Michael Leunig
Encyclopedia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
and cultural commentator. His best known works include The Adventures of Vasco Pyjama and the Curly Flats series. He was declared an Australian Living Treasure
Australian Living Treasures
Australian Living Treasures are people who have been nominated by the National Trust of Australia. The first list of 100 Living Treasures was published in 1997....
by the National Trust of Australia
National Trust of Australia
The Australian Council of National Trusts is the peak body for community-based, non-government organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's indigenous, natural and historic heritage....
in 1999.
Biography
Leunig, a fifth generation Australian, was born in East Melbourne, VictoriaEast Melbourne, Victoria
East Melbourne is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, adjacent to Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne. At the 2006 Census, East Melbourne had a population of 4,330....
, grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray
Footscray, Victoria
Footscray is a suburb 5 km west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong. At the 2006 Census, Footscray had a population of 11,401....
and went to Maribyrnong High School
Maribyrnong College
Maribyrnong College and formerly Maribyrnong High School is a Victorian Government Secondary School in Maribyrnong in the inner Western suburbs of Melbourne....
before entering an arts degree at Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
. His first cartoons appeared in the Monash University student newspaper
Student newspaper
A student newspaper is a newspaper run by students of a university, high school, middle school, or other school. These papers traditionally cover local and, primarily, school or university news....
, Lot's Wife, in the late 1960s. He was conscripted in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
call-up, but he registered as a conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
; in the event, he was rejected on health grounds when it was revealed that he was deaf in one ear.
After university, Leunig enrolled at the Swinburne Film and Television School
Swinburne University of Technology
Swinburne University of Technology is an Australian public dual sector university based in Melbourne, Victoria. The institution was founded by the Honourable George Swinburne in 1908 and achieved university status in June 1992...
and then began his cartoon career. He has noted that he was at first interested in making documentaries.
In the early 1970s his work appeared in the satirical magazine Nation Review
Nation Review
Nation Reviewwas an Australian Sunday newspaper, which ceased publication in 1981. It was launched in 1970 after independent publisher Gordon Barton bought out Tom Fitzgerald's Nation publication and merged it with his own Sunday Review journal...
, Woman's Day
Woman's Day
Woman's Day is aimed at a female readership, covering such subjects as food, nutrition, fitness, beauty and fashion. The magazine edition is one of the "Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines....
, London's Oz
Oz (magazine)
Oz was first published as a satirical humour magazine between 1963 and 1969 in Sydney, Australia and, in its second and better known incarnation, became a "psychedelic hippy" magazine from 1967 to 1973 in London...
magazine and also various newspapers of that era.
The main outlet for Leunig's work has been the daily Fairfax press, The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
and The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
(Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
) newspapers published in Australia. In recent years he has focused mainly on political commentary, sometimes substituting his simple drawings with reproduced photographic images with speech balloons attached. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
has also provided airtime to Leunig to discuss his views on a range of political and philosophical issues.
Family
His first marriage, to Pamela, ended in divorce. He married his second wife, Helga, in 1992. His four children were all born on notable dates: Gus on Guy Fawkes Day 1973; Sunny on Valentine's DayValentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
1975; Minna on Australia Day
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...
1992 and Felix on Christmas Day 1995.
Cartoons
Leunig's drawings are done with a sparse, quivering line, usually in black and white with ink washInk
Ink is a liquid or paste that contains pigments and/or dyes and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing and/or writing with a pen, brush, or quill...
, the human characters always drawn with exaggerated features. This style served him well in his early years when he gained a loyal following for his quirky take on social issues. He also made increasingly frequent forays into a personal fantasy world of whimsy, featuring small figures with teapots balanced on their heads, grotesquely curled hair and many ducks.
He has revealed in past interviews that the music of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
inspired his early work, along with European cartoonists and The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
's absurdist writer and cartoonist James Thurber
James Thurber
James Grover Thurber was an American author, cartoonist and celebrated wit. Thurber was best known for his cartoons and short stories published in The New Yorker magazine.-Life:...
(as well as dogs and ducks).
In his latest cartoons, Leunig frequently satirises concepts such as Americanisation, capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
, consumerism
Consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen...
, corporate
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
success and more recently warmongering, in a personal proclamation against the War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
. Of particular note are his recent parodies of political matters, especially those concerning former Australian former prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
and former American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
president George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. This has earned Leunig the description of "political cartoonist", though this is misleading as only some of his works are political in nature or reference.
His work has frequently explored spiritual and religious themes.
