All the Art That’s Fit to Print (And Some That Wasn’t) Inside The New York Times Op-Ed Page JERELLE KRAUS “Politically incorrect and hilarious. To discover what really goes on inside the belly of the media beast, read this book.” BILL MAHER Foreword by Ralph Steadman All the Art That’s Fit to Print (And Some That Wasn’t) Milton Glaser All the Art That’s Fit to Print (And Some That Wasn’t) Inside The New York Times Op-Ed Page JERELLE KRAUS Columbia University Press New York Columbia University Press Publishers Since 1893 New York Chichester, West Sussex Copyright © 2009 Jerelle Kraus Paperback editon, 2012 All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kraus, Jerelle. All the art that’s fit to print (and some that wasn’t): inside the New York Times op-ed page / Jerelle Kraus. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-231-13824-6 (cloth: alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-231-13825-3 (pbk.: alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-231-51090-5 (e-book) 1. Editorial cartoons—New York (State)—New York. 2. American wit and humor, Pictorial. 3. New York times. I. Title NC1428.N377K73 2009 071' .471—dc22 2008023525 Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper. Printed in the United States of America c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Designed by Jena Sher Typefaces: Cheltenham BT, ITC Franklin Gothic Permissions © 1994 Art Spiegelman, permission of The Wylie Agency © Charles Addams. With permission Tee and Charles Addams Foundation. © 1994 The Estate of Keith Haring © Jules Feiffer © 1997 Paul Davis. Courtesy of the artist © Paula Scher/Pentagram © Sue Coe, Courtesy Galerie St. Etienne, New York For Arthur Tulio Pericoli Thought is impossible without an image. ARISTOTLE Contents List of Illustrations ix In the Family Way 101 Foreword xv Cold War Classics and Memories of Hot 102 Acknowledgments xvii Speaking the Unspoken 108 Peerless Outlaw 109 Prologue 1 Wild Welshman Worsens 115 George Grosz in Pigtails 117 ORIGINS 3 Legend 118 The Domestic Domain 120 Kiss-Off 5 The Irony Curtain 142 Upheaval 6 Poles Vault 144 Unfit to Print 9 Unprintable 153 Combustion 11 Taste 161 Tales from Behind the Scenes 161 THE SEVENTIES 13 Wrestling 163 Ur-Editor Meets Ur-Art Director 15 THE NINETIES 165 Local Lights 22 Wunderkind 26 A Boost from Bosnia 167 Cows, Guns, Auras 28 Reprise 175 The Doctor Draws 30 Nineties Nemesis 180 Squiggly Wit 31 Howell’s Reign 182 Two Titans 32 The Bride Stripped Bare 186 Persian Pluck 35 Feminizing 188 Oceans Away 36 Bling 194 Enfant Terrible 4 2 No Way 195 Wild Welshman 44 The Gray Lady Graduates 202 Searle’s Sustenance 45 Black and “White” 204 Clannish 46 Does It Compute? 206 Up Against the Wall 54 The Rebus Requirement 208 Don’t Make Me Think 55 Seismic Break 209 Protecting Fresh Treasure 56 Thumbs Down 63 THE AUGHTS 221 Changing of the Guard 68 The Lady Editor Done It 70 Rains Howl 223 Reins Retracted 224 THE EIGHTIES 71 A Little off the Top, Please 234 Glories Still Glitter 241 Ready or Not 73 Once Upon a Time 247 Mental Gymnastics 80 Picture Power 248 Delicate Daring 83 Unseen, Unsung, Thrilling 84 Notes 253 From Airport to Newsprint 94 Index 257 Frances Jetter Illustrations ORIGINS 27 TIM, Golda