CARTOONS ILLUSTRATE POLITICAL ISSUES

BY MAYRA MARTINEZ
Editor

“Condoleezza” by Shlomo Cohen and “Hurricane Katrina Sweeps the United States” by Dudi Shamai. SHASHA KHSHKHOU / GUARDSMAN

Depicted are bearded men in a cave pointing and laughing at George W. Bush on television as he is washed away by the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina. The cartoon image is simply a black and white drawing, but it provokes colorful reactions, and it is a shining example of art as a medium for social commentary.

The more than 100 cartoons from over 25 countries in the “Why Do They Hate US?” exhibit, which features the Bush cartoon, provoke laughter, and more importantly, they provoke thought.

It is one of the five exhibits currently on display at the Cartoon Art Museum located at 655 Mission St. in San Francisco.

The museum displays cartoon art in all forms, ranging from inks on paper to digital graphics; from comic strips to magazines, and from underground to political cartoons.

The real highlights are the controversial and challenging political cartoons. On the surface, they are humorous takes on political leaders like Condoleezza Rice and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But beneath the exaggerated features and unlikely situations, the images depict very real and urgent issues America is in the thick of grappling with.

In its first U.S. showing, “Israel: The Cartoonist Diagnosis” is another of the five exhibits that showcase the power of cartoon. It features Israel’s top cartoonists expressing their points of view on the matters that affect the daily lives of their country and their people.

In City College, art of a different form that similarly stems from a country’s political and social backbone was highlighted when sculptor Ahmed Said Mahmoud presented images of his works in Rosenberg Library.

Born and raised in Cairo, Egypt, Mahmoud now creates caricature sculptures, statues and clay animation figures. Much of his work focuses on the people he grew up around and their values.

“They are the everyday characters in the Egyptian streets,” Mahmoud said about his subjects.

These characters include barbers, musicians playing local instruments, knife sharpeners, as well as villagers and their large extended families. “The sculptor is the mirror of the environment and is obligated to make these characters.”

From miniature clay animation caricatures to 14-foot-tall statues, Mahmoud’s work has always reflected his view of the world. Now in the United States, he has begun depicting characters of American values ranging from cowboys to the president and Bruce Lee.

He also believes his art is a medium for him to inspire and move people through depicting historical figures like Gandhi, Che Guevara, and Malcolm X.

“I choose powerful characters who can affect others in a good way,” Mahmoud said.

Whether it is sculptures of historical figures or cartoon art of the powerful people making news today, these unique forms of art challenge the viewer to look deeper beyond the surface to the truth underneath.

e-mail: e_a@theguardsman.com

THE EYES OF BABYLON

BY ELIZABETH PFEFFER
Editor

Iraq war veteran Lance Corporal Jeff Keys in his military uniform.

One night Lance Corporal Jeff Keys went to bed hating Osama bin Laden and woke up to everyone talking about Saddam Hussein, the gay U.S. Marine Corps veteran recalls in the “The Eyes of Babylon,” his one-man docu-play about wrestling profound internal conflicts while serving in Iraq.

Based on his personal journal, “Eyes” serves as more than an account of deployment, but a testament to the hypocrisy of the U.S. military’s denial of homosexual soldiers.

The play materializes from the entries Keys wrote in Iraq, focusing on the deeply challenging struggles he faced fighting a war he didn’t understand for a military that would never accept his sexuality.

“Psychological scars always heal more slowly than the bloodier variety,” Keys told the audience at the New Conservatory Theatre Center on March 11.

This alternative insight to the war is billed as one of the first documents by an Iraq veteran. It is provocative, energetic and sometimes maddening as Keys publicly salts his wounds.

The barebones stage consisted of desert camouflage netting and his journal, which was set to the side, virtually untouched, but obviously the origin of the visceral release that culminated as “Eyes.”

In a speedy cadence Keys speaks continuously. The fast pace drags the audience through the swirling confusion and introspection one’s forced to confront when flirting with death.

His Alabama boy accent coupled with the serious content and sexual overtones (there’s brief full-frontal nudity) makes the play seem inconsistent at first, but Keys uses the way he speaks to full potential. His undeniably poignant observations juxtapose nicely with his Southern delivery, translating into a surprisingly powerful performance.

What makes Keys compelling is not his acting abilities though. It’s his raw passion that captivates and captures the audience.

Keys transitions between monologues and flashbacks to interactions he had with other soldiers and Iraqis. He acts out the scenarios as though he’s reliving each with 20/20 hindsight, finding the beauty in every bittersweet day he spent in Iraq.

Ultimately Keys decided that the reasons he joined the marines, to support and defend the constitution and promote peace on earth didn’t outweigh his desire to be openly gay.

In a resignation letter to his commanding officer and on CNN’s “Paula Zahn Now,” Keys declared his homosexuality.

Throughout “Eyes” Keys deliberately contradicts himself, shifting back and forth between hating and loving the Marines and the country. Eventually he couldn’t remain in the military under pretenses and the military’s “don’t tell” policy.

Presented by the New Conservatory Theatre Center and American Junction Productions, and directed by Israeli-born Yuval Hadadi, “Eyes” will run through March 26.

e-mail: associatemanagingeditor@theguardsman.com