Sharon Murdoch

Last updated

Sharon Murdoch
Sharon Murdoch at Munroe launch.jpg
Born1960 (age 62–63)
Invercargill, New Zealand
Nationality New Zealander
Area(s)Cartoonist, Designer
Notable works
Murdoch: the political cartoons of Sharon Murdoch
Awards"Cartoonist of the Year" Canon Media awards (2016, 2017) and Voyager Media awards (2018)
http://domesticanimal.tumblr.com

Sharon Murdoch is a cartoonist born in 1960 in Invercargill, New Zealand. She is the first woman to regularly produce political cartoons for New Zealand mainstream media, and draws the cartoon cat Munro who accompanies the daily crossword in Fairfax newspapers. Murdoch has won New Zealand Cartoonist of the Year three times: 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Contents

Life

Of Ngāi Tahu and English descent, [1] Sharon Murdoch was raised in a working-class family in Invercargill, which she described as "a bit like growing up in Iceland but without the epic poems". [2] Her father persuaded her school to admit her to all-male Technical Drawing classes, for which she won the school prize. [3]

Murdoch studied graphic design at Wellington Polytechnic School of Design, and worked as a graphic designer for Wellington City Art Gallery, for the Legal Resources Trust, and with activist design group the Wellington Media Collective as its only female graphic designer. [3] [4] In 1999/2000 she did Volunteer Service Abroad in the township of Indinsane, South Africa, working with a Xhosa women’s community development group co-drawing comics on HIV/AIDS prevention and early childhood education. [1] [5] She continues to work as a designer and illustrator.

Murdoch lives in Wellington and is married with a daughter, stepdaughter, two cats (la Luna and Munro), and a dog (Iris). [6] [7] [8] Munro, named after a dog in a book by American author T.R. Pearson, is this inspiration for her daily newspaper cartoon of the same name. [9]

Career

Murdoch began cartooning full-time in her early 50s, after being encouraged by former partner Trace Hodgson, a political cartoonist for the New Zealand Listener . [2] Her first cartoons were of Munro the cat, appearing daily alongside the crossword in the Dominion Post, which continues to run in Fairfax newspapers; each one incorporates a clue from that day's crossword. [1] She then began doing "political illustration" for the columnist Tracy Watkins; [6] her first proper political cartoon appeared in the Waikato Times in August 2013. [10] Her political work is published in the Sunday Star Times, where she was appointed political cartoonist in December 2014, [1] the Christchurch Press, and occasionally the Dominion Post or the Waikato Times: usually cartoons but sometimes illustrations in collaboration with others, such as the feature Growing Up Kiwi: Sophie's Story. [11]

Murdoch is the first woman to produce regular cartoons for a New Zealand newspaper. [2] She signs her work "Murdoch", initially concerned that her work would be read differently if people knew she was female. "As a woman cartooning, I will inevitably see things differently to a man." [9] The issues of most importance to her personally are social justice, animal welfare, and the environment. [6] Her favourite politician to draw is Judith Collins: "She's so fantastic – what would we do without her?" [6] [9]

In 2016, a 200 page book on Murdoch's work was published, [12] which topped Unity Books' bestseller list [10]

Social justice

Murdoch has a strong theme of social justice throughout her work. Her final-year thesis at Wellington Polytechnic School of Design was graphical material such as logos and posters for Wellington Rape Crisis Centre.

Another example is the Take The TVZZ Kiwi-Meter Quiz! cartoon from Christchurch's The Press, in which a Māori woman is depicted abused and covered in bandages of the various 'special treatments' Māori experience in New Zealand, such as lower educational outcomes and substandard housing. [13] Murdoch has said that she feels caring is part of her job as a cartoonist, and that 'underneath I'm really angry about a lot of the things I'm drawing about'. [12]

Awards and honours

Murdoch was nominated for "Cartoonist of the Year" in the 2014 and 2015 Canon Media Awards, and won in 2016 and 2017, the first woman to receive this award. The awards were renamed the Voyager Media Awards, and Murdoch won again in 2018. [14] Judges applauded her "fresh style and satirical intelligence" and described her as "gleeful and ingenious, and very funny, but she can shock us too"; one commented, "Sharon Murdoch's political cartoons satisfy the two golden rules of the art form. They make you laugh and are wickedly caricatured." [15] Her cartoon The Alphabet for Needy Children was described as a "powerful comment on homelessness". [16]

In 2017 Murdoch was inducted into the Massey University's College of Creative Arts' Hall of Fame. [17]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<i>The New Zealand Herald</i> Daily newspaper in New Zealand

The New Zealand Herald is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers in New Zealand, peaking at over 200,000 copies in 2006, although circulation of the daily Herald had declined to 100,073 copies on average by September 2019. Its main circulation area is the Auckland region. It is also delivered to much of the upper North Island including Northland, Waikato and King Country.

Robert Ellison Brockie is a New Zealand cartoonist, scientist, columnist and graphic artist.

Dame Lynley Stuart Dodd is a New Zealand children's book author and illustrator. She is best known for her Hairy Maclary and Friends series, and its follow-ups, all of which feature animals with rhyming names and have sold over five million copies worldwide. In 1999, Dodd received the Margaret Mahy Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuff (website)</span> New Zealand news website

Stuff is a New Zealand news media website owned by newspaper conglomerate Stuff Ltd. It is the most popular news website in New Zealand, with a monthly unique audience of more than 2 million.

