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Cartoonist Steve Sack delights November audience
At the November luncheon, UMRA members enjoyed a rare treat--Steve Sack, award-winning cartoonist with the Star Tribune. From childhood on, Sack enjoyed drawing pictures, but he didn't begin his career as a cartoonist until college when he joined the Minnesota Daily staff. That was the beginning of 36 artful years, much of them at the StarTribune, in which he has earned a reputation for spot-on visual commentary on political and world events. After years of newspaper downsizing, Sack remains one of only 50 full-time professional cartoonists in the U.S., down from 350 a few years ago. He advises young people seeking his advice about becoming cartoonists to “get a Plan B.”
Focusing on hot-button issues including gun control, climate change, local and world political figures, presidential doings and foibles, and current events, Sack has attained national and international acclaim, including the coveted Pulitzer Prize.
Sack spends most of his job time researching daily blogs and news sources. Although he receives many ideas for cartoons from readers, he relies on his own background work, saying, “I'd rather do a lousy Sack than a clever who-knows-who.”
Scott Gillespie, editorial pages editor and Star Tribune vice president, spoke briefly saying, “Steve is brilliant, the best at what he does in the country; one of the best in the world. He's the best-informed journalist on my staff. His work is honest, and it's a pleasure to be his boss.”
Sack's book, The First and Only Book of Sack, published in October 2017, has already gone into several reprints. It costs $15 and is available only online at shop.Startribune.com.
— Julie Medbery, editor
Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Steve Sack to entertain UMRA November 28
Tue, November 28 2017, 11:30am
Steve Sack
editorial cartoonist
Star Tribune
Conference Room ABC,
Campus Club, Fourth Floor,
Coffman Memorial Union
At our November 28 luncheon, UMRA will welcome the Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Steve Sack, who has entertained and provoked readers of the Star Tribune since he drew his first cartoon for the newspaper in 1981. A native of St. Paul, Sack kicked off his newspaper career while attending the University of Minnesota, where he illustrated feature stories and drew editorial cartoons at the student-run Minnesota Daily.
In the years since, he has won numerous honors for his work, including the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning (he was also a finalist for the award in 2004, 2015, and 2017), the Sigma Delta Chi cartooning award (2003), and the Overseas Press Club’s Thomas Nast Award for best international cartoons published in 2016. The OPC judges noted in their citation that “Sack successfully harnessed all the cartoonist’s tools—caricature, composition, biting wit, and solid journalism—in his impressive portfolio.” Sack himself says he “seeks to emphasize visual creativity combined with humor, powerful commentary, and a clear personal perspective to maximize the most effective elements of this unique art form.”
But as this background Sack provided suggests, his sense of humor is never far from the surface.
Sack’s career began at the University of Minnesota’s Daily newspaper, where he wandered in looking for a part-time gig illustrating feature stories. When the paper's staff cartoonist took a leave of absence, Sack hopped into the cartoonist’s chair and was instantly hooked by the Glamorous Cartoonist Lifestyle. Over the years Sack’s style has changed dramatically. Originally a pen-and-ink guy, he has at various times experimented with brush, charcoal, technical pen, markers, colored pencil, watercolor, Wacom tablet digital, and (currently) the iPad. Next he’s considering scrimshaw or Q-tips dipped in tattoo ink. Or not. Always searching, always keeping it fresh.
Sack lives in Bloomington, Minnesota. In his spare time he enjoys oil painting, sculpting, and playing with his grandchildren (and has Legos embedded in his feet to prove it).
In August, Sack published The First and Only Book of Sack, a collection of his work that was very well received. In fact, demand was so strong the book almost immediately went into back order. We are hoping, however, there will be copies available for purchase at the UMRA luncheon. Sack will discuss how he approaches his craft and the challenges of bringing his ideas into compelling graphic images, and says he looks forward to a lively Q and A.
—Jerry Rinehart, Program Committee Chair
Upcoming Events
Our July 15 "hike" is going to be a kayaking adventure on Bde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun) and Lake of the Isles! If you don't have a kayak (or paddleboard), Wheel Fun Rentals, located next to the new concession stand rents single kayaks at $15 an hour and double kayaks at $25. The second hour is free if we rent before noon. Life jackets are provided with the rental.
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Our August 5 hike will be a reprise of our hike last summer at William O'Brien State Park. This is a beautiful park with a winding trail and a great view of the countryside. The hike is about 5.5 to 6 miles and we'll go at a moderate pace with frequent water breaks. After the hike, we will eat lunch at Rustic Roots Winery, a half mile north of the park.
Kathy Cramer will lead the discussion of The Bookbinder by Pip Williams, a book set in 1914 Oxford chronicling the life of Peggy who works in the University bindery, but craves a life beyond binding books but to being a scholar herself.
Enjoy a two-hour cruise on the Jonathan Padelford, leaving from the Harriet Island dock in St. Paul, boarding time at 5:30 p.m. We will have a brief program on board by Patrick Nunnally from the River Life Program of the Institute on the Environment.
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