0:00:00.760,0:00:02.536 So 24 years ago, 0:00:02.560,0:00:04.336 I was brought to the New Yorker 0:00:04.360,0:00:05.880 as art editor 0:00:06.480,0:00:10.016 to rejuvenate 0:00:10.040,0:00:15.056 what had by then become[br]a somewhat staid institution, 0:00:15.080,0:00:17.576 and to bring in new artists 0:00:17.600,0:00:21.296 and to try to bring the magazine[br]from its ivory tower 0:00:21.320,0:00:24.656 into engaging with its time. 0:00:24.680,0:00:27.376 And it was just[br]the right thing for me to do 0:00:27.400,0:00:32.016 because I've always been captivated[br]by how an image can -- 0:00:32.040,0:00:33.736 a simple drawing -- 0:00:33.760,0:00:38.496 can cut through the torrent of images[br]that we see every single day. 0:00:38.520,0:00:40.976 How it can capture a moment, 0:00:41.000,0:00:46.216 how it can crystallize[br]a social trend or a complex event 0:00:46.240,0:00:51.416 in a way that a lot of words[br]wouldn't be able to do, 0:00:51.440,0:00:55.240 and reduce it to its essence[br]and turn it into a cartoon. 0:00:55.800,0:00:57.576 So I went to the library 0:00:57.600,0:01:03.536 and I looked at the first cover[br]drawn by Rea Irvin in 1925 -- 0:01:03.560,0:01:07.960 a dandy looking at a butterfly[br]through his monocle, 0:01:08.760,0:01:11.520 and we call it Eustace Tilley. 0:01:12.080,0:01:16.096 And I realized that[br]as the magazine had become known 0:01:16.120,0:01:21.576 for its in-depth research[br]and long reports, 0:01:21.600,0:01:24.536 some of the humor[br]had gotten lost along the way, 0:01:24.560,0:01:29.456 because now often Eustace Tilley[br]was seen as a haughty dandy, 0:01:29.480,0:01:32.576 but in fact, in 1925, 0:01:32.600,0:01:36.016 when Rea Irvin first drew this image, 0:01:36.040,0:01:38.816 he did it as part of a humor magazine 0:01:38.840,0:01:41.056 to amuse the youth of the era, 0:01:41.080,0:01:44.160 which was the flappers[br]of the roaring twenties. 0:01:45.080,0:01:46.336 And in the library, 0:01:46.360,0:01:51.296 I found the images[br]that really captured the zeitgeist 0:01:51.320,0:01:53.736 of the Great Depression. 0:01:53.760,0:01:58.176 And it showed us[br]not just how people dressed 0:01:58.200,0:01:59.736 or what the cars looked like, 0:01:59.760,0:02:03.016 but also what made them laugh, 0:02:03.040,0:02:05.336 what their prejudices were, 0:02:05.360,0:02:07.936 and you really got a sense 0:02:07.960,0:02:11.440 of what it felt like[br]to be alive in the '30s. 0:02:11.960,0:02:15.336 So I called on contemporary artists, 0:02:15.360,0:02:17.576 such as Adrian Tomine here. 0:02:17.600,0:02:20.736 I often call on narrative artists -- 0:02:20.760,0:02:23.416 cartoonists, children's book authors -- 0:02:23.440,0:02:25.960 and I give them themes such as, 0:02:26.840,0:02:29.176 you know, what it's like[br]to be in the subway, 0:02:29.200,0:02:31.376 or Valentine's Day, 0:02:31.400,0:02:32.776 and they send me sketches. 0:02:32.800,0:02:36.696 And once the sketches[br]are approved by the editor, 0:02:36.720,0:02:38.080 David Remnick, 0:02:39.240,0:02:41.336 it's a go. 0:02:41.360,0:02:43.336 And I love the way 0:02:43.360,0:02:48.616 those images are actually[br]not telling you what to think. 0:02:48.640,0:02:50.856 But they do make you think, 0:02:50.880,0:02:55.896 because the artist is actually -- 0:02:55.920,0:02:57.176 it's almost a puzzle; 0:02:57.200,0:02:58.696 the artist is drawing the dots, 0:02:58.720,0:03:02.416 and you, the reader,[br]have to complete the picture. 0:03:02.440,0:03:05.816 So to get this image[br]on the left by Anita Kunz, 0:03:05.840,0:03:08.896 or the one on right by Tomer Hanuka, 0:03:08.920,0:03:12.056 you have to play spot the differences. 0:03:12.080,0:03:15.000 And it is something that ... 0:03:15.720,0:03:19.416 It's really exciting to see 0:03:19.440,0:03:25.496 how the engagement with the reader ... 0:03:25.520,0:03:30.456 how those images really capture -- 0:03:30.480,0:03:32.016 play with the stereotypes. 0:03:32.040,0:03:33.416 But when you get it, 0:03:33.440,0:03:37.000 it rearranges the stereotypes[br]that are in your head. 0:03:37.560,0:03:40.856 But the images don't[br]just have to show people, 0:03:40.880,0:03:43.216 sometimes it can be a feeling. 0:03:43.240,0:03:45.280 Right after September 11, 0:03:46.120,0:03:48.776 I was at a point, 0:03:48.800,0:03:50.016 like everybody else, 0:03:50.040,0:03:55.256 where I really didn't know how to deal[br]with what we were going through, 0:03:55.280,0:04:00.696 and I felt that no image[br]could capture this moment, 0:04:00.720,0:04:03.216 and I wanted to just do a black cover, 0:04:03.240,0:04:04.936 like no cover. 