美国国家公共电台 NPR 'I'm Just Trying To Make Myself Laugh': 'New Yorker' Artist Shares His Cover Stories

 

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Barry Blitt drew his first cover for The New Yorker back in 1992, and ever since, he's been skewering¹ politicians of all stripes. Barack and Michelle Obama fist bumping - that was Blitt. Donald Trump² prancing³ in a tiara and a lady's bathing suit - that was Blitt.

BARRY BLITT: I have a sketchbook open, and I'm just trying to make myself laugh.

KELLY: A new book simply titled "Blitt" features some of his most memorable⁵ and merciless work. I asked Barry Blitt if he's ever had regrets over any of his cartoons.

BLITT: I mean, I regret them all as soon as I send something in.

KELLY: (Laughter).

BLITT: I cringe, you know, wish I had drawn⁶ the jacket better or the background color was brighter or for whatever reason. But I'm not sure. I mean, I don't know if you're suggesting - if you're leading me towards the fist bump cover.

KELLY: I wasn't. But since you bring it up, tell me how that one came to be.

BLITT: (Laughter) We all remember the campaign of 2008 when Obama was running for president. There was a lot of stuff being said about him and Michelle. It was whispered and insinuated⁷.

KELLY: That he was Muslim, that he wasn't born in the United States.

BLITT: Yeah, that he was a terrorist, that Michelle was a - some kind of Black Panther or something. There was rumors⁸ of a video of her saying kill whitey. I mean, I just scribbled⁹ in a sketchbook all of it in one picture, and it - I threw in a burning American flag and a portrait of Osama bin¹⁰ Laden¹¹ on the wall of the Oval Office.

KELLY: And you show them dressed in what would be stereotypical¹² Muslim garb¹³.

BLITT: Barack, yeah. I had Michelle dressed as - you know, she had a gun on her back, and she was sort of, like, a - I don't know - a fictional¹⁴ Black Panther. It was a ridiculous picture, and I hoped it would be seen as such. I thought it was obviously satire¹⁵. But not everyone felt that way. I mean, the picture still makes me laugh. I don't regret it.

KELLY: What kind of backlash did you get? Who called and said they were mad?

BLITT: Well, just about everybody of every political stripe. I mean, one of the main criticisms of it was that people would say, oh, I get it, but what are those other people going to think, which, you know, seems kind of condescending¹⁶ to me. Barack Obama was interviewed about it and was disgusted, and so was John McCain, you know, Rush Limbaugh. Couple of days in, Jon Stewart on "The Daily Show" talked about it, about how ridiculous the reaction was. And it just seemed to - it seemed to turn to love after that. I think people took a breath and realized this wasn't going to cost anybody the election and was just a cartoon.

KELLY: One other president I'm curious if you've gotten any feedback from is our current president. You've got a cartoon called "The Big Short." And just to describe it for people, the entire cover is a hand with very, very short fingers, which alert listeners will get is a reference to President Trump. And I saw that and thought, I wonder if he called up and yelled at you over that one.

BLITT: Oh, certainly not. No, we've had almost no communication. I think he did mention the cover on one of the shows. But obviously that came from Spy magazine. They started calling him short-fingered vulgarian. This seemed like a nice way to not only taunt¹⁷ him, you know, and say he has short fingers. But I used a palm chart so I could write stuff about him onto the palm. So it's got stuff like - on his life line - going to live a long time - long, very, very healthy. And line of intellect - fantastic, continues onto back of hand.

KELLY: (Laughter).

BLITT: And of course, beautiful singing voice - you'd be surprised.

KELLY: This is - to describe for people who can't see it, these are words running across this very short-fingered hand kind of like a palm reader would be reading.

BLITT: Right. There's life line. There's a heart line. I mean, I learned a whole bunch about palmistry by doing this.

KELLY: You do as you leaf through this collection see the references to, you know, classic photographs like the World War II sailor kissing the nurse in Times Square, that picture we've all seen. You changed it up back in 1996 with a cover that features two male sailors kissing. And it was titled "Don't Ask."

BLITT: That was around the time of don't ask, don't tell, the policy I guess implemented¹⁸ under Bill Clinton. And that was the first controversial cover. But you're asking me about how I came up with that idea. Is that what you were asking me, or...

KELLY: Yeah.

BLITT: I mean, that's what you're using basically. Those are the tools you're - as a cartoonist, you're playing on cliches and images that are in people's minds, iconic images. So you have a starting point, a reference to depart from and make your little joke.

KELLY: And then you trust that they'll get the reference.

BLITT: Yeah, ideally. I mean, I tried something with a couple of would-be terrorists on an airplane. And one of them has a can of Diet Coke, and the other one has some Mentos. And he's slipping the Mentos to the guy with the Diet Coke.

KELLY: (Laughter).

BLITT: And I guess not everyone gets that reference.

KELLY: I have two young sons who would get right away that you were suggesting an imminent¹⁹ explosion. How did that one go down? What kind of reaction did you get?

