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Walking a fine line between journalism and art, editorial cartoons represent a unique marriage of creative expression and current events. It’s this melding of drawing and idea that is the cornerstone of a new exhibit coming to the LSU Museum of Art Sept. 28.

The Line that Roars: Editorial Cartoons in the Age of Anxiety is an eight-year retrospective that begins in the late 1990s with the aftermath of the Clinton impeachment proceedings. Rounding out with the denouement that was and still is Hurricane Katrina, the exhibit also provides some lighthearted relief with several pieces detailing the illicit affairs and antics of celebrities, politicians and athletes.

The exhibition centers on the work of David Norwood of The Advocate, Steve Kelley of the Times-Picayune and two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner David Horsey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Guest curator Richard West, director emeritus of the Frye Art Museum in Seattle, pored over hundreds of images to assemble the collection of 200 works celebrating editorial cartoons in American pop culture and as important vehicles in public debate.

“Political cartoons have such a storied history,” says Tom Livesay, executive director of the LSU Museum of Art. “Going back as far as Thomas Nast (19th century caricaturist considered the father of American political cartooning) and our English forebears, they have continued to be a wonderful artistic expression of thoughts and ideas.”

Since Benjamin Franklin’s iconic illustration of a snake cut into pieces—each representing one of the existing colonies, with the caption “Join, or Die”—appeared in 1754, editorial cartoons have grown as an effective and entertaining means of informing the public and fostering debate. Familiar images such as the Republican elephant, the Democratic donkey and Uncle Sam were created by editorial cartoonists over the years.

“The staff is very excited,” Livesay says. “When we started unpacking some of the pieces, everyone had to stop and read each one. It’s taken us a little longer than usual to get things set up, but that really speaks to the popularity of political cartoons. It’s going to be a really great exhibit.” lsumoa.com