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Michael Leunig

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Australian cartoonist (1945–2024)

Michael Leunig
Leunig in 2012
Born(1945-06-02)2 June 1945
East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died19 December 2024(2024-12-19) (aged 79)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Alma materSwinburne Film and Television School
Occupations
Years active1965–2024
Spouse(s) Pamela Munro ​(divorced)​
Helga Salwe ​ ​(m. 1992; div. 2016)​
Children4
RelativesMary Leunig (sister)
Websiteleunig.com.au

Michael Leunig (2 June 1945 – 19 December 2024), typically referred to by his pen name Leunig, was an Australian cartoonist, poet and artist. His works include The Curly Pyjama Letters, cartoon books The Essential Leunig, The Wayward Leunig, The Stick, Goatperson, Short Notes from the Long History of Happiness and Curly Verse, and The Lot, a compilation of his "Curly World" newspaper columns. Leunig also wrote several books of prayers, including A Common Prayer, The Prayer Tree and When I Talk To You.

Leunig was declared an Australian Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia in 1999.

Early life and education

Leunig, a fifth-generation Australian, was born on 2 June 1945 in East Melbourne, the eldest of five children. He said he traced his family's ancestry to the Harz, Holy Roman Empire (now Germany) in the 16th century. He grew up in Footscray, an inner western suburb of Melbourne, where he went to Footscray North Primary School.

He then went to Maribyrnong High School, but as the school had not finished being built, he first had to attend classes held at the nearby Melbourne Showgrounds in Ascot Vale. He failed his final year examinations, twice.

After working as a labourer in an abattoir, Leunig enrolled at the Swinburne Film and Television School, where he was at first interested in making documentaries.

He was conscripted in the Vietnam War call-up, but he registered as a conscientious objector; he was rejected on health grounds when it was revealed that he was deaf in one ear.

Career

Leunig began his cartoon career while at Swinburne in 1965 when his cartoons appeared in the Monash University student newspaper Lot's Wife. In the early 1970s his work appeared in the radical/satirical magazines Nation Review, The Digger, and London's Oz magazine, as well as mainstream publications including Newsday and Woman's Day.

The main outlet for Leunig's work was the daily Fairfax Media newspapers, Melbourne's The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation also provided airtime to Leunig to discuss his views on a range of political and philosophical issues.

Leunig in 2013

He continued to contribute cartoons for the Saturday edition of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald until he was sacked in August 2024, along with a number of other staff, as a cost-cutting measure.

Cartoons

Style and themes

Leunig's drawings were done with a sparse and quivering line, usually in black and white with ink wash; the human characters always drawn with exaggerated noses. This style served him well in his early years, when he gained a loyal following for his quirky take on social issues. He also made increasingly frequent forays into a personal fantasy world of whimsy, featuring small figures with teapots balanced on their heads, grotesquely curled hair and many ducks.

Leunig frequently satirised concepts such as Americanisation, greed, consumerism, corporations and warmongering, in a personal proclamation against the "war on terror". Readers and critics took special note of his parodies of political matters, especially those concerning former Australian prime minister John Howard and former American president George W. Bush. These earned Leunig a description as a "political cartoonist", although only some of his works were political in nature or reference.

His work also frequently explored spiritual, religious and moral themes.

From a very early stage in his career, Leunig often included his own handwritten poetry within his cartoons; subsequently he also published books of poetry. He was very open about his themes, in interviews about his work.

Characters

In the series of cartoons that Leunig created, a number of characters persistently appeared, including:

  • The Duck
  • Mr Curly – a contented character who is at ease in the natural world
  • Vasco Pyjama – a restless wanderer who sometimes seeks the counsel of Mr Curly

Controversial works

Leunig speaks at a demonstration in Melbourne against Israel's military action in the Gaza War, 2009

Leunig's cartoons were occasionally a source of controversy. A colleague referred to his return to political cartooning in the late 1990s as his "Bob Dylan goes electric" moment. In 2008, he wrote "Artists must never shrink from a confrontation with society or the state."

