Matt Buck's Hack Cartoons

There are several events I am exhibiting at coming up in the next few weeks. First up is Politics Pays Back, which opens on Wednesday 3rd October at the Kowalsky Gallery in central London. This is organised by the Design and Artists Copyright Society and I have some original artwork and news and political animations on show. The show runs until Jan 31st 2008.


This drawing isn't on show, but it might be called the artist in preparation...can you see the fear?

And on the weekend of October 13th and 14th, I shall be taking part in the annual Big Draw. This year's London launch, is in Covent Garden market and the theme is High Life-Low Life. There's a link here to last year's excitments (thanks for reminding me Clare.) If the track record of the event is anything to go by, it should be a great, fun weekend. Please come along and watch the Battle of the Cartoonists on Sunday afternoon.

Lastly, I also have to give a talk to a room of sixth formers at a school in Cambridge about what it is I do for a living. Of all these upcoming events, this is the one that scares the pants off me the quickest...

This link is absolutely required reading. It is especially important if you are in any doubt as to why all this fuss about Alisher Usmanov, his lawyers and a lot of citizens who make blogs, matters. The drawing is subtitled - Avoiding an Usmanov. There is a smaller version below here too, both of these, you are welcome to use if you are blogging about Usmanov and Schillings and would like to use images.

Boris Johnson has been adopted as the official Conservative candidate for the next London mayoral election. Taking the liberty of speaking for my professional colleagues, I think I can say, we are all delighted - a walking caricature does make life easier.

UPDATE:
There’s a fascinating little piece of first-hand knowledge about Boris and one of his contemporaries here, courtesy of Adrian Monck.

Some unfairly restricted bloggers, are back, here. Well done to all concerned and watch that space...
UPDATED:
A look at the broader issues, courtesy of Mick Fealty at the Telegraph's new politics blog, Brassneck. Oddly, enough, it does seem to be the week for new political launches, there's another newcomer here at Westmonster. Nice name - reminds me of this marvellous piece of art and identity...

Gordon Brown was long on Britishness and morality and short on the object of everyone's obsession this week - when will he try his luck in an general election. The speech was a bit reminiscent of Margaret Thatcher's attempts to wrap herself in the flag. Published above and here, at Channel 4 News.
You can see Lib Dem leader, Ming Campbell's speech - Reduced, here.

UPDATED:
There's a nice simple piece of interactive reporting here from the Telegraph

Coming soon...

Disturbing developments over at Bloggerheads, where Tim Ireland's blog is "off-air" - forced out of business thanks to the bullying of an Uzbek billionaire and his lawyers.

The quote comes from a standout analysis by Mr Eugenides which is here

Further details of the Uzbek businessman attempting to buy large parts of Arsenal FC are also available at Chicken Yogurt and Poldraw.

The caricature of the amazingly powerful Mr Usmanov is made in support of the people who have been so thoroughly lawyered. The partial quote belongs to George Orwell.

UPDATE:230907
Sunny Hundal of Pickled Politics explains the background to the story on mainstream media. Link from Peter Black


UPDATE:250907
Further interest in the Alisher Usmanov v bloggers case. Reported by Robin Hammann

Liberal Democrat leader Ming Campbell made his set piece conference speech today and the Channel 4 News team and I have tried to analyse it. There's also an excellent verbal round-up of what he said in Factcheck. Published above and here.

'Tis the season for seaside drawings and laughing at Ming Campbell. Image drawn for the Local Government Association.

It's very busy this week, but I shall have something to show for it soon...

In the meantime, you might want to keep an eye on National Service, a public-spirited digital service from Tim Ireland, Justin McKeating and Clive Summerfield. If previous form is anything to go by, it won't be dull and it will be, in National Power’s, Peter Purves-ese, EN-lightening...

The former Chairman of the US Federal Reserve Bank, Alan Greenspan, for 18 years probably the second most-powerful man on the planet,* admits what the whole world knew to be true. The invasion of Iraq was really about control of oil supplies.
Link from The Times.

* after Dick Cheney.

I never feel like I need an excuse to watch this fantastic piece of visual story-telling again...kudos to the director, Professor Wesch

A recent commission.

Google recently signed business deals with four major providers of information to newspapers all around the globe.

This has, potentially, very major implications for all existing print media. The news gathered at source does not have to go through the existing media structures to get to market (the readers). Why would anyone bother to read a paper when you can get the unfiltered content direct from your contact with a search engine?

Hat-tip to Matthew Ingram who writes about it here

A hat-tip to Roy Greenslade

Who'd be a four-star American general asked to lay the political groundwork for a PR face-saving back on the homefront? Published above and here.

There are some enlightening statistics about the war in Iraq, four years after the invasion and toppling of Saddam Hussein, here.

It's the Dunkirk spirit which gets us through... published here and here.

It is a busy time of year for political cartoonists and a lot of old rhetoric is about to get recycled. A commissioned drawing for the Local Government Association.

A sign of the times.

A commissioned illustration for Eurobusiness magazine.

Here is a simple and creative piece of thinking about interactive journalism. Hat tip to the Olympian newspaper which is based in Washington State on the north west coast of the US, I think.