Michael Leunig

From Vero - Wikipedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Use Australian English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person

Michael Leunig (2 June 1945 – 19 December 2024), typically referred to by his pen name Leunig, was an Australian cartoonist, poet and artist. He was best known for his work for Melbourne's The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.

Leunig's works include The Curly Pyjama Letters, the cartoon books The Essential Leunig, The Wayward Leunig, The Stick, Goatperson, Short Notes from the Long History of Happiness and Curly Verse as well as The Lot, a compilation of his "Curly World" newspaper columns. Leunig also wrote several books of prayers, including A Common Prayer, The Prayer Tree and When I Talk To You.

Leunig was declared an Australian Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia in 1999.

Early life and education

Leunig, a fifth-generation Australian,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> was born on 2 June 1945 in East Melbourne, the eldest of five children.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=abcobit /><ref name=guardianobit>Template:Cite web</ref> He said he traced his family's ancestry to the Harz, Holy Roman Empire (now Germany), in the 16th century.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He grew up in Footscray, an inner western suburb of Melbourne, where he went to Footscray North Primary School.<ref name="bio">Template:Cite web</ref> He then went to Maribyrnong High School, but as the school had not finished being built, he first had to attend classes held at the nearby Melbourne Showgrounds in Ascot Vale.<ref name="TAbunghole">Template:Cite news</ref> He twice failed his final year examinations.<ref name="TAbunghole" />

After working as a labourer in an abattoir,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Leunig enrolled at the Swinburne Film and Television School,<ref name=leunigposter>Template:Cite web</ref> where he was at first interested in making documentaries.Template:Cn

Leunig was conscripted in the Vietnam War call-up, but he registered as a conscientious objector; he was rejected on health grounds when it was revealed that he was deaf in one ear.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Career

Leunig began his cartoon career while studying at Swinburne in 1965<ref>Gravett, Paul (2011). 1001 Comics You Should Read Before You Die, Universe Publishing. Rizzoli Libri.</ref> when his cartoons appeared in the Monash University student newspaper Lot's Wife.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the early 1970s his work appeared in the radical/satirical magazines Nation Review, The Digger and London's Oz magazine, as well as mainstream publications including Newsday and Woman's Day.Template:Cn

The main outlet for Leunig's work was the daily Fairfax Media newspapers, Melbourne's The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation also provided airtime to Leunig to discuss his views on a range of political and philosophical issues.<ref>"Michael Leunig at the ABC" Template:Webarchive. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.</ref>

Leunig in 2013

Leunig continued to contribute cartoons for the Saturday edition of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald until he was sacked in August 2024, along with a number of other staff, as a cost-cutting measure.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Cartoons

Style and themes

Leunig's drawings were done with a sparse and quivering line, usually in black and white with ink wash; the human characters often drawn with exaggerated noses. 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Leunig frequently satirised concepts such as Americanisation, greed, consumerism, corporations and warmongering, in a personal proclamation against the "war on terror".Template:Citation needed Readers and critics took special note of his parodies of political matters, especially those concerning former Australian prime minister John Howard and former American president George W. Bush. These earned Leunig a description as a "political cartoonist",<ref name="wsws">Template:Cite web</ref> although only some of his works were political in nature or reference. His work also frequently explored spiritual, religious and moral themes.Template:Citation needed

From a very early stage in his career, Leunig often included his own handwritten poetry within his cartoons;<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> subsequently he also published books of poetry. He was very open about his themes in interviews about his work.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Characters

In the series of cartoons that Leunig created, a number of characters persistently appeared, including:

  • The Duck<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
  • Mr Curly – a contented character who is at ease in the natural world<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref name="CurlyLetters">Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Vasco Pyjama – a restless wanderer who sometimes seeks the counsel of Mr Curly<ref name=CurlyLetters/>

Controversial works

Leunig speaks at a demonstration in Melbourne against Israel's military action in the Gaza War, 2009

Leunig's cartoons were occasionally a source of controversy. A colleague referred to his return to political cartooning in the late 1990s as his "Bob Dylan goes electric" moment.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2008, he wrote that "Artists must never shrink from a confrontation with society or the state."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Leunig opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, commenting that "if a cartoonist is representing the government line on Iraq, they're nothing better than a propagandist".<ref name="wsws" />

In 2006, Fairfax Media partially censored a Leunig cartoon criticising the then prime minister, John Howard; the cartoon was published in Victoria but not in New South Wales.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Leunig stated his opposition to the Israeli government. Three of his cartoons between 2004 and 2006 drew letters of protest nationally and internationally.Template:Cn He partially defined his position in 2006, saying that the Israeli government had "gravely mishandled" the situation in Palestine, and "it bothers me deeply. It is my right to express it."<ref name="wsws" />