Leunig opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq commenting that "if a cartoonist is representing the government line on Iraq, they're nothing better than a propagandist".

In 2006, Fairfax Media partially censored a Leunig cartoon criticising the then prime minister, John Howard; the cartoon was published in Victoria but not in New South Wales.

Leunig stated his opposition to the Israeli government. Three of his cartoons between 2004 and 2006 drew letters of protest nationally and internationally. He partially defined his position in 2006, saying that the Israeli Government had "gravely mishandled" the situation, and "it bothers me deeply. It is my right to express it".

Another supposed Leunig cartoon came to international attention after it was entered in an Iranian competition conceived by the newspaper Hamshahri as retaliation for the Muhammad cartoons controversy. Leunig denied he had submitted the cartoon, and demanded that it be withdrawn, which it was. It later emerged that the cartoon had been submitted as a prank by Richard Cooke, a contributor to the Australian comedic team The Chaser.

In November 2018, Leunig's 30-year association with the Melbourne Comedy Festival came to an end, after artists expressed concerns about being associated with Leunig's anti-vaccination views, and opposition to the marriage equality plebiscite. Leunig had designed the logo for the festival each year since 1988.

In September 2021, Leunig's cartoon contributions for the editorial page in the Monday edition of The Age were ended following the paper's rejection for publication of a cartoon he had drawn in response to COVID-19 vaccination requirements in Australia. The cartoon compared resistance to vaccine requirements to the Tank Man in Tiananmen Square.

Recognition and other activities

In 1986, Leunig decorated a Melbourne tram with cartoon characters, sponsored by the Victorian Government.

In 1999, Leunig was declared an Australian Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia.

In 2006, Australian musician Gyan Evans released the album Billy the Rabbit, based on the poetry of Leunig. Gyan and Leunig launched the album at the Melbourne Writers Festival, with Leunig illustrating during Gyan's singing. They also performed together at the Byron Writers Festival and the Sydney Opera House.

Leunig performed at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, wearing a duck costume. That same year, for his work on Southern Star, Leunig was co-recipient of the 2006 APRA Music Award together with Christopher Willcock.

In 2009, he created an iGoogle theme.

Leunig's appearance on the Portrait Story series of the National Portrait Gallery, Australia, 2017

In 2016, Metrosideros leunigii, the oldest described fossil species of the flowering plant genus Metrosideros, was named after Leunig.

In 2020, Leunig was the winner of the Ernie Award for his cartoon of mothers "being too busy on Instagram".

Several Leunig poems have been set to music by composers including Elena Katschernin, Paul Stanhope, and, for the Song Company, the composers Alice Chance, Drew Crawford, Gareth Farr, James Wade, Kate Moore, Kate Neal, Katy Abbott, Lachlan Skipworth, Lyle Chan, Mark Viggiani, Robert Davidson and Ruth McCall.

Personal life and death

Leunig's first marriage, to Pamela Munro, ended in divorce. He married his second wife, Helga, in 1992 but they separated in the 2010s. Leunig had four children.

A documentary film about his life by Kasimir Burgess, The Leunig Fragments, was released in 2020 and revealed various difficulties that Leunig experienced with family relationships. He did not attend his parents' funerals and was not in regular contact with his siblings.

His sister, Mary Leunig, is also an accomplished cartoonist. In December 2019, she accused Leunig of sexually abusing her during childhood in a series of cartoons posted to her Facebook account.

As of 2020, he had a studio in Northcote, Melbourne, and a property in north-east Victoria.

Leunig died in Melbourne, in the early hours of 19 December 2024, at the age of 79.

