One of only two women to win the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning, Ann Telnaes abandoned a job as a Disney animator to become a political cartoonist in 1991. She drew her first political cartoon in response to the Tianemmen Square incident, but her outrage at US Senators’ dismissive attitude toward sexual harassment during the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill hearings prompted her to submit her first cartoons for publication. She has remained a freelance editorial cartoonist, publishing in numerous papers, and her work has been collected in two books, “Humor’s Edge” and “Dick.” She has also exhibited work at the Library of Congress, in Paris and in Jerusalem.
Telnaes has been an aggressive and intelligent critic of American politics and policy since the early 1990s. She is often considered a feminist cartoonist because of her consistent championing of women’s issues — the National Organization for Women, who publish her work in their newsletter, praise “her strong and insightful focus on women’s issues, particularly reproductive rights.” But in a 2007 interview , Telnaes provides an insightful corrective to the notion that feminism is just about issues that directly affect women:
”I think people sometimes misunderstand when I talk about the value of having a woman’s perspective in editorial cartooning. I’m not only talking about “woman’s issues,” but about the value of having editorial cartoonists with different life experiences addressing all issues: war, civil liberties, religion in politics, etc. I think the reason that there’s so much of the
same, both in approach and tone, in American editorial cartooning today is because of the
lack of women and minorities in the profession.
Taken as a whole, Telnaes’ body of work reflects a wide-ranging political engagement and a particular savvy for foreign policy and the global use of American power. A naturalized citizen (Telnaes was born in Sweden), she is an outspoken advocate for free speech as an indispensable and priceless American ideal. She serves on the board of the Cartoonists’ Rights Network, advocating for freedom of expression without threat for cartoonists around the world.
Links:
Cartoonists’ Rights Network “Art to Die For” archive
Telnaes’ Website
Personal Blog
The Newseum’s gallery of her cartoons, with commentary
Telnaes talking with young artists about becoming a cartoonist
Telnaes’ animated cartoons for the Washington Post.
video showing how she creates her cartoons, from drawing board to final cut.
