“Laughter is the sound of the soul dancing. My soul probably
looks like Fred Astaire.”
― Jarod Kintz, This Book is Not for Sale
May I Have This Dance?
About three and a half years ago, the Los Angeles Times’
Entertainment section ran an article by Sharon Mizota entitled, “It’s OK for
serious art to be funny.” I have to admit that while I’m not a natural born
humorist and I’m often charged with being far too serious all the time, I find
art that employs humor to make a serious point extremely appealing. It’s the
juxtaposition of the significantly important and the silly and satirical that
is behind the success of political cartoonists like Garry Trudeau, creator of the
comic strip “Doonesbury.” From its 1970 debut as a daily comic strip in a
couple of dozen newspapers, “Doonesbury” became famous for its social and
political commentary, primarily liberal, that was peppered with wry and ironic
humor and eventually was syndicated in approximately 1,400 newspapers
worldwide.
According to Mizota, “Using humor to deflate the pretensions
of the art world is nothing new. Since 1917, when Marcel Duchamp put a urinal
on a pedestal and signed it with a pseudonym, artists have been poking fun at
the definition and conventions of art.” But humor in art is often passed over
as simply entertainment. As Sheri Klein, professor of art education at the
University of Wisconsin-Stout and author of the book, Art and Laughter, says, “Humor is still regarded as associated with
entertainment value…” and she thinks curators and even artists themselves are
reluctant to discuss the humorous aspects of a particular artwork for fear it
won’t be taken seriously. She makes an important argument, however, that humor
functions differently in art than it does in entertainment
"The aim in humor for entertainment is to help us
forget our troubles," she says. "The role of humor in terms of art is
awareness and liberation and change. So I think the outcomes or the aims are
different, but the techniques might be the same."
An artist can make us laugh at the same time as he/she
forces us to look at the world around us with a critical eye. That’s an important
gift and a true art though there might be disagreement about whether a
particular piece is funny or not…that might depend on one’s political view. And
naturally, humor is subjective, and not every artwork that brings a laugh was
intended to be funny. “In fact,” says Mizota, “Artworks that go for easy laughs
are often dismissed as superficial entertainment -- or worse, simple mockery.”
But then…you find an artist like Jeff Van Syckle, creator/author of
a series of cartoon-style artworks called “A Lifetime Thinking” whose art is
wonderfully executed, perfectly serious and incredibly wry and humorous. You can’t
help but realize that the relationship between art and humor is much more
serious than a little chuckle. It’s one of the most significant non-violent means
of social change!!!
One of the most famous of political cartoon series - Puck. This example from the Library of Congress archives.
The Crabbed Millionaire's Puzzle. Illustration shows an old man labeled "Millionaire" sitting in a chair atop a pile of moneybags, bemoaning the fact that he now has little time to give away his money in a satisfactory manner; on the left are the church and the university looking for contributions and on the right are the hated "Relatives" looking to inherit new found wealth. illus. J.S. Pughe. Aug. 1901. LC-DIG-ppmsca-25553
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