BLITT: It didn't run, but it got some laughs. And really, what more could we ask?

KELLY: There is one that you feature in the book which I gather New Yorker editors decided²⁰ to kill at the very last minute. It is a sketch⁴ of Anthony Weiner, the disgraced politician. Do you want to describe it?

BLITT: I have him standing²¹ on a chair, contemplating²² ending it all. And instead of throwing a rope around his neck, he's got a string of wieners basically.

KELLY: A noose²³ of wieners. Let's just say it.

BLITT: A noose of wieners.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITT: That would be a good prank²⁴ gift.

KELLY: Did you think The New Yorker would - should have run this? Did you push back hard?

BLITT: Should have?

KELLY: Yeah.

BLITT: No, no. I never push back, you know? I've - or I haven't yet, you know? I usually have enough doubts about any of the drawings that I feel sort of relieved if something gets killed.

KELLY: Well, can you give us a sneak²⁵ preview? Any ideas for next week's cover?

BLITT: I mean, I've got loads of Trump drawings around. Harvey Weinstein - it would be fun to draw him, like Trump. I mean, what a face.

KELLY: And can you share, like, the seeds of the idea of what you would draw?

BLITT: I - no, (laughter) no. I mean, I've drawn some horrible things in my sketchbook and none of which we should talk about.

KELLY: (Laughter).

BLITT: Thanks for asking, though.

KELLY: Barry Blitt, thank you.

BLITT: It was very nice to be here, Mary Louise.

KELLY: That is Barry Blitt, the man behind more than a hundred New Yorker covers. They are collected in his new book, "Blitt."

1 skewering   

v.（用串肉扦或类似物）串起，刺穿( skewer的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• But Mr Stone is more interested in skewering rapacious financiers than rash homeowners. 但是斯通先生更感兴趣的是去讥讽贪婪的金融家，而不是冲动的物业购买者。 来自互联网

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 prancing   

v.（马）腾跃( prance的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The lead singer was prancing around with the microphone. 首席歌手手执麦克风，神气地走来走去。
• The King lifted Gretel on to his prancing horse and they rode to his palace. 国王把格雷特尔扶上腾跃着的马，他们骑马向天宫走去。 来自辞典例句

4 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

5 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 insinuated   

v.暗示( insinuate的过去式和过去分词 )；巧妙或迂回地潜入；（使）缓慢进入；慢慢伸入

参考例句：

• The article insinuated that he was having an affair with his friend's wife. 文章含沙射影地点出他和朋友的妻子有染。
• She cleverly insinuated herself into his family. 她巧妙地混进了他的家庭。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 scribbled   

v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下

参考例句：

• She scribbled his phone number on a scrap of paper. 她把他的电话号码匆匆写在一张小纸片上。
• He scribbled a note to his sister before leaving. 临行前，他给妹妹草草写了一封短信。

10 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

11 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

12 stereotypical   

n.常规

参考例句：

• Personas should be typical and believable, but not stereotypical. 人物角色应该是典型和可信赖的，但不是一成不变的。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Anything could be stereotypical, so I guess it could be criticism. 任何东西都可以变的老套，所以我猜那就是一种批评。 来自互联网

13 garb   

n.服装，装束

参考例句：

• He wore the garb of a general.他身着将军的制服。
• Certain political,social,and legal forms reappear in seemingly different garb.一些政治、社会和法律的形式在表面不同的外衣下重复出现。

14 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

15 satire   

n.讽刺，讽刺文学，讽刺作品

参考例句：

• The movie is a clever satire on the advertising industry.那部影片是关于广告业的一部巧妙的讽刺作品。
• Satire is often a form of protest against injustice.讽刺往往是一种对不公正的抗议形式。

16 condescending   

adj.谦逊的,故意屈尊的

参考例句：

• He has a condescending attitude towards women. 他对女性总是居高临下。
• He tends to adopt a condescending manner when talking to young women. 和年轻女子说话时，他喜欢摆出一副高高在上的姿态。

17 taunt   

n.辱骂，嘲弄；v.嘲弄

参考例句：

• He became a taunt to his neighbours.他成了邻居们嘲讽的对象。
• Why do the other children taunt him with having red hair?为什么别的小孩子讥笑他有红头发？

18 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

19 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

20 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

21 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

22 contemplating   

深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想

参考例句：

• You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
• She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。

23 noose   

n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑

参考例句：

• They tied a noose round her neck.他们在她脖子上系了一个活扣。
• A hangman's noose had already been placed around his neck.一个绞刑的绳圈已经套在他的脖子上。

24 prank   

n.开玩笑，恶作剧；v.装饰；打扮；炫耀自己

参考例句：

• It was thought that the fire alarm had been set off as a prank.人们认为火警报警器响是个恶作剧。
• The dean was ranking the boys for pulling the prank.系主任正在惩罚那些恶作剧的男学生。

25 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。