DATE

Year: 2018

Decade: 2010s

Century: 21st (2001-2100)

Notes: January 12-14, 2018

An original hand drawn map called “Map of the World by Me (Stable Genius).”  

The map was created over a weekend (January 12-14, 2018) by Maira Kalman and Rick Meyerowitz in response to Donald Trump publicly calling certain countries “Shitholes”.

Illustrated map that appeared in issue #07/2019 of the Berlin letterpress magazine P98a PAPER published by Erik Spiekermann (Berlin, 2019) and reprinted as the November 2020 calendar page in The American Bystander, a quarterly humor magazine featuring contributions from many notable comedy writers, illustrators and cartoonists.

The map was created over a weekend (January 12-14, 2018) by Maira Kalman and Rick Meyerowitz in response to Donald Trump publicly calling certain countries “Shitholes.” In the artists’ words: “We knew right away we had to respond and the logical thing for us was to make a map. We spent a day ping-ponging country names off each other and sketching maps. It would be Trump’s map, drawn by him, not us, and he’d think everyplace in the world he didn’t own is a Shithole. The sketches and the names were so much fun you could hardly call it work and the final map is one of the best things we’ve done together.”

ARTISTS

Name: Maira Kalman
Type: Artist
Born In: 1949
Artist Information: Maira Kalman is an American artist, illustrator, writer, and designer known for her painting and writing about the human condition. She is the author and illustrator of over 30 books for adults and children and her work is exhibited in museums around the world. She has been a regular contributor to The New York Times and The New Yorker. Kalman was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. Her mother, Sara Berman, was originally from Belarus and had moved to Israel to escape pogroms. When Kalman was four years old, her family moved to New York City. The family lived in Riverdale, Bronx. Maira Kalman began creatively asserting herself, writing more than 20 books over the years. As mentioned in an interview in 2019, Kalman notes how she always had a passion for writing, and that she was always interested in the field. Kalman did not consider herself just a writer, but addressed that she was a storyteller, a journalist, a designer and a humorist. Over the course of her career, Kalman has written a series of children's books about Max Stravinsky, the poet-dog. In addition, she has been a contributor for The New Yorker since 1995 and has produced many cover illustrations as well as illustrated columns. Most notably, Kalman collaborated with Rick Meyerowitz for The New Yorker December 2001 cover, called New Yorkistan. This cover created a lot of attention to the public since the magazine tackled tribalism in the city.
Name: Rick Meyerowitz
Type: Artist
Born In: November 29, 1943
Artist Information: Rick Meyerowitz is an American artist, and author. He is best known for his work for National Lampoon magazine and its spin-offs, including his poster for the comedy film Animal House. Meyerowitz was born in The Bronx, New York. He is the younger brother of photographer Joel Meyerowitz. He started drawing during his childhood and attended art school at Boston University. National Lampoon magazine. Meyerowitz was a frequent contributor to National Lampoon magazine; memorable artwork of his included the "Mona Gorilla" (the Mona Lisa as a gorilla). Meyerowitz created the widely recognized theatrical release poster for the 1978 comedy movie Animal House. Meyerowitz has worked as a commercial artist and as the author and artist of humorous books such as Return of the Nose Masks (1998; a book of punch-out masks to be worn on the nose) and Dodosaurs: The Dinosaurs That Didn't Make It (1983); he has also illustrated children's books (Rip Van Winkle, 2004, for example). Also created the cover illustration depicting the cast of M*A*S*H for the Nov. 2, 1974 issue of TV Guide. Meyerowitz's collaborations with the artist Maira Kalman produced New Yorkistan, a popular cover for The New Yorker magazine, as well as editorial and humor pieces for The New York Times. Coasters which the two artists designed were for sale at the Museum of Modern Art. Meyerowitz put together a book about National Lampoon magazine's artists and writers, called Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Writers and Artists Who Made the National Lampoon Insanely Great. The book was published by Abrams in the fall of 2010. Meyerowitz was interviewed and drew the theatrical release poster for the 2015 film National Lampoon: Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead. The director Doug Tirola commented, "Before we shot the first frame of the movie, I had the idea and hope that Rick would do our poster. The Animal House poster, in my mind, is one of the best in the history of film."