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The Art of Timeliness

A while back I was thinking about art that gets dated. There are an infinite amount of examples of this, and little reason to try and list them. But there is only one art form where the entire purpose is for the art to be dated. There is only one art form I can think of where inherently dating itself is the whole point. That art form is political cartoons. A unique beast that we might not often think of as art. But beyond the art of the cartooning or illustration there is the art of timeliness in political cartoons. And the beautiful thing about them is that with the cyclical nature of our world they sometimes get a second chance at having a revived and ironic meaning.

Take these two examples from the mid-90’s, courtesy of photographer/cartoonist/filmmaker, Dennis Remick:

  • Ryan W. Bradley has pumped gas, changed oil, painted houses, swept the floor of a mechanic's shop, worked on a construction crew in the Arctic Circle, fronted a punk band, and managed an independent children's bookstore. He now works in marketing. His latest book is Nothing but the Dead and Dying, a collection of stories set in Alaska. He lives in southern Oregon with his wife and two sons.

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