I came Cross an article today regarding an event at “the cartoon art museum" huh, I thought, I like cartoons, comics, I suppose Theresa a difference. The article referenced the first black American female cartoonist.
They don’t have any black cartoonist, still. Come to think of it, and I never really gave it much thought. you don’t really see many female much less black female cartoonists in the mainstream, at least that I’ve seen , then again I just recently learned that Jimmy Choo or Chu, whatever, was a designer and I only know cartoonist, lee Marvin or am I thinking of the actor. The cartoonist, Jackie Ormst 1911 to 1985, was a lone female pioneer in the era where black face, bug eyed cartoon figures were the mainstream.
Her cartoons have an air of sophistication. You can look at her work in more detail @ www.jackieormes.com. The art work will be presented by Nancy Goldstein a doll collector and former writer for the Los Angeles times. Goldstein happened upon Ormes after researching a Patty-Jo doll which she learned was modeled after a character from Ormes , Patty-Jo’n'Ginger comic which appeared in the Pittsburg courier in the 1940′s.
Apparently Ormes was an extremely outspoken artist. Her interests included nuclear arms race and racism. A true political activist through art which. Eventually caught the attention of the FBI. Remember the Cold War, McCarthy. I deferred from the article to Google the event which was scheduled June 15th 2010 in San Francisco, California on Mission Street. I can’t go, live on the opposite coast. But for those who are interested, I think it is worth the trip; It definitely is not the crass raunchy or dark stuff some comic fans are into, but it was cartoonists such as these that broke the mold. If I told my mum I wanted to be a cartoonist she would have said “and?" I would have added “..and a doctor "to appease her. A black woman cartoonist Back in the 1940’s, you go girl!
