ECC Cartoonbooks Club: Cartoon Bridging Cultures

A pleasing cartoon catalogue is the catalogue of the 1ste International Cartoon Contest, by GreekARToon.(ISBN 960-89471-1-1, Ahthens, 2006).

The theme was 'cartoon bridging culture'. In the preface, I read: "the art of Cartoon, indeed, is a "charismatic and gifted" art form and concurrent of the evolution of man, human society and technology, as recorded from the ancient Phlyacographves on the walls or on ceramic pottery to the pages of printed or electronic press, and to the books that have been produced by other means. Despite the evolution in the means - tools of production, its manifold significance and role continues unaltered. That is to say, it is the endurance of the archaic meaning and significance of the historical and social 'need' that produced it, which is nothing but a 'handcrafted' interpretation and divestment of an instant momentum, that does not only 'ridicule - mock - satirize' the sacred and the profane ,or the power relations. Equally, satirizes the modern and multifaceted culture of everyday life, in an age of globalization, of unprecedented advancement, but also an age of piling problems, violence and conflicts.
In other words, Cartoon , as a visual art, but also deeply as a 'political' art, is the meeting point and the channel of communication between the various bearings of the 'comic and the tragic'. (GREEKARTOON)