0:04:04.960,0:04:08.656 And I talked to my husband,[br]cartoonist Art Spiegelman, 0:04:08.680,0:04:12.536 and mentioned to him[br]that I was going to propose that, 0:04:12.560,0:04:15.136 and he said, "Oh, if you're[br]going to do a black cover, 0:04:15.160,0:04:19.176 then why don't you do[br]the silhouette of the Twin Towers, 0:04:19.200,0:04:20.736 black on black?" 0:04:20.760,0:04:22.296 And I sat down to draw this, 0:04:22.320,0:04:23.800 and as soon as I saw it, 0:04:24.920,0:04:26.456 a shiver ran down my spine 0:04:26.480,0:04:27.680 and I realized 0:04:28.640,0:04:32.296 that in this refusal to make an image, 0:04:32.320,0:04:37.336 we had found a way to capture loss 0:04:37.360,0:04:38.856 and mourning, 0:04:38.880,0:04:40.160 and absence. 0:04:41.880,0:04:46.256 And it's been a profound thing[br]that I learned in the process -- 0:04:46.280,0:04:52.216 that sometimes some of the images[br]that say the most 0:04:52.240,0:04:55.320 do it with the most spare means. 0:04:55.880,0:04:59.456 And a simple image can speak volumes. 0:04:59.480,0:05:02.736 So this is the image[br]that we published by Bob Staake 0:05:02.760,0:05:06.600 right after the election of Barack Obama, 0:05:08.040,0:05:11.296 and captured a historic moment. 0:05:11.320,0:05:13.536 But we can't really plan for this, 0:05:13.560,0:05:14.936 because in order to do this, 0:05:14.960,0:05:21.296 we have to let the artist[br]experience the emotions that we all feel 0:05:21.320,0:05:22.800 when that is happening. 0:05:23.320,0:05:27.136 So back in November 2016, 0:05:27.160,0:05:29.936 during the election last year, 0:05:29.960,0:05:33.096 the only image that we[br]could publish was this, 0:05:33.120,0:05:37.056 which was on the stand[br]on the week that everybody voted. 0:05:37.080,0:05:38.416 (Laughter) 0:05:38.440,0:05:40.896 Because we knew[br]somebody would feel this -- 0:05:40.920,0:05:42.136 (Laughter) 0:05:42.160,0:05:44.840 when the result of the election[br]was announced. 0:05:46.360,0:05:49.320 And when we found out the result, 0:05:50.600,0:05:52.456 we really were at a loss, 0:05:52.480,0:05:58.496 and this is the image[br]that was sent by Bob Staake again, 0:05:58.520,0:06:01.560 and that really hit a chord. 0:06:02.280,0:06:03.536 And again, 0:06:03.560,0:06:10.016 we can't really figure out[br]what's going to come next, 0:06:10.040,0:06:12.736 but here it felt like we didn't[br]know how to move forward, 0:06:12.760,0:06:14.216 but we did move forward, 0:06:14.240,0:06:20.456 and this is the image that we published[br]after Donald Trump's election 0:06:20.480,0:06:23.896 and at the time of the Women's March 0:06:23.920,0:06:25.240 all over the US. 0:06:26.120,0:06:27.976 So over those 24 years, 0:06:28.000,0:06:32.776 I have seen over 1,000 images[br]come to life week after week, 0:06:32.800,0:06:35.376 and I'm often asked[br]which one is my favorite, 0:06:35.400,0:06:37.256 but I can't pick one 0:06:37.280,0:06:43.216 because what I'm most proud of[br]is how different every image is, 0:06:43.240,0:06:44.456 one from the other. 0:06:44.480,0:06:47.936 And that's due to the talent[br]and the diversity 0:06:47.960,0:06:50.920 of all of the artists that contribute. 0:06:51.600,0:06:53.376 And now, well, 0:06:53.400,0:06:55.256 now, we're owned by Russia, 0:06:55.280,0:06:56.496 so -- 0:06:56.520,0:06:57.736 (Laughter) 0:06:57.760,0:07:00.456 In a rendering by Barry Blitt here, 0:07:00.480,0:07:05.696 Eustace has become[br]Eustace Vladimirovich Tilley. 0:07:05.720,0:07:10.816 And the butterfly is none other[br]than a flabbergasted Donald Trump 0:07:10.840,0:07:12.056 flapping his wings, 0:07:12.080,0:07:16.136 trying to figure out[br]how to control the butterfly effect, 0:07:16.160,0:07:21.736 and the famed logo[br]that was drawn by Rae Irvin in 1925 0:07:21.760,0:07:23.360 is now in Cyrillic. 0:07:23.920,0:07:28.176 So, what makes me really excited[br]about this moment 0:07:28.200,0:07:30.960 is the way that ... 0:07:32.000,0:07:36.736 You know, free press[br]is essential to our democracy. 0:07:36.760,0:07:40.416 And we can see from[br]the sublime to the ridiculous 0:07:40.440,0:07:44.856 that artists can capture what is going on 0:07:44.880,0:07:47.496 in a way that an artist 0:07:47.520,0:07:52.656 armed with just India ink and watercolor 0:07:52.680,0:07:58.656 can capture and enter[br]into the cultural dialogue. 0:07:58.680,0:08:03.656 It puts those artists[br]at the center of that culture, 0:08:03.680,0:08:06.496 and that's exactly[br]where I think they should be, 0:08:06.520,0:08:09.920 because the main thing we need[br]right now is a good cartoon. 0:08:10.400,0:08:11.616 Thank you. 0:08:11.640,0:08:16.120 (Applause)