Skip Williamson
Skip Williamson | |
---|---|
Born | Mervyn Williamson August 19, 1944 San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
Died | March 16, 2017 Albany, New York, U.S. | (aged 72)
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Cartoonist |
Notable work | Snappy Sammy Smoot, Bijou Funnies "Playboy Funnies" |
Mervyn "Skip" Williamson (August 19, 1944 – March 16, 2017) was an American
Biography
Childhood
Williamson was born in
First publication
Williamson's first published cartoon was in Harvey Kurtzman's Help! magazine in 1961.[1] The cartoon was accepted by then Help! editor Gloria Steinem.[2] The cartoon was of two New Orleans trash cans. One was labeled "Negro Trash" the other "White Trash". Subsequently, comedian Dick Gregory went on The Tonight Show and showed the cartoon on national television, launching Williamson into the mainstream.[2]
Underground comix
Williamson moved to Chicago in 1967 and almost immediately teamed up with
Skip Williamson is still the quintessential underground comix artist.. . . . Where (Robert) Crumb’s primary comix aim was introspective, . . . Williamson took a broader look, skewering both left-wing trendiness and right-wing over-reaction at a time of much-publicized left-wing trendiness. . . Crumb’s approach may have been more . . . artistically "legitimate," but to those struggling to make sense of the socio-political chaos, Williamson was frequently the funnier."[citation needed]
The Chicago 8
Because of Williamson's friendship with
Later work
During the 1970s and 1980s Williamson art-directed and contributed artwork to
Williamson designed album covers for blues artists like
In later years Williamson concentrated on producing large-scale canvases depicting political social abomination and political treachery.
Death
He died at Albany Medical Center at 12:30 pm on March 16, 2017. The official cause of death was renal failure and complications from heart disease and diabetes.[5]
Exhibitions
Williamson's work has been exhibited at the
His art has been auctioned at Sotheby's, Christie's, and Heritage auction houses. Williamson's large-scale canvases depicting political social abomination and political treachery have been exhibited in galleries in New Orleans, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, Oregon, and other cities.
In 2000 Williamson exhibited his paintings in a solo show at Atlanta's Eyedrum gallery. Dr. Jerry Cullum, senior editor of
Williamson knows how to put together a picture, balancing color and skewed perspective as effectively as any realist painter would. . . . He fits perfectly into a type of art championed by Juxtapoz magazine, in which a cartoon style is put to intelligent but outrageous uses. And his cynical view of humanity, worthy of such past satirists as Honoré Daumier, is dead-on regarding the place where most people are. . . . And yet, so much art reveals the places where people never even consider going. But that’s not Williamson’s concern. He reflectively steps on toes, and he rocks.[citation needed]
Williamson's art has been documented by Penguin Books, Brumm Publishing, E.P. Dutton and Company, Studio Vista Publishers, Boston Art & Books, the Graphis Press, Arcanum Press, the School of African Studies — Harvard University, the Designer's Gaukuin College, Northwestern University Press,
Williamson's comics are included in the permanent collection of the Ryerson & Burnham Libraries at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Skip Williamson characters
- Snappy Sammy Smoot
- Rag-time Billy
- Necropolis Keester
- Neon Vincent
- Nell & Void
References
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g "Skip Williamson," Lambiek Comiclopedia. Accessed March 31, 2017.
- ^ a b c Williamson's biography on skipwilliamson.com Archived June 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Skip Williamson".
- ^ "Arts Picks," Philadelphia City Paper (Aug. 3, 2006). Archived August 19, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Rosenkranz, Patrick (March 17, 2017). "Skip Williamson, 1944-2017 | The Comics Journal". www.tcj.com. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
Sources
- A history of underground comics by Mark James Estren, Ronin Publishing 091417164X