The arts in Australia often fly under the radar, consumed as we seem to be with sport and politics. There’s a perception that the arts only exist in stuffy galleries and are enjoyed by a small coterie of snobs. It’s easy to forget that the arts also involve music, theatre, comedy, or your favourite TV show.
And then, there’s cartooning—a unique form of art that also overlaps with politics, sport, satire, history, and even education. Historically, in newspapers, the editorial cartoon has been the one-stop shop for incisive social and political commentary—unsurprisingly the most popular part of the paper. It’s a powerful skill, and this country boasts some of the best cartoonists in the world.
This month, the 41st Stan Cross Awards were presented to the nation’s best cartoonists, covering categories as diverse as animation, editorial/political cartooning, caricature, book illustration and comic books. The ‘Stanleys’, as they are affectionately known, are determined by a national poll of cartoonists and are named after Stan Cross, who is widely considered the ‘godfather’ of Australian cartooning.
This year’s event, held at the elegant Hadley’s Orient Hotel in Hobart, was hosted by the multi-talented satirist and TV host, Mark Humphries. Among this year’s big winners were Lane Cove’s Cathy Wilcox, who draws daily for The Sydney Morning Herald, who took home the award for Editorial/Political Cartoonist, while the Australian Financial Review’s David Rowe emerged triumphant as the Cartoonist of the Year. Remarkably, it was Rowe’s eleventh Gold Stanley since 2002.
It wouldn’t be a night for cartooning unless everyone got to have a crack at drawing—even the non-cartoonists—though the winner of Best Cartoon Drawn on the Night was the very funny Matt Golding, whose work appears in The Age. For his Significant Contribution to Australian Cartooning, George Haddon was presented with the Jim Russell Award and three Australian cartooning legends were inducted in the Australian Cartoonists’ Hall of Fame: revered illustrator Virgil Reilly (1892-1974), the creator of Fatty Finn, Syd Nicholls (1896-1977), and Tasmanian editorial cartoonist Kev Bailey, who was present to receive his award.
The number of cartoonists working in Australian newspapers has dwindled greatly. Many are fielding work in the corporate sphere, illustrating books, annual reports, and drawing gift caricatures. Others are drawing ‘live’ caricatures at weddings, corporate events, and on cruise ships. The anecdotal evidence suggests that public interest in cartoons, and drawing generally, has never been stronger, yet newspaper editors are less interested in giving readers what they want than they are in saving money.
Most newspapers in Australia have now axed comic strips completely and have seen their circulation decline sharply as a result. For now, most editors recognise the risk in discarding the only popular arts feature they have left—the editorial cartoon.
Long may they reign!
