A mad world of illustration

George Washington morphed into Alfred E. Neuman in a cover illustration Norman Mingo (1896-1980) created for MAD magazine in 1976 as the U.S. bicentennial neared. James Halperin collection, courtesy of Heritage Auctions, HA.com.

 

By JOHN TOWNES
Contributing writer

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass.

An irreverent icon of publishing is the focus of a major new exhibit at the Norman Rockwell Museum.

“What Me Worry? The Art and Humor of MAD Magazine,” which opened in June, features extensive displays of 250 original illustrations and cartoons – as well as pages, photos, memorabilia, published ephemera, video content, and interactive features covering the history of MAD from its first issue in 1952 through the present. The exhibit runs through Oct. 27.
“In addition to our focus on Norman Rockwell and his work, we are also a museum of illustration,” explained Stephanie Haboush Plunkett, the museum’s chief curator, who co-curated the new show with the illustrator and journalist Steve Brodner.

“MAD was very influential as a source of illustration, and we started thinking about this exhibit several years ago,” Plunkett said.

The exhibit, which occupies several galleries of the museum, has been organized to present the history of MAD from its origins onward.

“It is basically chronological, representing different periods and editors,” Plunkett said. “There are also sidebars on specific aspects.”

It features artwork by many of the prominent illustrators and writers who regularly contributed to MAD, a group the publication referred to as the “Usual Gang of Idiots.” These included Sergio Aragones, David Berg, Bob Clarke, Paul Coker, Jack Davis, Will Elder, Duck Edwing, Frank Frazetta, Harvey Kurtzman and Don Martin.

One gallery is devoted to the work of Mort Drucker, the award-winning caricaturist and illustrator who contributed film and television satires to MAD for more than five decades.

The exhibit also includes a section on the history of Alfred E. Neuman, a fictional boy with a goofy gap-toothed grin who was the symbol of the magazine and was associated with the motto “What Me Worry?” Neuman appeared in many guises on the magazine’s cover and within its pages.

“He was based on the cartoon face of a boy who first appeared in 19th century ads for dentists and products like tonics containing cocaine and heroin,” Plunkett said. “Later he was also on ads for war bonds. MAD was looking for a logo and decided to adapt the character.”

Displays also include other publications that reflect MAD’s spirit, including Panic, with illustrations by Joe Orlando; Cracked, featuring Bill Everett; Archie’s Madhouse, featuring Harry Lucey; and Foo!, with art by the brothers Charles and Robert Crumb.

The museum organized an 11-member advisory group consisting of MAD contributors and other leading illustrators, humorists, writers and scholars. Plunkett said organizing the exhibition was a formidable task that required extensive research and tracking down and contacting former MAD contributors and staff to obtain the original artwork and other items. Then came the job of sorting, organizing and assembling the exhibit.

“We were able to obtain items from collections all over the country, and many people helped us figure out how best to present it all,” Plunkett said.

 

Juvenile humor, grown-up satire
MAD began as a comic book published by EC Comics and founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines. It initially was called “Tales Calculated to Drive You MAD.”

In 1955, it transformed into a magazine, a status that released it from the censure of the Comics Code Authority. (The authority had been set up the previous year by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation after McCarthy-era Senate hearings set off a moral panic about the content of comic books.)

MAD reached its peak circulation of more than 2 million in 1973-74, and it continued publishing until early 2018, when it ended newsstand distribution and ceased regular printing of most new content. Since then, under the ownership of Warner Bros. Discovery, it continues to publish curated reprints, compilations and occasional new features.

The magazine originally was oriented to young readers, with take-offs of comic book heroes and other juvenile satire. While keeping its youthful silly tone, it began over time to expand into more sophisticated satire that also appealed to adults. It lampooned politics, from McCarthyism and the Cold War to political corruption and the cultural ferment of the 1960s and beyond. It also satirized social subjects such as consumerism, media and celebrity culture.

The content ranged from satiric versions of popular films and TV shows to vignettes depicting modern life and issues, as well as regular features such as its surrealistic comics “Spy vs. Spy” and “The Lighter Side Of …”

MAD didn’t engage in “victim humor,” noted former MAD editor John Ficarra, a member of the exhibition’s advisory group.

“You will find plenty of jokes, observations and flat-out insults about corrupt politicians, greedy drug companies, and others in power who failed in their responsibility to help those less fortunate,” Ficarra said, but he added, “MAD never punched down.”

 

Inspiring a generation
While it might be considered somewhat tame by today’s standards, MAD broke barriers in the conformist environment of its early years, and it provoked controversy with its irreverent humor and anarchic energy.

“MAD was much more than a magazine to my generation,” said Brodner, the show’s co-curator. “It represented a portal to adulthood. MAD was a heat-seeking missile designed to blow open the hypocritical core of most things. In so doing, it engendered in readers an ability to come closer to what might today be called critical thinking. … MAD gradually changed the world, one kid at a time.”

The magazine helped to inspire subsequent generations of performers, writers and media institutions, including publications such as National Lampoon and television programs such as “Saturday Night Live” and “The Daily Show.” Celebrities including Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have credited MAD as an early influence on their work.
“Although it might be considered a niche publication, MAD had a very large impact,” Plunkett said. “Its satirical content filtered out into popular American culture. In the exhibit, we’ve tried to emphasize the extent of that influence.”

The spirit of MAD was significantly different from that embodied in the work of Norman Rockwell, who was mainly associated with illustrations celebrating more traditional Americana, but there are connections. Although his illustrations were more conservative in subject and style, Rockwell’s work often was marked by a puckish sense of humor.

“MAD actually solicited Rockwell to do a portrait of Alfred E. Neuman,” Plunkett said. “Rockwell considered it, but ultimately declined, sending them a note that he would probably make a mess of it.”

MAD also parodied Rockwell’s work. The exhibition features several examples, including Richard Williams’ 2002 painting, “Alfred E. Neuman’s Triple Self-Portrait After Norman Rockwell,“ which replicated Rockwell’s humorous 1960 portrait of him painting himself, but with Neuman as the subject.

A series of museum events and activities related to MAD, including children’s programming, have been held or scheduled this season in conjunction with the exhibit. On Saturdays through Aug. 31 “Totally MAD! Artmaking Activities” is a drop-in program that provides an opportunity to make your own art inspired by the art and spirit of MAD magazine. And this fall, the museum will host a program series featuring scholars, artists and writers through the Rockwell Center for American Visual Studies.

The Norman Rockwell Museum is open year-round, six days a week. It is closed on Wednesdays. Admission is charged for adults but is free for children and teenagers. Visit the museum online at www.NRM.org for more information.