Meir 36 28 Jean-Michel Folon, Absence 37 1 David Levine, Tattooed Kissinger (Rejected) 5 29 André François, Breaking up New York City’s 38 2 Murray Tinkelman, Air war on Vietnam 7 government 3 James Grashow, Prisons recruit lawbreakers 8 30 Jean-Jacques Sempé, Shop till you drop 39 4 Horacio Cardo, Black war hero denied Congressional 9 31 Michael Matthias Prechtl, Nixon contemplating 40 Medal (Rejected) McGovern 5 Cathy Hull, The 1888 blizzard (Rejected) 10 32 Hans-Georg Rauch, Brain circulation prescription 41 6 Ronald Searle, Valentine f ish gift (Nearly rejected) 10 33 Roland Topor, Human violence 43 7 Nancy Stahl, Liberate intellectual property 10 34 Ralph Steadman, Prefiguring reality television 44 (Nearly rejected) 35 Ronald Searle, Urban architecture 45 36 Ralph Steadman, Decline of England 46 THE SEVENTIES 37 Eugene Mihaesco, Divided earth 46 38 Roland Topor, National power players 47 1 Ralph Steadman, Watergate on my mind 16 39 Eugene Mihaesco, Politics infiltrates science 47 2 Anita Siegel, Vietnam Christmas 17 40 Eugene Mihaesco, Body searches 48 3 Ed Koren, The war continues 17 41 Brad Holland, Middle East policy captive 49 4 Roland Topor, Moon life (Rejected, but published 18 to Lebanon in defiant act that initiated Op-Ed art) 42 Roland Topor, Guillotine 50 5 Jean-Claude Suarès, Surreal ride 19 43 Ardeshir Mohassess, Islam is a science 50 6 Jean-Claude Suarès, Offensive music 20 44 Murray Tinkelman, Presidential power 51 7 Jean-Claude Suarès, Power of the press 21 45 Roland Topor, Apes’ descent from man 52 8 Jean-Claude Suarès, Fat-cat politico 21 46 Eugene Mihaesco, Media wizards 53 9 Tomi Ungerer, Working-class junkies 22 47 Philippe Weisbecker, Middle East conflict 54 10 Mel Furukawa, Early bird 22 48 Brad Holland, Harmful drugs; helpful drugs 56 11 Edward Gorey, Population control 23 49 Charles Addams, “Election Day” 57 12 Douglas Florian, End of an era 24 50 Maurice Sendak, New Year’s Day 58 13 Douglas Florian, Hedgehog 25 51 Sue Coe, Snakes’ growth bursts their skin 58 14 Brad Holland, Media intimidation 26 52 Jean-François Allaux, Defense budget cuts 59 15 Brad Holland, Attica uprising (Rejected one 27 53 Walter Gurbo, Letter home 60 year as art, published the next as artifact) 54 Jan Sawka, Polish pope foretells Communism’s 61 16 Marshall Arisman, Political payoff 28 collapse 17 Marshall Arisman, Cuba and the United States 28 55 James McMullan, Virginity until marriage 61 18 Marshall Arisman, Execution in Uganda 29 56 Carlos Llerena Aguirre, Idi Amin Dada (Rejected) 62 19 Mark Podwal, Olympic terrorism 30 57 Brad Holland, Low-cost housing (Rejected) 63 20 R. O. Blechman, Nixon takes on China 31 58 Hans-Georg Rauch, Persian Gulf conflict (Rejected) 64 21 R. O. Blechman, He did it 31 59 Brad Holland, Suffocating political domination 64 22 Seymour Chwast, Up in the air 32 in Italy (Rejected) 23 Seymour Chwast, Guilty 33 60 Mark Podwal, American attitudes toward abortion 64 24 Milton Glaser, God 34 (Rejected) 25 Milton Glaser, Argentine memory 34 61 Ardeshir Mohassess, Fascist tactics (Rejected) 65 26 Ardeshir Mohassess, Middle East talks 35 62 Brad Holland, Women’s intuition (Rejected) 66 63 Douglas Florian, Gun control (Rejected) 67 37 Jonathon Rosen, Committing healthy