Published works

Collections of press cartoons and original art and/or poems

  • The Penguin Leunig, intro. Barry Humphries (1974) (40th anniversary reissue 2014)
  • The Second Leunig: a Dusty Little Swag (1979)
  • The Bedtime Leunig (1981)
  • A Bag of Roosters (1983)
  • Ramming the Shears (1985)
  • The Travelling Leunig (1990)
  • A Common Prayer (1990)
  • The Prayer Tree (1991)
  • Introspective, foreword by Helen Garner (1991, to accompany exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria. (Reprinted as The Michael Leunig Collection 1994.)
  • With Karl Rahner, A Common Philosophy, ed. John Honner (1992)
  • Everyday Devils and Angels (1992)
  • A Bunch of Poesy (1992)
  • You and Me (1995)
  • Short Notes from the Long History of Happiness (1996)
  • "The Teapot of Truth" (Australia Post 1998)
  • Why Dogs Sniff Each Other's Tails (1998)
  • Goatperson and Other Tales (1999)
  • Carnival of the Animals (2000)
  • The Curly Pyjama Letters (2001)
  • The Stick and Other Tales of our Times (2002)
  • Poems, 1972-2002 (2003)
  • Kicking Behinds (2003)
  • Strange Creature (2003)
  • Wild Figments (2004)
  • A New Penguin Leunig (2005)
  • Hot ... and Bothered (2007)
  • The Lot: in Words (2008)
  • When I Talk to You (2014)
  • Musings from the Inner Duck (2015)
  • Ducks for Dark Times (2017)

Multi-decade compilations

  • Poems: 1972-2002 (2003 hardback) later Curly Verse: Selected Poems (2010 paperback)
  • The Essential Leunig: Cartoons from a Winding Path (2012)
  • Holy Fool: Artworks (2014)
  • The Wayward Leunig: Cartoons that Wandered Off (2015)

