From the Editor (Exaggerated Features Issue 2020.3)

From the Editor (2020.3)

Caricature by Court Jones
Author	Debbie "Debbo" Burmeister
Genre	Editorial, From the Editor
Published	EF Issue 2020.3
Publication date	Fall 2020
Media type	Print, Digital Print, Digital
Pages	1
Website	Full Issue PDF, courtesy of caricature.org

Letter from the Editor, Fall 2020

Article Transcript

Letter From The Prez as it appears in EF Issue 2020.3

Dear ISCA Friends and Family,

Summer is now behind us, and if you’re like me, you’ve spent it in some form of isolation, witnessing the COVID-19 story develop further, and each day seemingly bringing a new tragedy to our attention. With events and gigs canceled, I had a lot of time to reflect and contemplate this moment we’re living through. And so did many of you, it would seem. The death of George Floyd at the end of May set off a storm of responses —peaceful protests, violent riots, and universal artistic expression at a scale I don’t believe I’ve witnessed prior in my lifetime. I could feel a collective grief that had permeated into our community of caricature artists. It was all overwhelming, and with the flood of artwork memorializing Mr. Floyd and catapulting Black Lives Matter to the front of everyone’s minds —it was a lot to take in. It was upon seeing tribute after tribute, all lovingly illustrated by ISCA members and artists not affiliated with our community, that I began to understand that this moment was something new. The horrors of systematic racism had reached a new, broader audience and our community was speaking out. As an organization, to not explicitly show support in this moment would be to be complicit in the racism itself.

How should ISCA move forward in light of this social awakening? Why should ISCA make a statement at all? The answers seemed pretty obvious to me. First, we have black artists in our community. I had to ask if ISCA has been representing them as well as we could be. And I think we can do better, and I think we can do more. Second, there are black artists who are not members of ISCA. It made me wonder how big the disparity was and how we could reach these potential members. So I reached out to a dear friend and colleague of mine, Clarence Meriwether, and I asked him to guest edit this issue of Exaggerated Features. I had a few goals for this issue, goals that required a voice that wasn’t mine or Debbo’s. With this issue, we wanted to put a spotlight on black artists within ISCA and reach out to a few who aren’t members as well. The second goal was to amplify those artists’ voices by making this issue available publicly. I think ISCA has work to do in better representing the BIPOC community, and we are working to address that, starting right here with this magazine. It’s not lost on me that there are narratives surrounding Black Lives Matter that make it a divisive topic. Whether you support, oppose, or have yet to find your place in the conversation, I sincerely hope you read the stories and experiences of your black colleagues in this issue with an open mind. With that said, I’ll let Clarence take it from here. His letter begins on page 4.

Before I sign off for this issue, though, I want to address this year’s ISCAcon. For one week every November, hundreds of ISCA members from around the world descend on a city (this year was supposed to be held in Las Vegas) to draw, compete and learn. It truly is one of the best experiences I’ve been privileged to be a part of, but surely you can see how that may not be ideal during an ongoing pandemic. In July, we made the call to postpone the Vegas con to 2021. In its place, we’ve been developing ISCAcon29: Mailbox Mayhem! We want to capture as much of the ISCAcon experience as we can online, while also utilizing the strengths of the virtual format. So for $55 (plus shipping, if not in the US) ANYONE can participate. This con is open to members and non-members alike. ISCA members will still be able to compete, display their art, and participate in live Q&A sessions with some of our guest speakers. Everyone who registers by October 24th will get a box of con swag mailed to their house - including a T-Shirt designed by Kev Jackson, an exclusive comic book edition of Exaggerated Features, an enamel pin, art supplies, and some other surprises! The event itself will be held on Discord Nov. 15-20. We have a great lineup of speakers, including Bill Morrison, Asia Ellington, Andrew Farago, Wilfrid Wood, Celestia Ward, Kelly O’Brien, Hitomi Ishihara, and Rob Dumo! As is tradition, the drawing room will be open 24/7 until voting begins. While we won’t be awarding The Golden Nosey this year, many awards will be given for new and classic categories and competitions. We’re excited to see all of you in November, even if it can’t be in person.

Lastly, if you’re not a member of ISCA, and you would like to be, you can join our organization at www.caricature.org (You can also register for Mailbox Mayhem + Membership as a bundle to save some money). Please, stay safe and stay healthy.

Tom Faraci
President of the International Society
of Caricature Artists
tomfaraci@caricature.org
Instagram @TomFaraciArt
[TomFaraci.com] [AmericanCaricature.com]

External Links

Instagram/FB @TomFaraciArt
[TomFaraci.com] [AmericanCaricature.com]

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