people to Soviet 100 64 Tomi Ungerer, Cape Cod cocktail party 68 psychiatric hospitals 65 Randall Enos, Not the New York Times 69 38 Jerelle Kraus, Karl Marx denies paternity of son he sired 101 66 Paul Flora, Out for blood 70 39 Anita Siegel, Soviet Union’s masterminding of 102 international terrorism THE EIGHTIES 40 Philippe Weisbecker, Fighting in Normandy 102 41 Hans-Georg Rauch, Defense contractors promote nukes 103 1 David Suter, J. Edgar Hoover 73 42 Tulio Pericoli, United States strikes Libya 103 2 Philippe Weisbecker, Only England assists United 74 43 Bob Gale, Kurt Waldheim is innocent/guilty 104 States against Iran 44 Mark Podwal, Kristallnacht 104 3 Anita Siegel, Authors should publish their own work 75 45 David Suter, El Salvador war parallels Vietnam War 104 4 Jean-Jacques Sempé, Disappearance of meaningful death 76 46 Bob Gale, Reagan’s fear of Cuban Communism 105 5 Jean-Claude Suarés, April Fool’s Day 77 47 Michel Granger, Drug battle as world war 106 6 Milton Glaser, Museum information outshines art 77 48 Horacio Cardo, Latin debt threatens loss of South 107 7 Mark Podwal, Doctors as technicians 78 American allies 8 Douglas Florian, A New Yorker’s memory of subways 78 49 Bob Gale, First electronic recording of a plane crash 108 9 Marshall Arisman, Hitler 79 50 Michael Matthias Prechtl, North Vietnam victor, 108 10 Mel Furukawa, Internment of Japanese Americans 79 Premier Pham Van Dong 11 David Suter, Wastefulness in federal bureaucracy 80 51 Philip Burke, Nixon and Reagan 109 12 David Suter, Redirecting waste 80 52 Seymour Chwast, Nixon’s plan to control the media 109 13 David Suter, Death of Leonid Brezhnev 81 53 Seymour Chwast, Figuring out Nixon’s fraudulent 111 14 David Suter, China’s aggressive Taiwan 82 tax filings tactics (Rejected) 54 Robert Pryor, Nixon’s proboscis problem 111 15 David Suter [Fibonacci], Assessment of Pope John 82 55 Jerelle Kraus, Richard Nixon, and Checkers in Nixon’s 112 Paul II’s first year Manhattan office, 1983 16 Frances Jetter, Arms salesman 83 56 Phillip Burke, Nixon as rapper 113 17 Frances Jetter, Arms control 83 57 Ralph Steadman, Hydrogen bombs as eggs 114 18 Brad Holland, The English and the Irish 84 for new galaxies 19 Ronald Searle, Thirst for petroleum 85 58 Ralph Steadman, New York City marathon 115 20 Roland Topor, Life’s onset is science 86 (Diminished) 21 A. Paul Weber, Negotiating a nuclear test ban 86 59 Sue Coe, Force-feeding of Sakharov 116 22 Ardeshir Mohassess, Iran after the Ayatollah Khomeini 87 60 Sue Coe, Doctors kill and maim patients 117 23 Vivienne Flesher, Baltimore orioles and Vietnamese 88 61 Saul Steinberg, Reconfigured majorettes 118 boat people 62 Per Marquard Otzen, Persecution of Muslim dissidents 119 24 Brad Holland, Fifth anniversary of Nixon’s resignation 89 63 Milton Glaser, Leap Day 120 25 Andy Warhol, Ted Kennedy (Rejected) 90 64 Steven Salerno, Sunday morning ode to coffee 121 26 Jerelle Kraus [Jerelle Rorschach], Ted Kennedy 90 65 Ralph Steadman, Texan’s visit to Manhattan 122 27 Romare Bearden,“Black Farmer” 91 (Diminished) 28 Larry Rivers, “Reagan Crossing the Caribbean” 92 66 Günter Grass, Dioxin-caused deformities 123 29 Keith Haring, Nuclear power 93 67 Horacio Cardo, Dangers of depreciating U.S.