Sunday, October 02, 2011

CHINESE CARTOONS!

Michael Sporn just blogged about "Modern Sketch," a Chinese cartoon magazine originating in Shanghai in the years 1934 - 1937. I followed his link and was amazed to find a graphically sophisticated magazine, one that I'd consider subscribing to if it was still being published today. I had no idea that China, or at least the Chinese artists in Shanghai, were so hip to the trends in Europe and America.

By the way, is that bucktoothed guy on the cover...me? It could be a Chinese caricature of of what they regard as the typical pickle-nose Westerner. Or maybe I'm a strange physical type that appears again and again in every generation.


Northern China was invaded by Japan while the magazine was still being published in the South. Some of the references to the war are heart-rending. I don't know what the couple above are saying, but the thought of love and charm in the midst of chaos is interesting. Are these people crazy, or did they make a zen decision to enjoy what may be their last hours on Earth?


What a nice page (above) of line drawings!


Wow! I love sketches like this one (above).


I wish I knew what was going on here (above). Maybe it's an end of the world scenario with Japan murdering ordinary people in the street while decadent entertainment prevails in the rooms of the well-to-do. 'Just guessing. 


What the heck is happening here (above)? These fascinating pictures almost look like Tarot cards. Click to enlarge.


This magazine is a glimpse into what might have been if China had continued contact with the wider world after the thirties. Instead the country fell under the boot of Japan, then was delivered into the xenophobic hands of Mao, who I regard as a madman. 


Haw! A nice, Rapidograph-style drawing of a formal dinner...a nice reminder of what can be achieved with pen and paper.

Here's (below) the site that Michael referenced for his blog. Thanks to Greg Kelly for finding it!

http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/modern_sketch/ms_essay01.html

Michael's site:

http://www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love seeing western culture and artforms twisted through a foreign lens. Have you heard of Korean cartoonist Yang Young Soon? http://graealex.imgur.com/asaekkiga_by_yang_youngsoon/ His cartoons can be vulgar at times but they're some of the most unusual and hilarious I have ever read.


http://www.funalarmer.com/69-of-the-weirdest-american-patents-ever/
The sincere yet amateur quality of most of these sketches is hilarious, love picturing someone sitting down and drawing these. Love to see some of the meetings at the patent office. can really tell where guys like Kliban got their inspiration what with the "figure 1's" and all that.

thomas said...

Thanks for sharing.

Just that hat, in the first one, is pretty wonderful

Eddie Fitzgerald said...

Anon: Many thanks for the two links. The first one was missing an ending on my screen. The last letters in the link were "by."

Anyway, I have his name and will look it up. And the patent drawings were hilarious! Many thanks!

Anonymous said...

Hey Eddie, the last part after "by" is
_yang_youngsoon/ The full link seems
to be there on my screen.
http://graealex.imgur.com/asaekkiga_by_yang_youngsoon/

JohnK said...

Wow. These are really great.

Anonymous said...

I've read that a lot of iconic imagery and ways things are perceived that we take for granted and don't think about were created by cartoonists, often in cartoons that were a huge hit 100+ plus years ago in kind of a pre internet version of a visual meme spreading like wildfire. The obvious political visual metaphors, (more of an illustration thing than cartoons) Santa Claus, the term "Hot dog" etc.

Do you know of any examples where imagery from cartoons in other countries have permanently influenced design and culture?

Anonymous said...

Are you gonna do a post on that Simpsons couch gag that John recently animated soon? I think that's one of the most lively, fun, cartoony pieces of animation that I've seen all year. I also really enjoyed the Adult Swim promo, but in my opinion, this really takes the cake in terms of funny, rubbery movement and motion, which is what animation needs more than ever right now.

Eddie Fitzgerald said...

Anon: Thanks! I'll look it up tomorrow A.M.!

Anon: Well, the drawing of a little girl on her hands and knees, pulling a cart in a coal mine sure helped the Marxists. I wonder if any little girl actually did that?

Roberto: Yeah, that was groundbreaking in the extreme! Did you see John's interview about the animation on Monday's Cartoon Brew? I'll try to do a blog about it.

Eddie Fitzgerald said...

Anon: Holy Cow! Those comics were great! Thanks a million for the link!!!!

Anonymous said...

The twelve "tarot" images are also reminiscent of the Chinese Zodiac, but in my quick research I didn't find any Zodiac turtles or crows.