Grant Buist is a cartoonist, animator, and playwright from Wellington, New Zealand. He is notable for his comic strips Jitterati and Brunswick, whose characters have been reproduced in many forms of cultural activities including newspapers, murals, short films, and theatre productions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eleanor Catton</span> New Zealand novelist and screenwriter

Eleanor Catton is a New Zealand novelist and screenwriter. Born in Canada, Catton moved to New Zealand as a child and grew up in Christchurch. She completed a master's degree in creative writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters. Her award-winning debut novel, The Rehearsal, written as her Master's thesis, was published in 2008, and has been adapted into a 2016 film of the same name. Her second novel, The Luminaries, won the 2013 Booker Prize, making Catton the youngest author ever to win the prize and only the second New Zealander. It was subsequently adapted into a television miniseries, with Catton as screenwriter. In 2023, she was named on the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Carrington</span> New Zealand canoeist

Dame Lisa Marie Carrington is a flatwater canoeist and New Zealand's most successful Olympian, having won a total of five gold medals and one bronze medal. She won three consecutive gold medals in the Women's K‑1 200 metres at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2016 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Olympics, as well as gold in the same event at the 2011 Canoe Sprint World Championships. At the 2020 Summer Olympics she also won a gold medal in the K‑2 500 metres, with crewmate Caitlin Regal, and as an individual in the K‑1 500 metres.

Lawrence & Gibson is an independent publisher founded in Wellington, New Zealand in 2005. The organisation functions as a non-profit worker collective where profits are split 50/50 between author and publisher.

Miriam Meyerhoff is a New Zealand sociolinguist. In 2020 she was appointed as a senior research fellow at All Souls College, Oxford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Laing</span> New Zealand author and cartoonist

Sarah Laing is a New Zealand author, graphic novelist and graphic designer.

The 2017 Canon Media Awards were presented on 19 May 2017 at The Langham, Auckland, New Zealand. Awards were made in the categories of digital, feature writing, general, magazines, newspapers, opinion writing, photography, reporting and videography. The Wolfson scholarship, health journalism scholarships, and awards for editorial executive and outstanding achievements, were also presented.

The 2016 Canon Media Awards were hosted by the New Zealand Newspaper Publishers' Association on Friday 20 May 2016 at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington, New Zealand. The Newspaper of the Year was The New Zealand Herald, and the Reporter of the Year was Matt Nippert of The New Zealand Herald.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giselle Clarkson</span> New Zealand cartoonist and illustrator

Giselle Clarkson is a New Zealand cartoonist and illustrator, best known for her non-fiction comics on conservation and environmental issues.

Guy Keverne Body is a New Zealand cartoonist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toby Morris (cartoonist)</span> New Zealand cartoonist

Toby Morris is a New Zealand cartoonist, comics artist, illustrator and writer, best known for non-fiction online comics that often highlight social issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaun Yeo</span> New Zealand cartoonist and illustrator (b. 1974)

Shaun Yeo is a New Zealand freelance cartoonist and illustrator living in Invercargill. He produces daily political cartoons for the Otago Daily Times.

Sally Bollinger is an actor, writer and cartoonist born in 1993 in New Zealand. She often works collaboratively with her sister Elsie on works relating to William Shakespeare and will contribute the comic component of joint comic/video projects.

Anna Crichton is a New Zealand illustrator, cartoonist and ceramicist. Her work has been published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Time magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tova O'Brien</span> New Zealand political journalist

Tova O'Brien is a New Zealand political journalist and broadcaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madeleine Chapman</span> New Zealand journalist, sportsperson

Madeleine Elsie Chapman is a New Zealand editor, journalist and author, and the current editor of The Spinoff and former editor of North & South. Chapman co-wrote the autobiography of New Zealand professional basketball player, Steven Adams, and in 2020 a biography of the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Sharon Murdoch". New Zealand Cartoon Archive. 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Mann, Brittany (19 May 2014). "Catty cartoonist alone in field" . Retrieved 25 November 2016– via Stuff.co.nz.
  3. 1 2 Cantlon, Polly (2011). ""In the middle of the whole thing about gender and race": Perspective in graphic design activism from the Pacific" (PDF). Design History Society Annual Conference, 7–10 September 2011. Barcelona, Spain.
  4. ↑ Wilson, Charlotte (21 August 2016). "Art, Life, Music – Sharon Murdoch". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "5 minutes with Sharon Murdoch – Comicfest feature". Wellington City Libraries Comicfest 2015. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Murdoch, Munro and media". Radio NZ. 23 October 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Sharon Murdoch". Potter & Burton. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  8. ↑ Mann, Britt (18 November 2018). "At home with Cartoonist of the Year Sharon Murdoch, and her cat Munro". Stuff. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  9. 1 2 3 Jacobson, Julie (16 January 2017). "Wellington's Sharon Murdoch (56) draws on life experience". New Zealand Woman's Weekly: 28–29.
  10. 1 2 McKee, Hannah (5 November 2016). "Cartoonist Sharon Murdoch hits booksellers list". Stuff. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  11. ↑ "Growing up Kiwi: Sophie's story of a New Zealand childhood". 26 June 2016.
  12. 1 2 Murdoch, Sharon Gay (2016). Murdoch : the cartoons of Sharon Murdoch. Johnston, Melinda. Nelson, New Zealand. ISBN   9780947503239. OCLC   962466508.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  13. ↑ Paul, Diamond (2018). Savaged to suit : Māori and cartooning in New Zealand. New Zealand Cartoon Archive. Wellington, New Zealand. ISBN   9780992247706. OCLC   1053803863.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  14. ↑ "2018 winners – Voyager Media Awards". Voyager Media Awards. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  15. ↑ "2017 Judges' Comments". Canon Media Awards. 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  16. ↑ "Canon Media Awards recognise ambitious, provocative Fairfax journalism". Stuff. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  17. ↑ "Cartoonist Sharon Murdoch added to Massey University hall of fame". Stuff. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.