Cartoonist: Voice of common man

Pic by Chandana Wijesinghe

 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