Wednesday, December 25, 2024

W. B. Park: Guilty?

Every one, even the squirrel in the park, had an opinion, but the subject of this cartoon, obvious in 1995, may not be so self-evident today:

"Is he guilty? Hell, yes, he's guilty. Now can we talk about something else?"
W. B. Park
Original art
The New Yorker, August 21 & 28, 1995, p. 90




The context for this ephemeral cartoon art by W. B. Park must have been plain to all The New Yorker's readers in the summer of 1995. The news back then was dominated by coverage of the ongoing O. J. Simpson double murder trial.

Detail, left

Detail, right, with W. B. Park's signature



W. B. Park
eBay listing ended August 1, 2024

W. B. Park
eBay item description


[End of eBay listing]



"Is he guilty? Hell, yes, he's guilty. Now can we talk about something else?"
W. B. Park
The New Yorker, August 21 & 28, 1995, p. 90


"Is he guilty? Hell, yes, he's guilty. Now can we talk about something else?"
W. B. Park
Original art
The New Yorker, August 21 & 28, 1995, p. 90


With a drawing by W. B. Park and a poem by Emily Hiestand


Note:  The jury subsequently acquitted O. J. Simpson of his murder charges. Opinions on the verdict were divided along racial lines. The squirrel was dumbfounded.







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Tuesday, December 24, 2024

W. B. Park: Foundationless

A New Yorker cartoon by W. B. Park from 1983 is, on its surface, pretty silly. The original art, sold on eBay this past summer, shows how the magazine went about moving a signature without having to cut and paste the sheet of paper.

"Say, listen. I didn't mean to suggest that you not wear makeup at all."
W. B. Park
Original art
The New Yorker, June 20, 1983, p. 76

Detail, left

W. B. Park's signature and the layout instructions on where to move it

Caption

Layout instructions on how to scale the signature




W. B. Park
eBay listing ended July 14, 2024
W. B. Park
eBay item description



"Say, listen. I didn't mean to suggest that you not wear makeup at all."
W. B. Park
The New Yorker, June 20, 1983, p. 76

"Say, listen. I didn't mean to suggest that you not wear makeup at all."
W. B. Park
Original art
The New Yorker, June 20, 1983, p. 76

With a cartoon by W. B. Park and an advertisement by Berlitz



I do miss those newsbreaks:



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Monday, December 23, 2024

W. B. Park: The Balanced Meal

W. B. Park's drawing The Balanced Meal is fairly diagrammatic and has no shading. Purchased by The New Yorker in 1981, it saw print in the magazine only in 1984. The original art was sold on eBay in July.

The Balanced Meal
W. B. Park
Original art
The New Yorker, April 23, 1984, p. 113

Detail

W. B. Park's signature




W. B. Parke
eBay listing ended July 14, 2024

W. B. Parke
eBay item description
[End of eBay listing]



The Balanced Meal
W. B. Park
The New Yorker, April 23, 1984, p. 113


The Balanced Meal
W. B. Park
Original art
The New Yorker, April 23, 1984, p. 113


With cartoons by Eldon Dedini and W. B. Park


Eldon Dedini's cartoons frequently poked fun at the generally unfunny Soviet Union. Whatever shading the Park drawing may have lacked, the Dedini on the opposite page makes up for. Neither has a spoken caption.
Lenin, Up Early, Freshly Showered, Makes His List for the Day
Eldon Dedini
The New Yorker, April 23, 1984, p. 112



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Sunday, December 22, 2024

W. B. Park: Doctors' Dollars

After years of our perusing cartoons together here, I hope we can agree that the most misguided New Yorker drawings of all are the ones that attempt to find humor at the expense of us beleaguered doctors. To be sure, the very worst of this genre of cartoon must be W. B. Park's ill-conceived 1998 slander against the profession, which I purchased on eBay in July, evidently by mistake, and certainly against any sound judgment, medical or otherwise.

Cartoons which try to get a cheap laugh from physician avarice such as, for example, Richard Taylor's wrongheaded "wrong bag" cartoon, the original of which I somehow also possess, should have no place in the magazine, and that goes especially for Park's thoughtless, amateurish, and pathetic attempt at humor at the expense of hard-working doctors fighting the good fight. I would assume that any self-respecting collector of New Yorker work would want nothing to do with an ill-conceived piece like this, yet somehow I of all people bought the original art for $160, an exorbitant price, but as low as the seller would go below the $205 ask. Surely I have better things to do with my money.

"Sure, we doctors make a lot of money. But, don't forget, we spend a heck of a lot, too."
W. B. Park
Original art
The New Yorker, February 13, 1998, p. 31

W. B. Park's signature





W. B. Park
eBay listing ended July 11, 2024
https://www.ebay.com/itm/204866903789?_skw=Yorker+signed&itmmeta=01J9JCFPRVYHAG2X5V0HTH0WPN&hash=item2fb304deed:g:rpgAAOSwnRdmhJGY&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA0HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKm16TgobPTHtsXYxPAUtWjYc5FtDHJe7jQxVfaCHxiqimISGVhV4MhaNb%2BIwCojskz2eZ3y6QBuek
Arc3jaN4ut3H7CG9nsKpiCSj%2B45a3v5h0NijcxHTx9rB1vrVIw1SnTQ85NSbTRQ1zZdneUbdLhAlo8EunBQ5Y%2B3UDvk%2FEF5LbnsG0KwWXTEHhkN5hK7POvoYyFqIdlD0rsrBWkRSpi3%2Bv4R7IV7m6CxEp8mEeGmeSPy4QfHMq9BiekY4CVOn4%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR8LsvszMZA

W. B. Park
eBay item description




"Sure, we doctors make a lot of money. But, don't forget, we spend a heck of a lot, too."
W. B. Park
The New Yorker, February 13, 1998, p. 31


"Sure, we doctors make a lot of money. But, don't forget, we spend a heck of a lot, too."
W. B. Park
Original art
The New Yorker, February 13, 1998, p. 31

With cartoons by William Haefeli and W. B. Park



In contrast, The New Yorker portrays the aspiring business tycoon with relative sensitivity:
"Don't disturb Daddy. He's busy visualizing unparalleled success in the business world and, by extension, a better life for us all."
William Haefeli
The New Yorker, February 13, 1998, p. 30




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