The Ringling Museum

If you haven't been to the Ringling Museum, it is a must see, and offers far more than just circus exhibits (which includes the largest circus-themed miniature diorama you'll ever see). There is the huge mansion, the gardens, and galleries filled with priceless works of art. The link to my Webshots album is at the end of this post if you want to see the pictures, but here is a taste of why you should visit. Click on each picture for a larger view.



The world's largest miniature circus sits in one building, occupying 3,800 square feet, and was created over a period of 50 years by model builder Howard Tibbals. Visitors walk around the diorama, while ambient sounds of the carnival play in the background. Thanks to my new camera equipment, I was able to take pretty good pictures.

The diorama has 8 tents, 152 wagons, 1,300 circus performers and workers, more than 800 

animals and a 59-car train.

In another building are circus wagons and vehicles in the Ringling Museum of the American Circus, the first museum of its kind. Since so many people from the circus wintered in Florida, the collection grew quickly.

The Ringling mansion, called Ca d'Zan (roughly translated from a Venetian dialect of Italian as "The House Of John") is the Ringling home where John and Mable Ringling lived when in Florida. Mable Ringling was the primary contact for the construction of the mansion and decoration of the interior.











The mansion was completed in 1926 and was modeled after the Venetian Gothic palaces which were admired by the Ringlings, who spent much time traveling to Europe.







You can clearly see the Venetian influences in the design; lavish parties were held here, with the Ringling's yacht moored to the terrace, aboard which an orchestra entertained guests.







The buildings housing the art collection have the feel of Venetian palaces themselves. In 1925 Ringling commissioned a building to be designed to house his art collection. Construction began in 1928 and in 1931, the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art was opened to the public.








Ringling was a fanatical art collector, and his collection is one of the largest art museum libraries in the Southeast United States, with over 70,000 holdings.






To see the entire album, visit my Webshots album HERE.

This Link takes you to the official site of the Ringling Museum, in case you want to visit, and you should!

Bill Watterson Speaks

Bill Watterson Speaks!

If you're as much as a Calvin and Hobbes fan as I am, you are in for a rare treat: an interview with the notoriously reclusive Bill Watterson, along with an article summarizing the completely unexpected success of Calvin and Hobbes and Watterson's discomfort with his fame. The article even has a picture of Watterson, which satisfies my curiosity as to what he looks like.

Source: Drawn! Illustration and Cartoon Art

John Campenelli, of the Plains Dealer, in Cleveland, e-mailed Watterson a series of questions, and Watterson e-mailed back. It is believed to be the only interview Watterson has done since 1989. Watterson, who is often compared to JD Salinger in his desire to remain reclusive, still has legions of fans who were forced to quit Calvin and Hobbes cold turkey when he decided to end his strip. Hopefully the below links are still good when you click on them.

LINK to the Bill Watterson Interview
LINK the the article about Calvin and Hobbes' huge impact in comic strips

Artists Threatened

 

This is a new category on the Magnum Arts blog dedicated to cultural and artistic freedom.

I avoid like the plague introducing politics in my cartooning classes, which is not the appropriate place for such discussions. So, I was on the fence about whether or not to create a post about this subject, but in the end, with recent developments, I decided that this situation involves things that are very important to cartoonists, artists and citizens alike: censorship and freedom. This is a case where a cartoonists' work has literally put a death sentence over his head, and it's important to know why.

What Happened
Kurt Westergaard, A 74 year old Danish cartoonist, is living under 24-hour police protection in Denmark, all because of several cartoons he drew which ignited a firestorm of protest among militant Islam religious practitioners. In Islam, the drawing of the prophet Mohamed, even in a good light, is considered blasphemy, because it encourages idolatry.

In the United States, artists are generally free to create whatever kind of art they like. Some people may not like it, but it's acknowledged that we have the right to create it. In Europe and the Middle East, however, the migration of Islam into western countries has led to clashes between their beliefs, and the beliefs of non-Muslims. This conflict led to an explosion of violence over a few simple cartoons, and an Islam-inspired death sentence for one artist who stood up for creative freedom, refusing to be bullied into silence.

