Artist’s Talk: “Elephants, Donkeys & Twitter Birds: How Cartoon Symbols Have Shaped Politics” -

Join us in the Diffley Board Room (or virtually) for a special lecture by award-winning illustrator Sean Kelly!

Sean Kelly is known for his award-winning illustration, visual journalism and political commentary as seen on the arts, business, features and op-ed pages of major American newspapers. In his lecture, Elephants, Donkeys & Twitter Birds: How Cartoon Symbols Have Shaped Politics, Kelly will explore how simple images, icons and humor have influenced American culture throughout its history, and how political cartooning has changed in the 21st century.

We invite you to join the conversation via the following options:

1. In-person in the Diffley Board Room, on the first floor of Bellarmine Hall (registration required-limited seating!)
2. Streaming via thequicklive.com

Please register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/artists-talk-how-cartoon-symbols-have-shaped-politics-tickets-625717406607

This event is in conjunction with the exhibition In Real Times - Arthur Szyk: Artist and Soldier for Human Rights, on view in the Bellarmine Hall Galleries from September 29-December 16, 2023. 

Don’t miss Szyk: The Interactive Experience in the Walsh Gallery in the Quick Center for the Arts.

About the exhibition:

This special exhibition, organized around the theme of human rights features more than 50 works by acclaimed Polish Jewish miniaturist and political cartoonist Arthur Szyk (1899-1951), including political cartoons, and images that honor the power and importance of democratic ideals. A witness to the rise of totalitarianism in Europe, Szyk emigrated from London to America at the beginning of World War II. He lived and worked in Connecticut, and passed away in New Canaan in 1951. His powerful political cartoons animated the covers of magazines such as Time and Collier's, raising awareness of the plight of European Jews and helping sway public opinion toward support for American participation in the Second World War. As a self-described “soldier in art,” Szyk’s work was acclaimed by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt as a potent weapon “against Hitlerism.” He advocated for religious tolerance, racial equality, and human dignity. Active in the years leading up to World War II and during the Holocaust, Szyk became one of America’s most celebrated political artists for his powerful artistic and social contributions against Nazism and fascism. As our communities continue to confront issues of structural racism and social upheaval — including the sharp rise in antisemitic rhetoric and violence across the United States— this exhibition provides a platform for conversations on the urgent topics of human rights and social justice.

https://www.fairfield.edu/museum/szyk/