Category: International

Japanese Artist Rokudenashiko: “My Body is Not an Obscenity”

Japanese cartoonist Rokudenashiko recently celebrated the release of her new book What is Obscenity? The Story of a Good For Nothing Artist and her Pussy by challenging claims by the Japanese government that her art, and subsequently her body, is obscene. In…

How Czech Underground Comic Art Beat Communism

An art display at the Batalion Bar and Museum in Prague is celebrating underground comic artist Kaja Saudek and tells the tale of his first-hand experiences with censorship in the 1960s and ultimate triumph over a Cold War communist government…

Malaysian Artist Charged for Viral Image of PM as Clown

Malaysian artist Fahmi Reza is facing sedition charges for depicting Prime Minister Najib Razak in clown makeup, an image that originally appeared online but has since proliferated in street art throughout the capital of Kuala Lumpur. After learning of those…

South Africans Debate Legacy of Racist Imagery in Political Cartoon

One of South Africa’s most well-known political cartoonists has become embroiled in controversy since the publication of a cartoon with what he said were unintended racist overtones. The cartoon by Zapiro, AKA Jonathan Shapiro, depicts the country’s top prosecutor Shaun…

Iranian Cartoonists’ Association Becomes Tool for “Suppression and Prevention”

Iran’s House of Cartoon is currently hosting a deliberately provocative Holocaust Cartoon Contest, which organizers say is intended in part to test the boundaries of free expression in the opposite extreme from the Muhammad caricatures in Charlie Hebdo and events…

Zunar Accused of “Economic Sabotage” Over Geneva Exhibit

In response to the cartoonist’s recent exhibition of his political cartoons in Geneva, a member of the Malaysian government is now accusing Zunar of committing “economic sabotage” and plotting to “topple the prime minister.” The exhibit Cartooning for Peace celebrates…

Ecuadorian Artist’s Exhibit Censored by Government

An art exhibit whose central theme is freedom of expression is facing a censorship attempt by the House of Ecuadorian Culture out of concern that it might become a “forum for opinion and political criticism.” Vilma Vargas has built a…