MEDIA CONTACTS:
Amelia Thompson: [email protected], 202-994-6460
Lindsay Hamilton: [email protected], 202-994-6460
WASHINGTON (July 18, 2018)—The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at the George Washington University opened “Spiked: The Unpublished Political Cartoons of Rob Rogers” today. This pop-up exhibition in the atrium gallery of the Corcoran School’s historic Flagg Building features 10 finished cartoons and eight sketches that went unpublished by Rob Rogers’ employer, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, between March 6 and June 3, 2018.
Mr. Rogers served as the editorial cartoonist for the Post-Gazette for 25 years, until his firing in June 2018. Prior to his dismissal, the newspaper refused to publish a series of cartoons produced over three months.
“I believe the role of a newspaper is to be a watchdog, keeping democracy safe from tyrants. I hope that visitors to the exhibit get a sense of the important role satire plays in a democracy and how dangerous it is when the government launches attacks on a free press,” Mr. Rogers said. “I am excited to have my original cartoons on display at the Corcoran. The fact that these are cartoons about the president and now they will be on shown a few blocks from the White House, that is pretty incredible!”
The Corcoran strives to promote diversity of thought and experience, address critical social issues and educate the next generation of creative cultural leaders.
“Mr. Rogers’ work has tremendous educational value to our students by speaking to the skills of technical virtuosity, iteration, perseverance and creative methodologies on how to critique power,” Sanjit Sethi, the director of the Corcoran said. “His work also becomes a powerful point of departure for this community to speak with each other about issues around censorship, freedom of the press, journalistic and creative integrity and the consequences of hyper-nationalism to a democracy.”
The Corcoran organized “Spiked” in conjunction with University of Pittsburgh’s University Art Gallery and in collaboration with the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists.
“Freedom of speech is more than words. It’s pictures, too,” Pat Bagley, president of the association, said. “This exhibit draws attention to Rob Rogers, a popular voice at the Post-Gazette for 25 years. It points to what people in power do to people who draw funny pictures of the powerful and why that is an important measure of a free and open society.”
In addition to the exhibition this summer, the Corcoran will host a series of conversations this fall regarding issues around censorship, freedom of the press, journalistic integrity and the consequences of nationalism to a democracy, in collaboration with both the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists and GW’s School for Media and Public Affairs.
Other exhibitions to see this summer:
“Full Circle: Hue and Saturation in the Washington Color School”
Luther W. Brady Art Gallery
Open through Oct. 26, 2018
Tuesday-Saturday: 1-5 p.m.
Drawing from the GW Collection along with critical loans, paintings and mixed media, this exhibition provides examples of the Washington Color School and its legacy. It is the first exhibition for the Luther W. Brady Art Gallery in its new space in the Corcoran, a fitting venue for many of the artists represented, who were alumni of the school or have showed there before.
“Bridging Boundaries: Reopening”
Atrium Galleries at the Flagg Building
Open through Aug. 19, 2018
Tuesday-Friday: 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday: 1-6 p.m.
GW professor Joseph Kunkel, a Northern Cheyenne tribal member, draws from his own experience as an architect and community designer, with extensive experience researching building capacity in Native American communities. During the exhibition, a mural will be created by Texas graffiti artist Joerael Julian Elliott.
“Lone Prairie: Video Installation by M12”
Atrium Galleries at the Flagg Building
Open through Sept. 9, 2018
Tuesday-Friday: 11 a.m.-6 p.m; Saturday-Sunday: 1-6 p.m.
M12’s “Lone Prairie” is an experiential installation that presents video and sound-field recordings captured on the High Plains of eastern Colorado over the last year. The six-channel sound and video installation explores the spatial atmosphere surrounding the Last Chance Module Array, a land work created in 2015 and 2016 in a former agricultural field. M12 is an interdisciplinary group of artists, researchers and writers based in Colorado.
WHERE:
The George Washington University
Corcoran School of the Arts and Design
Flagg Building
500 17th Street, NW
Washington, D.C.
Farragut West Metro (Blue, Orange and Silver lines)
ADMISSION AND PUBLIC INFORMATION:
Visitors should enter via the main entrance, located on 17th Street between New York Avenue and E Street NW. For more information, visit http://go.gwu.edu/AtCorcoran.
Exhibitions are free and open to the public. For more information about the Brady Art Gallery call 202-994-1525 or visit http://www.gwu.edu/~bradyart/.
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-GW-