masses,’ and the interpretation of the Constitution, led to the two political parties of the 1790s and the critical election of 1800.
There is a great deal of critical influences which John Tenniel brought to the field of illustration and to explore this, one must look into his work and his life to acknowledge how this impacted on Illustration and society in general.
It appears to me that pictures have been over-valued; held up by a blind admiration as ideal things, and almost as standards by which nature is to be judged rather than the reverse; and this false estimate has been sanctioned by the extravagant epithets that have been applied to painters, and "the divine," "the inspired," and so forth. Yet in reality, what are the most sublime productions of the pencil but selections of some of the forms of nature, and copies of a few of her evanescent effects, and this is the result, not of inspiration, but of long and patient study, under the instruction of much good sense…
Jones, W. T. Masters of Political Thought. Ed. Edward, McChesner, and Sait. Vol. 2. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1947.
Many do not consider where images they see daily come from. A person can see thousands of different designs in their daily lives; these designs vary on where they are placed. A design on a shirt, an image on a billboard, or even the cover of a magazine all share something in common with one another. These items all had once been on the computer screen or on a piece of paper, designed by an artist known as a graphic designer. Graphic design is a steadily growing occupation in this day as the media has a need for original and creative designs on things like packaging or the covers of magazines. This occupation has grown over the years but still shares the basic components it once started with. Despite these tremendous amounts of growth,
James Joyce in his novel “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” says “The object of the artist is the creation of the beautiful.” (134) For Stephen Dedalus after the reoccuring stream of consciousness throughout his youth, one of the factors of his creation into the artist is women. Indeed it is the women throughout the novel that shape Stephen into the man he finds himself becoming toward the end. Six women in particular that form specific functions in Stephens life are: Stephen’s mother, Eileen, Mercedes, the Virgin Mary, the prostitute, the birdlike woman by the water. These women affect and shape his character by loving him, inspiring him, and fascinating him.