A supposed Leunig cartoon came to international attention after it was entered in an Iranian competition conceived by the newspaper Hamshahri as retaliation for the Muhammad cartoons controversy. Leunig denied he had submitted the cartoon,<ref name="BBChoax">Template:Cite news</ref> and demanded that it be withdrawn, which it was.<ref name="BBChoax" /> It later emerged that the cartoon had been submitted as a prank by Richard Cooke, a contributor to the Australian comedic team The Chaser.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In November 2018, Leunig's 30-year association with the Melbourne Comedy Festival came to an end, after artists expressed concerns about being associated with Leunig's anti-vaccination views and his opposition to the marriage equality plebiscite. Leunig had designed the logo for the festival each year since 1988.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In September 2021, Leunig's cartoon contributions for the editorial page in the Monday edition of The Age were ended following the paper's rejection for publication of a cartoon he had drawn in response to COVID-19 vaccination requirements in Australia.<ref>Graham, Ben (25 October 2021). "Cartoonist Michael Leunig axed from prime spot at The Age over anti-Dan Andrews image". news.com.au.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The cartoon compared resistance to vaccine requirements to the Tank Man in Tiananmen Square.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Recognition and other activities

In 1986, Leunig decorated a Melbourne tram with cartoon characters, sponsored by the Victorian Government.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1999, Leunig was declared an National Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia.<ref name=abcobit>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>National Living Treasures – Current List, Deceased, Formerly Listed. National Trust of Australia. 22 August 2014.</ref>

In 2006, Australian musician Gyan Evans released the album Billy the Rabbit, based on the poetry of Leunig. Gyan and Leunig launched the album at the Melbourne Writers Festival, with Leunig illustrating during Gyan's singing. They also performed together at the Byron Writers Festival and the Sydney Opera House.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Leunig performed at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, wearing a duck costume.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> That same year, for his work on Southern Star, Leunig was co-recipient of the 2006 APRA Music Award together with Christopher Willcock.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2009, Leunig created an iGoogle theme.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Leunig's appearance on the Portrait Story series of the National Portrait Gallery, Australia, 2017

In 2016, Metrosideros leunigii, the oldest described fossil species of the flowering plant genus Metrosideros, was named after Leunig.<ref>"Template:Cite journal</ref>

In 2020, Leunig was the winner of the Ernie Award for his cartoon of mothers "being too busy on Instagram".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Several Leunig poems have been set to music by composers including Paul Stanhope,<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> and, for the Song Company, the composers Alice Chance, Drew Crawford, James Wade, Kate Moore, Kate Neal, Katy Abbott, Lachlan Skipworth, Lyle Chan, Mark Viggiani, Robert Davidson and Ruth McCall.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":0" />

Personal life and death

Leunig's first marriage, to Pamela Munro, ended in divorce. He married his second wife, Helga, in 1992 but they separated in the 2010s.<ref name="The Leunig Fragments"/> He was together with his last partner, Nicola Dierich, until his death. Leunig had four children.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

A documentary film about Leunig's life by Kasimir Burgess, The Leunig Fragments, was released in 2020 and revealed various difficulties that he had experienced with family relationships.<ref name="The Leunig Fragments">The Leunig Fragments Template:Webarchive on ABC iview.</ref> He did not attend his parents' funerals<ref>"The Leunig Fragments review", The Guardian, 13 February 2020.</ref> and was not in regular contact with his siblings.<ref name="The Leunig Fragments"/>

Leunig's sister, Mary Leunig, is also an accomplished cartoonist.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In December 2019, she accused Leunig of sexually abusing her during childhood in a series of cartoons posted to her Facebook account.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Leunig had a studio in the Melbourne suburb of Northcote and a country property in north-east Victoria.<ref name="The Leunig Fragments"/>

Leunig died in Melbourne, in the early hours of 19 December 2024, at the age of 79.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Published works

Collections of press cartoons and original art and/or poems Template:Div col

  • The Penguin Leunig, introduction by Barry Humphries (1974) (40th anniversary reissue 2014)
  • The Second Leunig: a Dusty Little Swag (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 (1991)
  • Introspective, foreword by Helen Garner (1991, to accompany exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria. (Reprinted as The Michael Leunig Collection 1994.)
  • With Karl Rahner, A Common Philosophy, ed. John Honner (1992)
  • Everyday Devils and Angels (1992)
  • A Bunch of Poesy (1992)
  • You and Me (1995)
  • Short Notes from the Long History of Happiness (1996)
  • "The Teapot of Truth" (Australia Post 1998)
  • 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, 1972-2002 (2003)
  • Strange Creature (2003)
  • When I Talk to You (2004)
  • Wild Figments (2004)
  • A New Penguin Leunig (2005)
  • Hot ... and Bothered (2007)
  • The Lot: in Words (2008)
  • The Essential Leunig: Cartoons from a Winding Path (2012)
  • Holy Fool (2013)
  • Musings from the Inner Duck (2015)
  • The Wayward Leunig: Cartoons That Wandered Off (2015)
  • Ducks for Dark Times (2017)
  • Get Well (2021)
  • Newspaper Poems (2024)

Template:Div col end Multi-decade compilations

Template:Div col

  • Poems: 1972-2002 (2003 hardback) later Curly Verse: Selected Poems (2010 paperback)
  • The Essential Leunig: Cartoons from a Winding Path (2012)
  • Holy Fool: Artworks (2014)
  • The Wayward Leunig: Cartoons that Wandered Off (2015)

Template:Div col end

Works in the Australian National Bibliographic database

Template:Div col

Template:Div col end

References

Template:Reflist

Template:Library resources box

Template:Authority control

Retrieved from "https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=Michael_Leunig&oldid=130935"