Abbas Naaseri / I have always prioritized respecting elders in my social conduct. And when that elder is a veteran in the art form I practice, I stand in their honor and kiss their hands. Because if, in their youth, they had chosen a different path, perhaps we wouldn’t be cartoonists today. Respecting and honoring veterans is a value recognized in all fields and all parts of the world—whether in daily life, art, sports, or beyond.
However, how we show this respect and honor is a delicate and important matter.
Unfortunately, in the art world—particularly in cartooning—it has become common to show respect to a veteran who may have been distant from the field for years, has not worked in recent years, and is completely out of touch with today’s updated cartoon landscape, by assigning them to a jury panel for a festival!
Festival organizers perhaps see this as the shortest path to “killing two birds with one stone”: avoiding the effort of carefully selecting jurors while also seeming to respect the elders of the field.
More importantly, this move minimizes potential backlash or complaints from artists, thanks to the out of politeness and feeling obliged to these elder artists.
But they fail to realize that judging a festival does not require only far more than age and work experience. A good juror must possess many qualities—especially in today’s expansive world of cartooning, with its new generations, evolving styles, changing tools, fresh visual elements, new symbols, shifts in communication approaches, and the changing nature of humor itself.
This is why we must treat festival judging as a science—the science of evaluation.
Now imagine appointing a veteran artist who lacks familiarity with this updated knowledge and modern context. Someone who, due to long absence from the scene, lacks a mental archive of recent works and trends.
By placing such a person on a jury, not only do you expose the festival results to harsh and indefensible criticism, but you also inflict serious harm to that veteran’s artistic status—inviting a flood of criticism toward them.
Have you ever seen an Olympic or international sports event where to honor a 70-year-old former wrestling champion, they’re given a referee whistle and uniform to officiate a match?
Or a retired police officer, once experienced in crime detection, being placed in the seat of a judge in a courtroom, just out of respect?
Of course, there are a few exceptional veterans who continue to create, stay current and are active in the world of cartoons. This article is not about them. You know—and I know—who it’s about.
Friends! Judging festivals requires expertise and up-to-date knowledge.
Experience and seniority might be part of the equation, but it’s not enough. A jury must have a sharp eye for similarities, stay engaged in contemporary competitions, understand various techniques, maintain a rich mental archive, and stay informed of current events and trends.
Many enduring figures of cartoonist, who once be great on the pages of festivals and magazines, remain legends in the eyes of today’s artists. So let’s honor and celebrate them in the right way—one that truly reflects their greatness.
And a humble request to these dear enduring figures: if you don’t feel equipped to take on such a demanding responsibility, please do not accept it.
You are our great ones. So please—stay our great ones.
—————————-
Weekly Single Page of Cartoonmag
No 43
Saturday , 26. April . 2025
This single page has been prepared to remind the news and calls published on the cartoonmagazine website and it is supposed to be published every Saturday.
Follow the published news on our site: CARTOONMAG.COM
