April 29, 2014: The New Yorker’s Bob Mankoff with Shepard Fairey

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TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR TONIGHT! April 29, 2014. 7:30pm. Ticket: $25. Los Angeles Theater Center, 514 South Spring Street, LA 90013. Parking available in nearby lots and parking structures.

We all read The New Yorker because it is arguably the best and most important magazine in the country. We won’t say it’s the best magazine in the world, because we humbly admit that’s beyond our scope of expertise at the moment. So sure, we all read the articles, the great short stories, the movie reviews, Shouts & Murmurs, and the cartoons. But here’s the thing about The New Yorker: while we might skip an article or a column here and there, we never ever skip over the cartoons—or the cartoon caption contest. Never. At the same time, we remember certain images from campaigns over the course of our lives. And one that we can’t forget, because it was provocative, inspiring and exciting, is Shepard Fairey’s Obama Hope poster.

Bob Mankoff is the cartoon editor at The New Yorker. And he is also a frequent contributor of cartoons to the magazine—it helps if you know, or if you are, the editor. As the cartoon editor, he is responsible for the part of The New Yorker which all of us read faithfully, compulsively, and consistently. So imagine his influence in the world of humor, and in the art of the cartoon. He’s also pretty hilarious—as proven in his new book, How About Never–Is Never Good For You? His mantra is simply this: anything worth saying is worth saying funny. His cartoons are much more than funny—they reveal the moment in which we’re living, what we’re thinking as a society and what our challenges might be. It is of course a really funny book—and covers everything from those great magazine covers to secrets to winning that elusive cartoon caption contest at the very back of the issue. The New Yorker’s cartoons encompass our professional frustrations, our personal foibles, and our cultural criticism in a sentence, with enduring images created by a few brilliant strokes of the pen. And Bob Mankoff gives us as many per week as he can.

Art—whether through cartoons or paintings or any other medium, makes personal, political or social commentary about our moment in time. Shepard Fairey is one of the most notable graphic artists in the country today. You know him from his public murals, his posters, and his international museum installations across the globe. And you know him from his Obama Hope poster, which we are prohibited from showing on this website. His work is inspired and inspiring, bold, beautiful and thrilling.

Join Bob Mankoff and Shepard Fairey in a conversation about public art, political cartoons, and whatever they feel like talking about. Enjoy the many bars and restaurants right near the Los Angeles Theater Center.