Controversial works
In 2008, Leunig wrote that "Artists must never shrink from a confrontation with society or the state." Leunig's cartoons have occasionally been a source of controversy. Between 1995 and 2000 Leunig drew the ire of "working mothers" by satirising the heavy reliance upon childcare services in Australian culture in several of his works.His opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
, although in line with over three-quarters of the Australian populace, drew some criticism in the press. He commented that “...if a cartoonist is representing the government line on Iraq, they’re nothing better than a propagandist.”
In 2006, Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The group's operations include newspapers, magazines, radios and digital media operating in Australia and New Zealand. Fairfax Media was founded by the Fairfax family as John Fairfax and Sons, later to become John...
censored a piece in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, but not in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, which denigrated then-Prime Minister John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
.
Leunig has also stated his opposition to the Israeli government, and three of his 2004 - 2006 pieces drew letters of protest nationally and internationally in relation to this. The three pieces took as their subjects: IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
bomber pilots (13 April 2004); Sheikh Ahmed Yassin's assassination order from Ariel Sharon (11 January 2006); and the renewed Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
occupation (12 July 2006).
A fourth piece was refused publication, and has since been more widely criticised for potentially confounding his opposition to the policies of Israel, with an antisemitic, generalised subversion of the Jewish experience, by relying upon a reference to the Jewish Holocaust. This piece came to international attention after it won an Iranian competition conceived by the newspaper Hamshahri
Hamshahri
Hamshahri is a major national Iranian Persian-language newspaper published by the Municipality of Tehran, and founded by Gholamhossein Karbaschi. It is the first coloured daily newspaper in Iran and has over 60 pages of classified advertisement, and is priced at 1000 Iranian rials. Currently, the...
as retaliation for the Muhammad cartoons controversy
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
. Leunig denied he had submitted the cartoon as an entry to the competition and said that the act was "malicious and horrible". He demanded the cartoons be withdrawn and the newspaper removed the cartoons and apologised to him. It later emerged that the cartoon had been submitted as a prank by a web contributor to the Australian comedic team The Chaser
The Chaser (newspaper)
The Chaser was a newspaper, published in Australia by political satire group The Chaser from 1999 to 2005.The newspaper, first published on 9 May 1999, was The Chaser team's most famous enterprise. Among other things, they have published Australian Prime Minister John Howard's private, unlisted...
.
Leunig has partially defined his position with this statement:
Celebrity and tribute
Leunig was declared one of Australian Living TreasuresAustralian Living Treasures
Australian Living Treasures are people who have been nominated by the National Trust of Australia. The first list of 100 Living Treasures was published in 1997....
by the National Trust of Australia
National Trust of Australia
The Australian Council of National Trusts is the peak body for community-based, non-government organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's indigenous, natural and historic heritage....
in 1999.
There has also been a Leunig Melbourne tram
Trams in Melbourne
The Melbourne tramway network is a major form of public transport in Melbourne, the capital city of the state of Victoria, Australia. , the network consisted of of track, 487 trams, 28 routes, and 1,773 tram stops. It was therefore the largest urban tramway network in the world, ahead of the...
.
The philosophical and mystical nature of his work was selected as one theme for the opening ceremony on 15 March 2006 of the 2006 Commonwealth Games
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...
held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
in Leunig's hometown of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. The principal character was a "boy and his duck", exploring the dreams and visions of a boy and Leunig was heard reading a stanza of his poem as a voice-over.
Leunig is the author of a popular Google theme.
Collaboration with Gyan
In 2006 Australian musician Gyan EvansGyan Evans
Gyan Evans is an ARIA Award-winning singer-songwriter from Australia who performs professionally as Gyan . Originally from Geelong, Gyan began her musical career in the Sydney band Haiku before winning the Grand Final in the Australian version of the TV show Star Search...
released the album "Billy the Rabbit
Billy The Rabbit
Billy The Rabbit is an album released by Gyan and Michael Leunig in 2006. The project involves Gyan adapting several of Leunig's poems to music; with some additional lyrics contributed by Gyan...
" which was based on the poetry of Leunig. Gyan and Leunig launched the album at the Melbourne Writers Festival
Melbourne Writers Festival
The Melbourne Writers Festival is an annual literary festival held in the Australian city of Melbourne.- History :The festival was founded in 1986 as a joint initiative between the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts and the City of Melbourne...
where Gyan sang and Leunig accompanied her whilst illustrating. The two artists also performed together at the Byron Bay Writers' Festival and the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
.
