Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Cartoonist expresses political views through art BY LAURA CARONE THE GAMECOCK The State political cartoonist Robert Ariail revealed his meth ods and motives when he spoke at Gambrell Hall on Wednesday evening. “This is a particularly fun place to do cartoons,” Ariail said. “There are so many wild and crazy politi cal things happening here, and the readers are wild and crazy, too.” Ariail prattled on as he pre sented various cartoons ranging from topics as serious as Sept. 11 to the comical Clinton pot shot. “I really miss President Clinton. He was a lot of fun,” he said. He later pulled out a cartoon from Wednesday’s paper to reveal Chirac kissing Saddam Hussein’s shoes. " “I could have made him kissing another part of the anatomy, but I didn’t think it would be as ap propriate for what we call a family newspaper,” he said. If any of his work was ever con sidered inappropriate, Ariail said he’s received the message loud and clear. “When people look at a cartoon . I’ve done and they like it, they laugh, put the paper down and go about with whatever they’re do ing that day,” he said. “But if somebody really gets pissed off, i they sit down and write a letter and e-mail or call the publisher.” In the past, he said, feedback letters have included bits of scrip ture, and even the offending car toon itself with his name penciled in beneath that particular car toon’s victim. Many factors con tribute to the public perception of his work, he explained, especial ly since a picture can only spell out so much. “The cartoon has to narrow its r--— focus so much,” Ariail said. The necessary hyperbole in a political cartoon results in a lot of unin tended meanings, he said. He also explained that his au dience sometimes overlooks his role as a political commentator and thinks that he should be fair minded and balanced, when, in essence, his cartoon is a “signed column.” “I don’t feel like it’s my role to try to convert people to what I’m CARTOON BY ROBERT ARIAIL This cartoon appeared In The Gamecock on Dec. 10,1980. saying, but I do think that I show them a different way of looking at an issue that maybe they hadn’t considered, that maybe they will consider,” he said. Throughout his presentation, audience members — most of them dedicated fans — responded favorably. “I thought he was great,” said Laura Lipinski, a first-year inter national-studies student. “He was very informative about the pro cess.” First-year history student Joseph Schmidt said that he was interested in learning about the newspaper in general. “I came to get a sense of what it’s all about,” he said. “I thought it was a good expla nation of the foie of the cartoonist, which is often overlooked or mis understood by the public,” said Blease Graham, a USC political science professor. “Just being able to capture the idea the way he does provokes po litical discussion.” Despite such praise, Ariail him self feels his cartoons are simply humor masquerading as informa tion. “I think I’m really more of an entertainer,” he said. “I’m the jester of the page.” Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail. com PHOTO BY TRISHA SHADWELL/THE GAMECOCK Robert Arlall explains the process of creating cartoons during a presentation Wednesday at Gambrell Hall. -1 We at the UScS — i (Mil# ftW bdieve in the true spirit of 1 Chrisbnaj ... that it is \rm biessed to^tyethn V to receive signed jersey you’ll never ever wash: $ 150 \john franco poster: $20 2003 game schedule: $0 \ trophies: $0 finding out there’s an internship for people like you: priceless Apply for a summer internship in the sports business at mastercard.com. 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