Paging through the latest work in American Illustration 43 makes me wistful for the days when I art directed illustration (and helped found American Illustration as an organization in 1982). It is heartening to see the ongoing accomplishments of some veterans and many of the neophytes who were either in my illustration history class at SVA, or were commissioned at various times for The New York Times’ Op-Ed section and Book Review. I don’t remember all the artists I worked with (there were hundreds) but the ones featured in the latest American Illustration annual stand out in my fading memory for the talent they showed back then—and continued to develop.
“It was Fred Woodward, Robert Priest and also Kathy Ryan who, as our predominate jury chairs for many years, instilled in me the importance of keeping the ‘old guard’ in the books,” explains Mark Heflin, director and publisher of American Illustration. “My job in working with the jurors—who get younger and younger each year—is to bring attention to older artists they may not be familiar with. Many of whom, as you well know, created a foundation that newer artists are now working from. I find that younger artists get a kick out of being in the book with the ‘old guys and gals’—and vice versa. The mutual deference and cache is cyclical and reciprocal.
“Juried shows can land in the middle, leaving a lot of good stuff on the edge out, which, I believe is why you all started this back in 1982. So, taking the founding philosophy forward, the metric, and my charge to the jury, is to be brave and balanced so that we include that well-rounded yet fine slice of the industry that represents the adventurous artists and their clients.”
Heflin supplied me with spreads from AI 43 featuring work by artists who have only increased their output with age. In some cases images by newer artists serve to show how elders fit into the current field.
Brad Holland was among the original illustrators to be represented in American Illustration, and his New York Times work was among the most copied when he was on the Op-Ed page.
James McMullan (left), the pioneer of impressionistic, neo-figurative art, whose rich watercolor has not lost its luster in over six decades.
Victor Juhasz, then just out of school, was among the first group of illustrators that I introduced to the Op-Ed page when I arrived in 1974. I was taken with his energetic pen-and-ink style and loose brushwork. He was a natural.
Eddie (Edmund) Guy was my student at SVA MFA Illustration as Visual Journalism in 1986. His nom de crayon was used for his hip-hop–inspired collages (with a tip of the hat to Romare Bearden). His approach has certainly shifted.
Gil Ashby was my student at SVA MFA Illustration as Visual Journalism. His drawing and painting were among the most soulful of his class. He later became chair and is now an associate professor at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.
Warren Linn was also among the early group of black-and-white (in his case, scratchboard) illustrators I worked with on the Op-Ed page. I had lost track of his work until seeing it in AI 43. He has made good use of this time.
Riccardo Vecchio (right) was also in the original SVA MFA Illustration as Visual Journalism program. He was a serious representational visual essayist. Currently he chairs SVA MFA Illustration as Visual Essay.
Mirko Ilic visited The New York Times to show me his work while I was at the Book Review. He was already renowned in the Baltics for his posters and comics. He became one of my leading go-to conceptual illustrators and since has been an art director, designer, poster curator and exhibition organizer.
Melinda Beck was already an accomplished editorial illustrator when I hired her to work on the Op-Ed page. She has worked for, among others, Nickelodeon, Nike, The New Yorker, Random House, Southern Poverty Law Center, Target, Time and the U.S. Postal Service.
Steve Brodner, one of the top satiric caricaturists and cartoonists of the day, came to show me his work when his primary influence was Thomas Nast. He reinterpreted Nast’s linear style—perfect for black-and-white newspapers—but within a few years shifted to a decidedly original watercolor approach. He specialized in Book Review covers of dictators, the likes of Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot.
Jordin Isip (right) was a student of Steven Guarnaccia when he came in with his portfolio. I lost track of him after I moved from the Op-Ed section to the Book Review but recall his frequent appearances in earlier American Illustration annuals where he represented the new expressionist aesthetic.
Barry Blitt (left) is known to all as the maestro of satiric and sarcastic New Yorker covers, among work in other venues. I met him when he ventured down from Canada, along with a host of other talented artists. We worked together once or twice, then he zoomed to prominence, owing to his nuanced line, color and graphic wit.
Yuko Shimizu was a student in my last class at SVA MFA Illustration as Visual Essay. I cannot recall if we worked together, but after (and during) school she shot to the top of narrative illustration. Her explosive work is a mainstay in editorial, poster and advertising genres.
Thomas Fuchs never did work like the above when he illustrated for the Book Review. Nonetheless, he was inventive and experimental. I relied on his interpretation of psychological and pathological themes, and worked with him for a number of years.
Anita Kunz, whose work frequently appeared in top magazines, was always on my radar. But I felt it was a waste to use her work until the Book Review went color. Once it did, she was at the top of my list. I was never disappointed.
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