Muslims forbid any drawing, sculpture or depiction of the prophet Mohamed, unlike the depiction of Jesus, which is very common in Christianity. Defying this ban can lead to harsh penalties, even death. This is a central tenet of Islam and is not for non-Muslims to judge. These beliefs are very important to Muslims, and regardless of whether or not you agree, it is important to respect those beliefs.

The problem arises when a small percent (not all, mind you) of Muslims try to force their religious restrictions upon others who do not practice Islam, which is exactly what happened in this case, with very unpleasant results.

Standing Up For Freedom Of Expression
Kurt Westergaard, and other artists, publishers and writers, began seeing an increase in self-censorship among the creative community; artists and writers deliberately censoring and restricting their work, thus limiting their creativity, in order to avoid angering Muslims worldwide. The catalyst for this increase in artists censoring themselves was the Salman Rushdie controversy, which you can read about HERE. Rushie was given a death sentence by Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini, ordering Muslims worldwide to kill him for blasphemy.

Westergaard, and the newspaper he worked for, felt it was wrong for artists and writers to be bullied into following Islam rules when they are not Muslim. Denmark has a strong culture of freedom of expression, much like we do here in the United States, and in 2006, the Danish newspaper he worked for published a series of cartoons depicting the prophet Mohamed in various settings, poking fun at militant Muslims' tendency toward violence. One depicted Mohamed having a bomb in a turban. Offensive? Absolutely. Protected by free speech by the laws of Denmark? Yes.

The Consequences Of Freedom Of Expression
The result was violent protests in a number of countries, as Muslims reacted with fury and demanded the cartoons be withdrawn and the newspaper, and Denmark, apologize. Both expressed regret for the violence, but refused, citing Denmark's freedom of speech rules.

This blog post was motivated by the news that a man from Somalia who practiced Islam recently tried to kill Westergaard with an axe, because of the cartoon he drew. Westergaard and his five-year-old daughter, who had been living in a secret safe house in Denmark, narrowly escaped death, as did a Danish police officer who tried to stop him. Three years later, and his life is still threatened by his act of expression in a free country.

What happened in this situation is a clash of cultures. As one culture migrates to other countries with another culture, conflict will inevitably arise. Muslims felt the cartoons insulted and slandered their religion, and demanded they be withdrawn. Western countries like Denmark felt it was unreasonable for Muslims to impose their religious restrictions on non-Muslim cultures.

Why am I not posting the cartoons for you to see? For two primary reasons:

1. I try to keep politics and religion out of my art classes. The classes I teach (as well as this blog) are no place for my political and religious views. I write about this situation only because it involves the consequences of someone's art.
   
2. I don't want to offend Muslims. The majority of Muslims are peaceful, law-abiding people who harbor no ill will toward anyone. It is only a small percentage of Muslims which cause violence.

Westergaard and his five-year-old daughter, like Salman Rushdie, will have to live in hiding for the rest of his life because of his art.

This page has a chronology of events stemming from the publishing of these cartoons, and the efforts of western artists and writers to stand up to the threats of violence from militant Muslims who were offended by the cartoons.

More Videos

In keeping with the artistic and educational nature of this blog I present the following videos, fun little gems that I encourage you to check out. The first one is called The Dot And The Line, which was a book published in 1963 by Norman Juster. In 1965 Chuck Jones, of Bugs Bunny fame, adapted the book into a ten minute MGM cartoon. It subsequently won an academy award for an animated short film. It's a masterpiece of puns and visual humor.