According to Gyan:
Published works
- The Penguin Leunig (1974)
- The Second Leunig (1979)
- The Bedtime Leunig (1981)
- A Bag of Roosters (1983)
- Ramming the Shears (1985)
- The Travelling Leunig (1990)
- A Common Prayer (1990)
- The Prayer Tree (1990)
- Introspective (1991)
- A Common Philosophy (1992)
- Everyday Devils and Angels (1992)
- A Bunch of Posey (1992)
- You and Me (1995)
- Short Notes from the Long History of Happiness (1996)
- Why Dogs Sniff Each Other's Tails (1998)
- Goatperson and Other Tales (1999)
- Carnival of the Animals (2000)
- The Curly Pyjama Letters (2001)
- The Stick and Other Tales of our Times (2002)
- Poems (2003)
- Kicking Behinds (2003)
- Strange Creature (2003)
- Wild Figments (2004)
- A New Penguin Leunig (2005)
- Hot and Bothered (2007)
Works in the Australian National Bibliographic Database
- The Animated Leunig (videorecording) (c2001)
- A bag of roosters / Michael Leunig (1983, ISBN 0-207-14830-9)
- The bedtime Leunig / Michael Leunig *1981, 0207145059)
- A bunch of posey / Leunig (1992, ISBN 0-207-17798-8)
- A celebration: Michael Leunig / Friends of the National Library of Australia (1997, ISBN 0-646-33090-X)
- A common prayer / Leunig (1990, ISBN 0-85924-933-6)
- A common prayer / Leunig (1993, ISBN 1-86371-231-3)
- A common prayer : a cartoonist talks to God / Leunig (1998, ISBN 1-86371-740-4)
- A conversation between Michael Leunig and Terry Laidler ... (1997)
- The curly pyjama letters / Michael Leunig (2001, ISBN 0-670-04023-1)
- The curly pyjama letters / Michael Leunig (2006, ISBN 978-0-14-300546-9 )
- English in heat / Morris Lurie, drawings by Leunig (1972, ISBN 0-207-12384-5)
- Everyday devils and angels / Michael Leunig (1992, ISBN 0-14-015911-8)
- Goatperson and other tales / Michael Leunig (1999, ISBN 0-14-029140-7)
- The happy prints: printmaking / Michael Leunig (1998)
- Introspective / Michael Leunig, with foreword by Helen Garner (1988, ISBN 1-86436-356-8)
- Introspective / Michael Leunig ; with a foreword by Helen Garner (1991, ISBN 1-86372-200-9)
- Leunig's Carnival of the animals / Michael Leunig, Peter Garrett, Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra (2000, ISBN 0-7329-1070-6)
- A new Penguin Leunig / Michael Leunig (1992, ISBN 0-14-017097-9)
- A new Penguin Leunig / Michael Leunig (2005, ISBN 0-14-300480-8)
- The Penguin Leunig: cartoons / by Michael Leunig, introduced by Barry Humphries (1974, ISBN 0-14-004019-6)
- Poems 1972-2002 / Michael Leunig (2003, ISBN 0-670-04091-6)
- The prayer tree / Leunig (1991, ISBN 1-86371-034-5)
- The prayer tree / Leunig (1998, ISBN 1-86371-741-2)
- Ramming the shears: a collection of drawings / Michael Leunig (1985, ISBN 0-949266-13-2)
- Ramming the shears: a collection of drawings / Michael Leunig (1990, ISBN 0-14-015801-4)
- The second Leunig, a dusty little swag: cartoons, a few verses and selected moments from the voyage of Vasco Pyjama / by Michael Leunig (1979, ISBN 0-207-14328-5)
- Short notes from the long history of happiness / Michael Leunig (1996, ISBN 0-670-87405-1)
- The stick : and other tales of our times / Michael Leunig (2002, ISBN 0-670-04048-7)
- The stick : and other tales of our times / Michael Leunig (2006, ISBN 9780143001461
- Strange creature / Michael Leunig (2003, ISBN 0-670-04136-X)
- The travelling Leunig: cartoons / by Michael Leunig (1990, ISBN 0-14-014867-1)
- Why dogs sniff each other's tails : an old but true story / Michael Leunig (1998, ISBN 0-670-88354-9)
- Wild figments / Michael Leunig (2004, ISBN 0-14-300353-4)
- You and me: a collection of recent pictures, verses, fables, aphorisms and songs / Michael Leunig (1995, ISBN 0-14-025461-7)
External links
- Leunig's official website
- Video: A conversation with Michael Leunig Writers at the Convent
- Interview with Michael Leunig, 2006, by Andrew Denton (ABC Television)
- Today's cartoon in Melbourne's The Age (not always a Leunig cartoon)
- Michael Leunig - 27 June 2004 article from The AgeThe AgeThe Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
- Leunig suspects pro-war hoaxers 14 February 2006 The AgeThe AgeThe Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...