Jean Plantu, France’s most famous editorial cartoonist, will present an illustrated lecture in French and English on Wednesday, January 18, 2006, at 7 p.m. at La Maison Française of New York University, located at 16 Washington Mews (corner of University Place). The event is free and open to the public; for further information call 212.998.8750 or visit www.nyu.edu/maisonfrancaise.
Plantu has worked for Le Monde since 1972. His political cartoons, encapsulating French and international current events in witty and often biting caricatures and wordplay, are often featured on the newspaper’s front page.
In his lecture Plantu says he will explain “how, once I’ve been given a subject by my editor-in-chief, I try to transform news information into an editorial image. I should also say that at Le Monde it is possible to make editorial cartoons that stray from the newspaper’s view. This sometimes happens It’s a great opportunity for free speech. The politically correct movement has somewhat paralyzed the media, and the cartoonists, along with the columnists, have become the last line of defense against it.”