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| THE ABOVE DESCRIPTION is apt for Mr. Thomas Nast, the greatest of American political cartoonists. At left, he regards the reader from the lower right of one of his drawings. In his time, Nast was as powerful as some American presidents. His output was extremely theatrical and full of wild inventions and exotic images. He was the first to use the elephant and the donkey to represent the two major political parties. Nast’s still drawings often seem animated because the reader is prompted to imagine what's going to happen in the next (or what has happened in the preceding) instant. Like the later Walt Disney, who he probably influenced greatly, Nast tried to delight children, and Nast’s contribution to that cause was the modern icon of Santa Claus (left). The Santa character was developed in a yearly Chrismas series for Nast's magazine. Nast’s work illustrates that while art may imitate life, art may also influences what happens in real life. The great artist is he or she whose work has enough force to help shape the “real” world and change the way that people see things and think about reality. Actors may try to talk like real police or real gangsters, but the "real" police and "real" gangsters also imitate what they see in the movies or on TV when trying to carry out their fated roles in life. Now, when growing up, I was very fond of “serious satirists” like Nast. Comparable figures in my formative years were Bob & Ray, Mr. Stan Freberg, and Herblock. But my own fate when I was in my thirties and forties was to be an object rather than a producer of satire. Now, it isn’t always all bad to be made fun of, since it means that one has at least been noticed. In 1984, Universal Studios made a movie called Doctor Detroit and the title character was intended to resemble me. The film starred Mr. Dan Aykroyd. The cast included another stalwart icon of the counter-culture, Mr. Howard Hesseman. While some said it wasn’t a very good movie, and I had to agree as far as artistic merit went, I couldn’t really find much to object to in the way I myself was depicted. I was also made fun of later, at least once or twice, on Saturday Night Live. But in 2006 I proposed turning the tables, with satires or other productions of my own. I invited anyone who wanted to participate in this "Gaus Revolution" in some capacity sign on. That offer still goes. I may be reached at (317) 523-6943, or at dave@davidgaus.com Click to see a listing of my current production projects. |
| "Impresario of the Real" |
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| Nast created the Republican elephant and the Democratic donkey, which are still used today. |
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| Copyright 2008 DS Gaus Corporation |
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| Copyright 2007 DS GausCorporation All rights reserved |