Arts with attitude Some of the best things to see and do with a bit of political bite For listings email: journalist@NUJ.org.uk
INDEPTH BELL ÉPOQUE 30 YEARS OF STEVE BELL
STEVE BELL
Until 24 July Cartoon Museum, London www.cartoonmuseum.org www.belltoons.co.uk
Catch them while you can and they’re still free or subsidised because the Government’s cuts in public funding could affect any of the events, shows, exhibitions or theatre taking place in the future. At least enjoy what’s available in this edition. Lost Arts The UK has an unrivalled reputation for the quality of its arts and culture. Its reputation has been earned over many years and is due in no small part to public funding. But the arts now have to share the burden of an economic policy which has led to substantial cuts in public funding. Cutting arts funding is counterproductive for economic recovery. Statistics show that every £1 invested in the arts produces more than £2 for the Treasury. The cuts will lead to job losses and have a negative effect on other services and tourism.Lost Arts,
For a man who sits alone in his office at
home in Brighton, cartoonist Steve Bell certainly reaches out to one couple in north London. His If strip in the Guardian is the first thing Dr Iro Staebler and his wife, film scriptwriter Jane, turn to when the paper falls through the letterbox. Like many, many more people, they’ve followed Steve’s rants for many years and have loved his depictions of politicians such as John Major with his underpants outside his trousers, Thatcher and Blair’s eyeballs, George Bush as a chimpanzee and his current condom of David Cameron and Nick Clegg as a waste of space beefcake. On a typical working day, Steve listens to the radio and fumes. Then he transfers his frustrations into words and extremely cutting images for the Guardian and magazines including Private Eye, the New Statesman, the Spectator, Radio Times, and, of course, The Journalist. He has won many awards, including What The Papers Say cartoonist of the year, Political Cartoon Society Cartoon of the Year Award in 2001 and 2008 and Cartoonist of the Year in 2005 and 2007, the British Press Awards Cartoonist of the year in 2002, the Cartoon Arts Trust Award eight times…the list goes on. Born in Walthamstow, east London, in 1951, Steve realised early on in his school days in Slough he enjoyed art instead of rugby. His father’s career took the family north where he took an art foundation course at Middlesborough College of Art. He then moved to Canterbury to continue his arty fartiness but boomeranged back to the north tempted by the ‘colouring-indepartment’ of Leeds University. He grew his hair and, armed with a degree in
which comprises groups representing arts workers including the NUJ,wants to hear about affected projects. www.artscuts.co.uk Tolpuddle time Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival and Rally July 15-17 With its vibrant mix of politics, poetry, theatre, music, activism and fun, this year’s Tolpuddle requires everyone attending the festival (except for the Sunday Rally) to buy a wristband. It is becoming so popular that numbers and costs need to be managed. So if you plan to camp, you need to book in advance. Entry on Sunday 17 is free. For more information, tickets and your wristband, visit: www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk Save Your Placards Were you at the anti-cuts demonstration in London on March
fine art, Steve fancied long holidays and short days. He went briefly into teaching in Birmingham but he realised it was hard not to tell uppity students to piss off. In 1977 he decided to stop messing about and get on with some serious, though funny, drawing. His Maggie’s Farm strip appeared in Time Out and City Limits magazines from 1979 until 1987 and he got the gig on the Guardian in 1981. Bell Époque is the latest of shows that have appeared worldwide, along with 27 books and several films. It’s a fantastic body of work that needs time to absorb everything, including his depiction of himself as a kind of cross between Dennis the Menace and Desperate Dan. “I’m quite a shy and withdrawn sort of person,” says this genial giant, who draws with his left hand. “I’ve always been drawn into leftie politics. The Guardian don’t censure me, they trust me to get on with it. I do a lot of seething and enjoy working on my own because I’m self-motivated. “This exhibition covers all my work back to the early days. History repeats itself. In the early 80s cuts started to bite and now it’s the same. I try to pursue the truth of what politicians are like.” Ex-Python Terry Jones, in the exhibition’s catalogue, says: “The image of our current government, as pigs with their heads in the trough, says more than reams of editorials. It cuts the crap.” You won’t find any crap in this exhibition, only the work that has made Steve Bell the funniest, rudest and most astute political cartoonist working today. Alf Martin
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