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Pic by Chandana
Wijesinghe
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Since the cartoon strip
‘Horizontal’ hit The
Nation in late 2011, the skinny man wearing the ragged sarong, carrying the
tattered bag was no stranger to The Nation’s readers. Creator of this strip as well as the daily
and weekly cartoon strips of the Rivira, Asanga Indunil Weerasekara says becoming a cartoonist
was everything he wished for, since he knew how to hold a pencil. “I’m lucky to
be able to fulfill my childhood dream, not everyone gets that chance,” he said.
“Self satisfaction comes with the territory.”
Asanga obtained his
primary education at Anuruddha
College, Nawalapitiya.
Although he has been keen on drawing cartoons since childhood, it took him many
years to become a cartoonist. But he always took the lead when it came to
creative work and drawing at school. During this period Asanga took part in numerous
arts and poster competitions and won countless awards. However, his parents
were not happy about his choice of profession, and did not approve of him
continuing his studies of the arts.
Looking back, he said that
their decision did not inflict on him any harm. “In fact following their advice
helped me,” said Asanga. He studied math for Advanced Level. “After completing
school I was chosen for a course of survey and draftsmanship. In 1992 I moved
to Colombo from
Nawalapitiya and started my career in the field of house construction. By that
time I had followed professional courses in draftsmanship, quantity surveying as
well as AutoCAD,” he said. He also recalled the motivation he received from his
art teacher at school, Mahinda Punchihewa.
His debut book cover was
for a children’s book; Nelli
Kele Yaluvo written by Lal Jayasundara. He was still employed at a
private organization as a Draftsman when he started drawing illustrations for
children. “When I was introduced to Mr. Peliyagoda Dayananda; editor of the Bindu children’s
newspaper of Upali Group of Companies, he invited me to join Bindu as a freelance
artist. He is the person who first recognized how my talent would become useful
in the newspaper industry.” In 1997 he joined Bindu as a freelancer and later became a full
timer after resigning from his career in draftsmanship. During this period he
got the opportunity to make contributions to various children’s publications. He
has contributed illustrations for more than 200 children’s publications by now.
In 2006, he joined the
Rivira Media Corporation on the invitation of former Rivira Editor-in-Chief,
Upali Tennakoon. “I joined Rivira as a professional newspaper artist. With
years of service I was able to fulfill my childhood dream of becoming a
cartoonist.” He became a cartoonist with the inauguration of the Rivira daily
paper. He still continues his cartoon strip ‘Thiras’ in both daily and Sunday
Rivira newspapers.
During his first year of
service as a cartoonist, he was able to win a certificate of merit at the Sri
Lanka Journalism Award Ceremony. He also recalled how he was invited to start
the cartoon column ‘Horizontal’ for The Nation in 2011. “I started drawing for The Nation on the
invitation of Editor-in-Chief, Mr. Malinda Seneviratne,” he said. While
continuing ‘Horizontal’ he also colors the Mahasona which now appears in the Lens section
each week. Apart from his duty as a cartoonist, he wrote a series of articles titled
‘Sihina Vimana’ (Dream Palace) for Rivisarasi; the tabloid of the weekend Rivira, using his
knowledge and past experiences as a draftsman. “It was very successful and I
continued it for more than two years,” he mentioned. He also published this
article series as two books; Sihina
Vimana and Dreamed
Palace.
Asanga followed a course on
oil paintings conducted by Mohan Grero Foundation, under the prominent artist
Somaratne Gomas. In 2006, one of Asanga’s paintings was placed first at the
international art competition ‘Art for Air’ organized by the Better Air Quality
(BAQ) 2006 conference held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Drawing for children may
look like a straightforward and easy task. But on the contrary, Asanga pointed
out that it’s anything but easy and plays an essential role in aiding a child’s
development. He also said that drawings are a marvelous way to convey a
difficult story in a child’s perspective. “A child’s eye first catches drawings
and colors before letters. Therefore any form of art, such as drawing, painting
or sculpting can be used to hone a child’s intelligence.
He explained how illustrations
in children’s books can be used to trick children into reading books. He rebuked
some children’s book illustrators for not following the proper guidelines when
drawing for children. “This happens because there is no system to monitor these
books. Anyone can do whatever they want,” he pointed out. “I have seen
children’s books carry illustrations which represents hatred or anger. I
believe that it is inappropriate to illustrate such feelings since these
illustrations penetrate a child’s mind,” he opined.
Political caricatures are
equally complex. Overweight politicians with big noses, skinny commoners or
funny haired women, convey a very strong message through sarcasm. “A cartoon
may convey a complex political issue, in a simple and humorous manner, which
would otherwise take hundreds of words to explain,” says Asanga. He pointed out
that political cartoons are a good tool to make a point about issues and flaws
in the system.
Images get ingrained in
the mind of a person more effectively than words. Political cartoonists capitalize
on this power and to drive home a point. Political cartoons should be able to
produce a strong reaction in people making them understand the underlying
message, he explained. “A political cartoonist’s responsibility is usually to
promote social welfare or wellbeing,” he iterated.
Asanga was inspired by the
work of the American Israeli
political cartoonist Ranan R. Lurie. “I find his work influential. I have
always been interested in his work and studying his work enhances my skills
too,” he said.
He explained his daily
routine of creating a cartoon since he started working with the Rivira daily
newspaper. “Usually I read all the newspapers in the morning listen to the
radio and watch news on television and select the most compelling news story. The
leading news story cannot always be portrayed in a cartoon. I pick a story
which can easily be made into a cartoon,” says Asanga. Even though many new
technological tools are available for drawing cartoons Asanga said that he
still prefers to draw by hand. “I draw the outlines and scan it. I apply colors
and fine-tune the cartoon using the computer. I don’t like to depend on technology
very much.”
According to Asanga keeping
up with both local and global current events is the secret to being a successful
political cartoonist. Asanga reiterated that a cartoonist should have a sound
knowledge of fields such as literature, sports, art and economy other than the
political setting of the country. “Political cartoons rely on drawing skills
more than any other form of cartoons, but being a good cartoonist does not mean
that he or she could be a political cartoonist,” he added.
As Asanga explained, another golden rule is to not fear criticism. “The cartoonist must have self censorship. Even though there is no system to judge a cartoon before it gets published, the cartoonist should refrain from humiliating the person whom he illustrates,” he reiterated. Talking about the ethics of a political cartoonist Asanga said that it all depends on individual cartoonist. “A cartoonist must not humiliate a religion, a community or a specific group. He must learn to deliver the intended message without causing harm,” he added.
According to him a political
cartoonist should be fair to both sides of a scenario he or she depicts. “Also
they should always be mindful about the injustice to the common man. A
cartoonist can become their voice, to remind the ruling party of their plight,”
he added.
http://www.nation.lk/edition/fine/item/25108-interview-with-artist-asanga-indunil-weerasekara-giving-life-to-stories-through-cartoons.html
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