Thursday, March 5, 2009

Shading, Proportions, and Contrasts


Jim Morin presents the viewer with a nuanced view on the sea change Barack
Obama has brought to American politics. Morin depicts The Republican Party as an institution set in its traditional mores by presenting an irate man yelling that assumes the worst. Interestingly, the problem is small: basketball.

Morin's stout, balding, American flag tie-wearing man symbolizes the extremes within the GOP. Coupled with the ambiguous statement, Morin projects a figure constantly on the attack no matter what the situation. In a time when Rush Limbaugh has garnered media attention for being such a figure, Morin has pointed out the petty nature of such acts.

Morin’s sketch, with its schemes of shading and color, can show us unique qualities of character. Although shaded in colors like gray or navy, the cartoon still shines high levels of intensity and emotion. On the left, we see the anger of the Republican figure pointing, as his face is red, with a mouth wide open, yelling and screaming outward, and on the right, we see Obama presented as poised and looking directly at his opposition. The proportions of the two characters also works to highlight their differences.

Jim Morin is a Pulitzer-Prize winning cartoonist. His cartoons appear five days a week in The Miami Herald. More of his work can be seen here:

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