This cartoon is a trippy, mind-bending ride called Psychedelic Pink, one of the best Pink Panther cartoons made in the sixties, and an example of the 60's mind-altering mindset of the time. Unfortunately, there's a totally fake-sounding laugh track that someone felt necessary to put in, but it is enjoyable anyway. A psychedelic experience refers to an experience where one's mind is freed by the normal discipline and order of society, and experiences different sights and sensations. Psychedelic experiences were a big fixture of the 1960s, and this cartoon is a perfect example of that.

BALANCE
This seven and a half minute film is also a masterpiece. Extremely simple in concept, filled with all sorts of symbolism. Five figures stand on a horizontal slab suspended in a void. If one moves, the slab begins to tilt, endangering the others, who must react to re-establish the proper balance. A new element into their carefully balanced world causes havoc for everyone on this precarious surface. One wonders how did they get there? Are they stranded there for eternity? Thought provoking, this film is.

And finally, a very special treat for fans of Mad magazine, the magazine that helped me learn to draw and inspired me as an artist: an interview with the legendary Mort Drucker, arguably the very best caricature artist ever. His art in Mad magazine over the decades captured movie stars and celebrities perfectly, with enough exaggeration to make them amusing without being insulting. Having your likeness drawn by Mort Drucker was a rare honor. I realize Manga is all the rage these days, but artists as talented and prolific as Drucker should never be forgotten. To learn more about Drucker, click this link.

Christmas At Disney World

At Disney World






Deb and I spent two days during Christmas break at Disney World; Christmas Day at Animal Kingdom, and the day after at Hollywood Studios, where there is an incredible holiday Christmas light display that covers every building in the middle of the park. I recently acquired a Nikon D90 digital camera which I'll be using to expand Magnum Arts next year, doing photography, so two days at Disney parks was a perfect place to put the D90 to the test. With my newest camera in hand, I was able to capture the holiday spirit. Enjoy!

Yeah I'm bad...I'm Disney bad!

(Click on each picture to bring up a larger view)

At the Flights Of Wonder bird show in Animal Kingdom, various birds are displayed in an amusing show. I got picked to go up on stage and attempt to photograph a great horned owl as he flies from the rear of the building to a perch on the stage. What an opportunity!

I'm told no one is able to get the picture because the owl flies so fast; I got two (count 'em, two) good pictures! Click on each one to see a large view.

What a beautiful bird. They let me take a few pictures before leaving the stage.

The Automotive Stunt Spectacular is a good show, demonstrating impressive stunts and driving skills using specially modified cars. Here the red "hero" car fires an on-board rocket that splits the black "chase" car in half.

A crew member tries to push the two halves of the car back together again




















The stunt show has a fun gag that involves a Herbie the Love Bug car that's been cut in half, with each side fully drivable. I'll bet it's cramped in there. The airplane in the background is Walt Disney's first plane, now on display.

The finale involves a final jump and a huge explosion with lots of flames. Just like my commute to work every morning!

Can you guess what the pictures above are? There was some effluent, or foam, that was sitting atop of the water in the central pond of Hollywood Studios that formed very interesting patterns that caught my eye. This is art in itself, created by natural forces. Click on each one to get a larger view.

The Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular is the longest running live show at any of the Disney parks, and also one of the most popular, recreating several sequences from Raiders of The Lost Ark. Lots of explosions and flames in this show.

This is a fun, "forced perspective" picture that makes it look like Deb is feeding Gertie the Dinosaur. Forced perspective pictures are optical illusions that make two objects look closer than they really are, or different sizes than they really are.

See That Which Goes Unnoticed

Do you ever stop to notice the "little" details that surround us? There are things we pass by every day and never notice, things that can be captured by photography to focus attention on life's beauty, hidden in plain sight.

































I love this picture of Gonzos all hanging by their noses, outside the Muppet 3D theater











This is the Osborne family light show, the coolest holiday light show I've ever seen. Every square inch of buildings in the middle of the park are covered in Christmas lights that blink in sequence to Christmas music that fills the street. It even put a Grinch like me in the spirit!


























To see the entire photo album from the Hollywood Studios album on Webshots, click HERE!