DRAWN & QUARTERED
Graphic Arts As Literature
DRAWINGS BY BURL BURLINGAME / BBURLINGAME@STARBULLETIN.COM
Candidate caricatures For the first time, at least in Hawaii history, we have two women running against each other for the highest office in the state. Apart from their gender, Mazie Hirono (Democrat) and Linda Lingle (Republican) could not be more different. One's an experienced outsider; the other's a consummate insider. One is goofy and friendly; the other is cool and reserved. One is tall and gangly; the other is compact and wee. One is adorably dowdy; one is stylishly adorable. Both are smart and capable and tough.
always end in a draw
Attention, aspiring cartoonists
By Burl Burlingame
bburlingame@starbulletin.comAnd both strike terror into the hearts of cartoonists.
That's partly because they're women -- there's still a bit of residual gentlemanliness down deep that makes us uneasy poking fun at the way a lady looks, like the faintest trace of gold in mine tillings -- but mostly because the two could not be more different in the sorts of assets that a caricaturist seizes upon.
Successful caricature depends upon exaggerating not just the person's obvious physical characteristics, but the public persona of the subject. Men love this because, frankly, men don't feel they're exaggerated enough in real life. It makes them individual. But women -- expected by society to fit a narrowly defined role, which includes appearance -- can't escape the tyranny of social attractiveness.
Linda Lingle is difficult to caricature because everything about her is exaggerated in the first place. Even a realistic drawing winds up looking like a caricature. If she were a man, this would be an asset, because it makes her distinctive and individual. The trick is to be accurate without being cruel.
That long angular face, the sizable nose, those peculiarly shaped glasses, that immaculate coif that swoops up in gleefully devilish points, the kind eyes and shrubberylike eyebrows, the oh-so-feminine makeup and jewelry ... these appear on paper pretty easily while making a rough sketch. Extend the chin, and extend it again. You almost can't make it too long. The businesslike tailored suit in a primary color, an athlete's shoulders -- Lingle swims every day -- and there ... voila! ... oops, it's almost scary!
The next step, on Lingle, is to tone it down. Soften the angular edges, and be very careful with the mouth. There's a temptation to have her boiling over with teeth, like a hungry horse. The addition of color makes a big difference. No matter how badly you draw it, people recognize her as Lingle. Or as Tootsie.
Mazie Hirono, on the other hand, has almost nothing to seize upon. Her primary characteristics are her merry eyes and her too-pretty, tight little smile -- her orthodontist or dentist must be proud -- prominent cheekbones on a head that's shaped like a Fender guitar pick, her glossy football helmet of black hair, those eyebrows arched in permanent surprise. If all else fails, and voting in Hawaii comes down to casting ballots for the candidate who looks like you, then Hirono resembles half the women on Oahu. Ya-ya sisterhood, and all that, but pity the poor caricaturist who's trying to make Hirono distinctive.
These characteristics were exaggerated wildly, and Hirono still looks more like a life drawing than Lingle. C'mon, Mazie, start smoking a pipe or wearing a baseball cap backward or get an eye patch or something ... you're not making it easy for us to make fun of you.
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Submit your drawings of gubernatorial candidates Linda Lingle and Mazie Hirono. They may be caricatures of the individuals, or cartoons showing them together. We'll print the best in Mauka H Makai on Nov. 3, just before the general election. Submit items to Burl Burlingame, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813; or e-mail jpeg files to bburlingame@starbulletin.com. Deadline is Oct. 25. Attention, aspiring cartoonists
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