Cartoon Debrief: Buffalo and the Burning Bus
A buffalo stands in front of a burning bus. Discuss.
The initial plan for Le Scarf’s print journey was to create something in the style of a newspaper. A cartoon would have played a crucial role in recreating the general newspaper aesthetic. The plan, however, changed. The cartoon stayed.
Zack Herberstein and I sat down for coffee one morning to discuss the cartoon direction. I wanted something that could mean many things at once.
Zack produced a phenomenal piece of art. The buffalo standing in front of a burning bus brings a couple of things to mind:
A literal representation: A buffalo and a burning bus.
A political representation: A buffalo (The Rand) and a burning bus (South Africa).
A human representation: A buffalo (person trying to get to work) and a burning bus (their method of transport).
A non-literal, non-political, human representation: A buffalo (person who can’t cook) and a burning bus (the toast of which would have been their dinner).
What does the cartoon make you feel? Leave your comment below.