Works in the Australian National Bibliographic database

References

  1. Creswell, Toby; Trenoweth, Samantha (1 January 2006). 1001 Australians You Should Know. Pluto Press. ISBN 9781864033618. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  2. Johnstone, Ian M. (5 November 1991). Leunig: An Appreciation (PDF). Studies in Australian Folklore: A Yearly Journal of Folklore Studies. Vol. 24. University of New England. p. 198.
  3. ^ "Australian cartoonist and poet Michael Leunig dies aged 79". ABC News. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  4. Taylor, Josh (19 December 2024). "Michael Leunig, Australian cartoonist, dies aged 79". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  5. "Leunig loses his inspiration - fowl play suspected". The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 November 2002. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  6. "Biography". Leunig Official Website. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  7. ^ Leunig, Michael (9 February 2008). "Education and the bunghole of life". The Age. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  8. Leunig, Michael (13 January 2007). "Blood and guts, violence and death". The Age. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  9. "Swinburne School and Television 21 years old, 1986". Swinburne Commons. Archived from the original on 8 December 2024. Retrieved 8 December 2024. Poster to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the Swinburne School of Film and Television, 1986. Poster includes cartoon by Swinburne alumnus Michael Leunig.
  10. Leunig, Michael (14 October 2006). "Lest we forget". The Age. Archived from the original on 24 November 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  11. Gravett, Paul (2011). 1001 Comics You Should Read Before You Die. Universe Publishing. Rizzoli Libri.
  12. "Leunig, Michael (1945–)". Trove. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  13. "Michael Leunig at the ABC" Archived 2 September 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  14. Park, Andy; Leunig, Michael (2 September 2024). "Michael Leunig fired after 55 years of cartooning". RN Drive. Archived from the original on 2 September 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  15. "In Conversation with Michael Leunig". Lot's Wife. 1 October 2012. Archived from the original on 2 September 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  16. ^ Phillips, Richard (23 February 2006). "Zionists witch-hunt Australia's leading cartoonist". World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  17. Leunig, Michael (October 1987). "Michael Leunig: poetry in pictures". Togatus (interview conducted by Rory Ewins). Vol. 58, no. 8. pp. 16–19. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  18. "Michael Leunig, a very unpretentious man". Lot's Wife (interview). Vol. 21 (i.e. v.31), no. 6. 6 May 1991. pp. 12–14. Retrieved 27 October 2014 – via Trove.
  19. Leunig, Michael (1995), "Making a cartoon: despair, chaos ... and the clock keeps ticking. - Interview with Michael Leunig by O'Connor, Peter-", Temenos (Canberra) (1): 19–22, retrieved 27 October 2014
  20. Leunig, Michael (23 April 2000). "A Leunig kind of thing". The Catholic Weekly (interview by Dan McAloon). Vol. 59, no. 4008. pp. 12–13. ISSN 0008-8420. For more than 30 years Michael Leunig has presented his unique cartoon vision of the human condition.
  21. Croggon, Alison (2 April 1991), "My life with a duck. -Cartoonist Michael Leunig-", Bulletin (Sydney): 98–99, ISSN 1440-7485
  22. Holland, Angus (21 November 1995), "Mr Curly comes clean. -Inside the Michael Leunig asylum.-", Sydney Weekly: 12–15, ISSN 1324-3993
  23. ^ "The Curly Pyjama Letters by Michael Leunig". Penguin Books. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  24. Pavlidis, Jim (21 January 2024). "Whimsy, wisdom guided Leunig's pen". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 35. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  25. Leunig, Michael (7 June 2008). "Art from the heart". The Age. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  26. "Leunig and Good Taste". Media Watch. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 29 May 2006. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  27. ^ "Australian in Iran cartoon 'hoax'". BBC News. 14 February 2006. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  28. Norrie, Justin (16 February 2006). "Chaser behind Leunig stunt". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  29. Tyeson, Cam (9 November 2018). "The Melbourne Comedy Festival Has Quietly Binned Anti-Vax Lunatic Leunig". Pedestrian.tv. Archived from the original on 5 June 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  30. Graham, Ben (25 October 2021). "Cartoonist Michael Leunig axed from prime spot at The Age over anti-Dan Andrews image". news.com.au.
  31. "People Are Roasting Leunig's Awful Comparison Of The Anti-Vax Movement To Tiananmen Square". Junkee. 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  32. Chang, Charis (27 September 2021). "'Offensive' Leunig anti-vax cartoon slammed". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  33. "Michael Leunig". Flickr. 19 December 2024. Archived from the original on 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  34. National Living Treasures – Current List, Deceased, Formerly Listed. National Trust of Australia. 22 August 2014.
  35. "Gyan and Mr Curly" (PDF). Byron Shire Echo. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 August 2006. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  36. "Games opening ceremony passes test". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 March 2006. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  37. "2006 Winners". APRA AMCOS. Archived from the original on 25 August 2010. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  38. "iGoogle Artist Themes – Michael Leunig". Archived from the original on 30 April 2009. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  39. "Tarran, Myall; Wilson, Peter; Hill, Robert (April 2016). "Oldest record of Metrosideros (Myrtaceae): Fossil flowers, fruits, and leaves from Australia". American Journal of Botany. 103 (4): 754–768. doi:10.3732/ajb.1500469. PMID 27056926.
  40. Zhou, Naaman (1 October 2020). "Ernie awards 2020: travel boss gets Gold Ernie for sexist remarks about Tracy Grimshaw". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  41. ^ The Leunig Fragments Archived 11 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine on ABC iview.
  42. "Rewind". Sunday Life Magazine the Sunday Age: 54. 16 December 2007.
  43. The Leunig Fragments review. The Guardian. 13 February 2020.
  44. "About". Mary Leunig Official Website. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  45. Sandford, Shannon (30 June 2020). "'It's Not Brave, It's Easy': Visualising Trauma in the Webcomics of Mary Leunig". Flinders University. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  46. Abbott, Lachlan (19 December 2024). "Celebrated cartoonist Michael Leunig dies aged 79". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  47. Hopman, Sally (20 December 2024). "The day Leunig's pen ran dry". Riotact. Retrieved 20 December 2024.

External links

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