"I'm always coming up against the problem of taste and
I freely admit, I do transgress," Bell told one interviewer: "I step
over the line quite a lot but I think, well, you have to. It's almost your duty
to do it if you can."
Bell using anthropomorphism in his work to characterize
politicians. For example, when John Major was elected Prime Minister, Bell
didn’t really know how to represent/ characterize him. Whilst he was drawing
John Mayor at a Conservative Party conference he had been fascinated by his
upper lip - "he's got what I can only describe as an ingrowing
moustache". From this Bell creates an image of Major "as a crap
Superman", wearing his underpants over his trousers. A few years later
coincidently after Bell representation of Mayor had been fully established
Alastair Campbell of the Daily Mirror revealed that the Prime Minister, John Mayor did actually tuck his shirt into his underpants confirming the cartoon
image.
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| Fig 1- Steve Bell- The Guardian Newspaper 2013 |
Bell came under a lot of criticism and scrutiny from some of
the Politian he was characterizing, Bell views cartoon "an attacking
medium", and views himself as a journalist. In June 1995 he drew a mock
pieta with Margaret Thatcher as Mary and John Major with his head in her lap.
Bell added Conservative Minister John Selwyn Gummer as the onlooker. Gummer
wrote to the Guardian complaining that "to be forced to participate in
Steve Bell's perversions is degrading." "You get a mild sense of
disappointment when someone you are attacking says 'ooh, I quite like
that'", he admits: "You feel a sense of failure." The aim is to
get beneath the surface: "Politicians put on a face, a mask, and you have
to get under it." Bell admits that he was born cynical. "I have been
lurking under the podium, drawing politicians so closely for so long, that I
have almost come to like them", he confessed in 2010.
 |
| Fig 2- Steve Bell Yellow Cake Road, 2004. Watercolor paper, pen, ink and watercolor, 9" x 12". Appeared in The Guardian, January 21, 2004. |
Another of Bells well known depictions is of Tony Blair,
Bell admit that it “took a while” to develop the character, but it came one of
Bell’s most recognized cartoons. After drawing Blair during the 1994 Labour
Party Conference, when he delivered his first speech as leader. "I noticed
he had a little mad eye of his very own", Bell recalled, his right eye
seeming to have a "psychotic glint", while his left eye had a harder
stare, giving a visual link to Margaret Thatcher. When labour won the 1997
GenerL Election Bell had perfected hiss visual representation of Tony Blair
"He has sticky-out ears, receding hair, a flabby lower lip and those
starry eyes.".
 |
| Fig 3- Steve Bell- The Usual Suspects |
Steve Bell draws his cartoons to reproduction size and works
on card or watercolour paper using a fine pen, brush and indian ink. The
"If..." strips were at first drawn in batches of six, and posted to
London from Bell's home in Brighton, or sent by train. But soon he was faxing
them in, which enabled him to work to closer deadlines, usually the evening
before publication. "I do my own editing" he explained: "I don't
submit roughs to the paper. I couldn't stand that - it would take years off my
life...I decide what I'm going to do and do it. Generally it goes in."
I wanted to anthropomorphise Boris Johnson, but in stead of going straight in with it I wanted to understand what he looks like, so I could decide on what features I would like to emphasise or what I would like to turn him into. Below are a few of the images I used to create this cartoon of Boris.
 |
| Fig 4 |
 |
| Fig 5 |
I first looked at some iconic photographs of Boris Johnson. I then transposed this into a black pen drawing, the medium Steve Bell uses. I then scanned the image in and began working on it and shading it in, matching the colours against photos of Boris Johnson. I was overall pleased with the outcome of this piece. This then allowed me to identify that his yellow hair is his most dominant feature, and would be therefore great to characterise.
Boris Johnson's hair reminded me of a breed of dog called Komondor. The pictures I used for reference are below.
 |
| Fig 6 |
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| Fig 7 |
Fig 2- Bell, S. (2016). Steve Bell on John Major and Scottish independence – cartoon. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cartoon/2014/sep/10/steve-bell-cartoon-scottish-independence-john-major-referendum?CMP=twt_gu [Accessed 9 Dec. 2016].
