Æret være bladtegneren
Søndag var det Rex Babin Day i Californien.
Guvernør Edmund J. Brown, Jr, erklærede den 15. april for officiel mindedag for bladtegneren Rex Babin, som for nylig bukkede under for sin kræftsygdom. Hvilken fornem gestus at ære den forskel, en bladtegner har gjort i vores liv.
Det er dertil en markering af den værdi, som bladtegningskunsten skaber.
Herhjemme har vi netop mistet Ib Spang Olsen. Generation efter generation fik øje på verden gennem hans kunst. Hvor storslået, om også det officielle Danmark havde sat ord på, hvad vi mistede i ham, som i hans californiske kollega:
GOVERNOR BROWN ISSUES PROCLAMATION DECLARING REX BABIN DAY
PROCLAMATION
BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
"It is difficult not to write
satire," observed the Roman poet Juvenal at the close of the 1st Century
A.D. Few understand this basic truth better than political cartoonists who,
2000 years later, wield the power of caricature, parody, farce and lampoon in
the pages of our newspapers.
Paul Conrad said that political
cartooning "is a peculiar art form...but a necessary art form...and a
noble art form." Rex Babin found his calling during a junior high field
trip to the Los Angeles Times. After studying Conrad's Pulitzer Prize-winning
work for the Times, young Rex dreamed that one day he, too, might join the
pantheon of great political cartoonists. For Rex – a native of Walnut Creek who
grew up in Pacific Palisades and Encinitas – that dream came true.
Over the past twelve years in
Sacramento, Rex chronicled the pitfalls and foibles of politics in the Golden
State and beyond. His pen rendered verdicts on every issue and individual of
importance. He had the unique ability to make biting comments in a way that
still managed to put a smile on your face. Those lucky enough to escape his
scathing critique should feel slighted to have been overlooked.
Rex left us too soon, and life will
never be the same for the family, friends and colleagues who knew the man
behind the pen. But his wife, Kathleen, and his son, Sebastian, can hopefully
find some solace in the fact that the State of California mourns this native
son today.
A powerful voice is gone, but a legacy
remains. Rex is best remembered – not with words – but with cartoons. For these
were his life's work, shedding light and laughter amidst turbulent times, and
becoming an indelible part of our history.
NOW THEREFORE I, EDMUND G. BROWN JR.,
Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim Sunday, April 15th,
2012 as "Rex Babin Day."
IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set
my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this
15th day of April 2012.
Se teksten i dens helhed på: http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=17493
