Interview: Drawing For Good: Interview with New Yorker Cartoonist Liza Donnelly

New Yorker cartoonist, Liza Donnelly is a rare breed of artists. For one, she belongs to an elite creative brood of New Yorker magazine cartoonists who are women, as her cartoons have been published in the New Yorker since 1982. What may be most notable is that Liza often steps out from behind her drawing table to make this world not just a funnier place, but a better one too.

Liza has recently returned from Carquefou, France where she attended the Rencontres Internationales du Dessin de Press (RIDPR) Conference with several other women cartoonists from around the globe. These cartoonists had come to Paris from North America, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East to be honored for their humorous contribution as a catalyst for change. The goal of the RIDEP conference, which was co-sponsored by Amnesty International, had a mission:

"To provide the public with the occasion to reflect upon freedom of expression and human rights and other universal themes such as women or the environment."

When it comes to championing women's issues, advocating for the environment and global initiatives, Liza is the real deal. Her cartoons often reflect her inner views and her drawings can even be appreciated without words, which gives them a global appeal. Along with being the author of 15 books, Liza teaches Women's Studies and Cartoons in American Culture at Vassar College.

I sat down with Liza to talk about her recent trip and cartooning.

Interview with New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly:

Planet Green: As a cartoonist, does expressing your personal convictions about women, art, politics, or the environment limit or expand you professionally as an artist?

Liza Donnelly: It expands it. I am a cartoonist first, and while I bring my perspective as a woman to many of the cartoons I draw (whether they be about women, feminism, politics, whatever), it is not the first thing I necessarily think about. I draw as a person, and feel compelled sometimes to draw about issues that affect women around the world. Acknowledging that part of me only expands what I do. And as for politics, I love to make light of things in the news, and the best cartoon is when I can make people laugh and make a serious (sometimes disguised) point.

PG: Do you feel creative people have a responsibility to express their views through their medium - art, music, dance, etc.?

LD: I think it is the choice of the artist. Cartooning is a particularly unique brand of art in that it is almost expected of us to give a viewpoint. Some cartoonists are more vocal about their opinions than I am, and get right in the thick of it. I try to provoke. That is not my brand of art; rather I try to persuade with humor. My ideas are often not specific to a political point of view or "side", but rather embody a humanist response. In my work for the New Yorker, I also try to make light of people's hypocrisy in daily life, as we respond to political events.

PG: What made you decide to go attend the RIDEP conference? Why is it important to meet/collaborate with women cartoonist from around the world?

LD: I have been invited a few times to conferences and festivals that gather cartoonists from around the world, and I always find the experience enriching. Even though we are all from different countries, we have a wonderful camaraderie around cartooning. Cartoonists are often an odd bunch, so we enjoy each others company despite the language barrier; we share a language of drawing. The same holds true for a gathering of women cartoonists, only it takes on added significance because there are still so few women who practice the art of cartooning. We found that we are different, and the same, simultaneously. Each woman's concerns, desires for expression are similar, but vary in degree depending on the country.

PG: Has the RIDEP conference changed the way you approach your art?

LD: It has only reinforced my desire to draw more cartoons that are wordless. That way I can email/Facebook my work to my colleagues who don't speak English and they can understand them. And, I have been invited to submit cartoons to international publications - so, in order to do that I will need to think more graphically more often. My work for the New Yorker is so word-based; it will take extra effort to think more visually. But I have done it before, and my early work was very non-verbal, so it is a skill I enjoy, just need to practice more. I also am committed to drawing more cartoons about international concerns, not just American concerns.

PG: Your cartoons poke fun at issues that woman can easily relate to. What impact has being a woman had on your professional career? Do you have anything to share with aspiring female cartoonists?

LD: It was not something I thought about consciously until fairly recently. For most of my career, I thought of myself as a cartoonist, and in fact I don't like to be referred to as a woman cartoonist because that tends to pigeonhole how people think of you. I am a cartoonist, and sometimes I focus on issues about women. I think it is important to acknowledge this part of me - being a woman who can draw humor about issues concerning women--because for so long the standard has been male. Both men and women can, and do find the same things funny, but there are specific parts of life that only men can relate to, and other parts that only women can relate to. I try to do all of these things, and pay particular attention to those areas that might be important to women. Because we are half of the population and need to be heard. Or laughed about, at least! I have a new book coming out in the fall that deals with humor about women, and I look forward to hearing the reaction. I make fun of women, but also make fun of what society does to us over the course of our lives.

PG: What does an average workday involve?

LD: I try to work on ideas first thing after coffee. I read the New York Times and jot down ideas. Then I try to get cartoons out of what I have gathered. The afternoon is set aside for illustration or book work, and some days teaching work (I teach Women's Studies at Vassar College).

PG: How does technology factor into your work as a cartoon artist?

LD: I do a number of cartoons for Internet sites: womensenews.org, wowowow.com and dscriber.com. I am also the cartoon editor of revolvingfloor.com. I scan and email my cartoons to most places, and sometimes use Photoshop to fix the artwork or enhance it. Working for the web, I have found that my cartoons work well in color, and need to be simpler in most cases.

PG: Your husband, Michael Maslin is a New Yorker cartoonist also. Do you work together?

LD: We collaborated on a graphic narrative for The New Yorker once, and we did a number of jointly written and drawn narratives for our new book, Cartoon Marriage. We were both professional cartoonists before we met, so we have very set routines, and don't usually share our work with each other before we send it off to The New Yorker. We very much enjoyed working together on the narratives, and hope to do more.

Liza Donnelly talks about women cartoonists:

[b]To learn more about the RIDEP conference and to view the cartoons of women cartoonists from around the world, read Liza's article at The New Yorker Cartoon Bank Blog.