Fig 3- Theguardian.com. (2016). 28.04.2006: The usual suspects | Cartoons | guardian.co.uk. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/cartoons/stevebell/0,,1763592,00.html [Accessed 9 Dec. 2016].
Fig 4- Nicholas Cecil, R. (2016). Boris Johnson reveals he plans to stand as Tory MP in Uxbridge. [online] Evening Standard. Available at: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/boris-johnson-declares-he-will-stand-in-uxbridge-and-south-ruislip-9691619.html [Accessed 9 Dec. 2016].
Fig 5- Londonlovesbusiness.com. (2016). Boris Johnson’s 19 wittiest quotes | News | LondonlovesBusiness.com. [online] Available at: http://www.londonlovesbusiness.com/business-news/politics/boris-johnsons-19-wittiest-quotes/11505.article [Accessed 9 Dec. 2016].
Fig 6- Yourpurebredpuppy.com. (2016). Komondors: What's Good About 'Em? What's Bad About 'Em?. [online] Available at: http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/reviews/komondors.html [Accessed 9 Dec. 2016].
Fig 7-Cool Like Pie. (2016). Fun furry friends.. [online] Available at: http://www.coollikepie.com/inspiration-blog/fun-furry-friends56 [Accessed 9 Dec. 2016].
Bibliography
Bibliography
- Bell, S. (2016). Steve Bell on John Major and Scottish independence – cartoon. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cartoon/2014/sep/10/steve-bell-cartoon-scottish-independence-john-major-referendum?CMP=twt_gu [Accessed 9 Dec. 2016].
- Bell, S. (2016). Steve Bell on John Major's intervention on Tory social policy – cartoon. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cartoon/2013/nov/11/john-major-conservative-party-steve-bell-cartoon [Accessed 9 Dec. 2016].
- Cartoons.ac.uk. (2016). Steve Bell - British Cartoon Archive - University of Kent. [online] Available at: https://www.cartoons.ac.uk/cartoonist-biographies/a-b/SteveBell.html [Accessed 10 Dec. 2016].
- Cool Like Pie. (2016). Fun furry friends.. [online] Available at: http://www.coollikepie.com/inspiration-blog/fun-furry-friends56 [Accessed 9 Dec. 2016].
- En.wikipedia.org. (2016). Steve Bell (cartoonist). [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Bell_(cartoonist) [Accessed 10 Dec. 2016].
- lambiek.net. (2016). Steve Bell. [online] Available at: https://www.lambiek.net/artists/b/bell_steve.htm [Accessed 9 Dec. 2016].
- Londonlovesbusiness.com. (2016). Boris Johnson’s 19 wittiest quotes | News | LondonlovesBusiness.com. [online] Available at: http://www.londonlovesbusiness.com/business-news/politics/boris-johnsons-19-wittiest-quotes/11505.article [Accessed 9 Dec. 2016].
- News.bbc.co.uk. (2016). BBC NEWS | Programmes | Politics Show | Steve Bell - a life in cartoons.... [online] Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/politics_show/6437053.stm [Accessed 9 Dec. 2016].
- Nicholas Cecil, R. (2016). Boris Johnson reveals he plans to stand as Tory MP in Uxbridge. [online] Evening Standard. Available at: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/boris-johnson-declares-he-will-stand-in-uxbridge-and-south-ruislip-9691619.html [Accessed 9 Dec. 2016].
- Original-political-cartoon.com. (2016). Bell rings time on Blair’s premiership. [online] Available at: http://www.original-political-cartoon.com/cartoon-history/bell-rings-time-blairs-premiership/ [Accessed 9 Dec. 2016].
- the Guardian. (2016). Steve Bell | The Guardian. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/stevebell [Accessed 10 Dec. 2016].
- Theguardian.com. (2016). 28.04.2006: The usual suspects | Cartoons | guardian.co.uk. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/cartoons/stevebell/0,,1763592,00.html [Accessed 9 Dec. 2016].
- Yourpurebredpuppy.com. (2016). Komondors: What's Good About 'Em? What's Bad About 'Em?. [online] Available at: http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/reviews/komondors.html [Accessed 9 Dec. 2016].
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