|
2008 SCHLIEFKEVISION HEROINE OF THE YEAR:
ZINA SAUNDERS
"While McCain describes the economy as 'cratering', the Republican Party has spent more than $150,000 on his running mate's wardrobe and hair. Sarah Palin, billed as the populist voice for Joe Six-Pack and Soccer Moms struggling to pay the monthly bills, has been running
through an average of $18,000 a week to look the part of VP"
-Zina Saunders, 2008 | My pick for hero of the year was almost usurped by the dramatic comedy of the shoe throwing man who gave George W Bush one last thing to scribble about in his memoirs. But alas, there was by far a more deserving nominee who held onto the prize: ZINA SAUNDERS
Born and raised in Manhattan, Zina honed her craft under the watchful eye of her father, Norman, who illustrated pulp books, magazines, comic books and the original Mars Attacks! trading cards. Illustrating books and being printed in countless national magazines is only the tip of Zina's work, as she has always carried a discerning eye towards capturing the joy and zest of life in her fellow New Yorkers in a series of paintings entitled, 'Overlooked New York'.
I started to follow Zina's work on an almost daily basis in September when her blog was updated regularly with the best illustrations depicting the twists of the Presidential Election, namely the bizarre odyssey of Sarah Palin. With the surprise pick of the naive populist Alaskan woman, Zina's mission to lampoon every decision, speech and mishap through the end of the election was timely,
beautiful, accurate, and inspiring.
|
| I contacted Zina in December, and she graciously answered some questions I wrote for her about adding politics to art, the acts of painting and writing, and what impact she had in the election. Her compassion, enthusiasm and interest in people seems endless, and her work ethic and skill is unparalleled. I encourage everyone reading this to read her interview and then check out
her multiple websites. The fruits of her illustrations can be found in the 40 page book 'The Party's Over'. |
LINKS:
Zina Saunders website
Zina's drawger website
Overlooked New York
Africa Closeup
'The Party's Over' book |
With the tremendous work Zina produced during the election, combining her beliefs, talents and politics into one stunning package, she not only bridged the gap between art and politics, but crossed over into the mainstream and her voice was heard by millions. Combined with her more personal work, the only clear choice I had for a Heroine of the Year in 2008 was Zina Saunders.
|
SCHLIEFKEVISION interviews ZINA SAUNDERS:SV: Over
the last months of the election, your blog at drawger.com was filled with a new illustration lampooning McCain and the crazy antics of Sarah Palin with an amazing sense of timing and clarity. While some of the illustrations appeared in Time, SF Chronicle. The Nation, and Women's Work Magazine, how much of the work was commissioned and how much was just your natural instinct to put together the illustrations?
ZS:
In early September I was appalled by the dearth of women artists in the Society of Illustrators Politics '08 show (only one out of about 20 artists!) and at the same time Palin burst on the scene. Both of these things aggravated me so much that I had to take pencil to paper!
My initial focus was not money. It never is when I start new projects. But my political work was picked up all over the web, and I began getting more than
100,000 visitors to my website every week...sometimes I was getting half a million people coming to look at my stuff! I got tons of email, some of it angry, some of it praising. I'd found a new voice and audience! And it was fun!
I also started getting the work published, and getting those extra eyeballs was fun, too.
|
Maverick John McCain and Calamity Sarah Palin are out to raise a ruckus with their rootin', tootin', rabble-rousin' Wild West Show
|
|
Lieberman's Heartbreak
Stand alone image for Op Ed page
of San Francisco Chronicle
| SV: Do you normally work so fast on your illustrations? Each illustration seemed to arrive while the talking heads were still covering the very story. With so much fodder being produced by the campaigns on a daily basis, did you find things came together with ease or did you really have to sift things through to get the right angle for your illustrations?
ZS: I've always been really fast. I often do jobs that are 3 or 4 hour turnarounds for The Wall Street Journal and such. So that was no problem. All during the campaign (my own and the Presidential one!), I was still getting lots of my regular kinds of assignments, so I would get up at 3 am and paint the political satire, post it on the web, and then get down to work on the regular jobs.
As to what story I would focus on,
it was always crystal clear to me: it was the one that I thought was most outlandish and reprehensible. And therefore funny!
|
SV: How do you feel about Tina Fey's dead on portrayal of Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live during the election? Did you feel you were competing against other mediums or did you see your work living harmoniously with it? Do you feel illustration has an increased relevance and immediacy because of the internet?
ZS: I've seen myself referred to as the Tina Fey of illustration...I'd be delighted to think that I helped undermine the disgraceful Ms. Palin's run for the presidency -- oops! I mean VICE presidency!
SV: Tina Fey gave a few interviews saying she was never going to revisit her Palin character had McCain won. Would you have likewise given up the role of watchdog that you embraced during the election? Did you breathe a sigh of relief when Obama clinched the nomination on Election Night that would've spared you four long years of Sarah Palin illustrations?
ZS: I've continued doing political satire in the weeks since the election and I intend to continue into the future. It's way too much fun to stop.
And I have a feeling that my pencil has not seen the last of Sarah Palin.
SV: With politics having become so polarized over the years, what do you think the role of the artist becomes in the field of politics? Did you ever have to temper your own voice for a client during the campaign? Beyond expressing your thoughts and opinions, what do you hope the audience takes away from these political illustrations?
ZS: For me, it's about expressing my own opinion. After that, it's up to the reader to come to their own conclusion. It doesn't bother me when people object to my perspective and I'm fine with them expressing their points of view. I feel that doing the picture was sufficient to getting my voice heard.
Barack Obama for Mortgage Magazine, 2008
|
|
SV: During the Primaries, there was a lot of talk about the Democratic Convention turning into a fiasco like the 1968 Chicago Convention. I think another comparison can be made between your work and the work of Jack Levine. He's spent his entire life painting gritty depictions of the follies of society and the human condition, and he was hired by Time Magazine to illustrate the convention . What do you think are the differences
and similarities in the ways a painter and illustrator depict the world?
ZS: You know, I don't really see any difference between an "artist" and an "illustrator", except who's cutting their checks.
SV: In your series 'Overlooked', you combine a person's written story with an illustration. Most of the political illustrations you put together during the election were posted on your site with a small bit of writing to describe your process and opinion about each illustration. It seems that blogging and your books really fit your artistic temperament. Can you describe the interaction between writing and art that takes place with
your work?
ZS: Overlooked New York was an outgrowth of my natural curiosity. The interviews that accompany the portraits were my way of sharing more about the subjects, so the reader could discover what I did. I've done quite a few series that feature portraits and interviews, like my series of portraits and interviews with illustrators,
Art Talks, and Deconstructing Lunch and also Faith in Africa, my series about an AIDS orphan in Zimbabwe.
Writing is fun but painting is way more so! I'll continue to mix the two in different recipes as my interests shift.
The
Morning After November 4th
All images on this page:
copyright Zina Saunders
all rights reserved,
used with permission
|
|
|
|
|
SCHLIEFKEVISION T-SHIRTS:
|
|
