Krushchev 1957

Herbert Lawrence Block made this political cartoon, ‘Khrushchev’, with graphite and ink on paper. The composition is dominated by the figure of Khrushchev, the Soviet leader, and the gray washes. It's amazing how much he got out of so few, and such somber colors. The texture has an interesting granular quality. You can see the marks that build the image, and the white of the paper that shines through. I can imagine Block in his studio, with this character on his mind. He’s there, coaxing it into being with an act of mark making. Notice how the image implies movement – Khrushchev has just swung at the golf ball, which soars above him. I love the expression on his face! The artist’s mark captures the gesture, the emotion, the intention. You feel like you're watching him in action. Cartoonists are in an ongoing conversation, inspiring one another's creativity through the ages. It’s a great reminder that our cultural understandings are never fixed, but always evolving, swinging back and forth.