Until February 23, the Berne Communication Museum is exhibiting more than 200 press caricatures that marked the past year in the exhibition “Gezeichnet 2024”. The opportunity to relive twelve months full of tension, through drawings that made you smile, sometimes laugh and always think.
More than 200 drawings published in Swiss media revisit the national and international news of the past year: vote on the 13th pension, shortage of healthcare personnel, election of Donald Trump in the United States or even conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. The cartoonists have had a lot to do to extract laughter or smiles from readers on worrying, even anxiety-provoking themes.
The press cartoon, an editorial in images
“A cartoon is worth a thousand words.” This adage takes on its full meaning, as press cartoons are an easily accessible mode of expression. “It’s an opinion in the same way as the editorial, except that the press cartoon allows for quicker reading.” This is how Caroline Rutz, press cartoonist for the satirical newspaper Vigousse under the signature of Caro and one of the fifty caricaturists exhibited, sums up her profession.
In addition to its ability to represent a complex idea with simplicity, the press cartoon also makes it possible to launch the debate through biting and disturbing works. It is an essential element of democratic debate and one of the markers of freedom of expression.
A “necessary evil” for the press
Caro claims not to know about censorship or self-censorship. “I assume that whatever I send, I will take responsibility for it,” she says. She recognizes, however, that distribution on the internet can pose a problem, as the drawing can be read and used out of context.
If press cartoons sometimes create controversy, Caro believes that it is necessary: “We need debate in society.” Nico Gurtner, curator at the Museum of Communication, recalls the words of a newspaper boss: “a press cartoon is a hassle, but it’s essential.”
-TV subject: Thierry Clémence
Adaptation web: Sébastien Foggiato
“Gezeichnet 2024”, Museum of Communication, Bern, until February 23, 2025.
Swiss
