> http://www.savefile.com/files.php?fid=8188489 - downloadable checklist > of images and objects in the show > > > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE > April 20, 2006 > Contact: Courtney MacGregor, 202-782-2671, > [log in to unmask] > Steven Solomon, 202-782-2672, [log in to unmask] > > "CARTOONISTS TAKE UP SMOKING" > > WASHINGTON - A free gallery talk at the National Museum of Health and > Medicine about the recently opened "Cartoonists Take Up Smoking," an > exhibition of original newspaper editorial cartoons on a single theme, > is being presented by Alan Blum, M.D., one of the nation's foremost > authorities on the history of the tobacco industry and the battle over > smoking. > > Scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 30, Blum, a professor of family > medicine at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala., will > retrace the 40-year battle over the use and promotion of cigarettes > since the publication of the landmark Surgeon General's report on > smoking and health in 1964. Blum will also discuss complacency on the > part of organized medicine, politicians, and the mass media in ending > the tobacco pandemic. > > The exhibit is curated from material at the University of Alabama > Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society, which Blum founded and > directs. It holds one of the largest sociocultural archives on > tobacco, including more than 300 original editorial cartoon artworks > on smoking-related themes. > > The exhibit features 55 original cartoons by more than 50 nationally > known American editorial cartoonists and is supplemented by > smoking-related items, from the original newspaper headlines that > inspired the cartoons to advertisements promoting the health benefits > of lighting up. Also displayed are several artifacts, as well as two > preserved lungs -- one showing the ill effects of smoking and the > other a healthy lung -- from the museum's anatomical collection. > > Blum, a graduate of Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, > was awarded the Surgeon General's Medallion in 1988 by Dr. C. Everett > Koop. He has been invited to speak on tobacco-related issues by > medical and public health organizations in all 50 states and at > numerous international conferences. As the former editor of the > Medical Journal of Australia and the N.Y. State Journal of Medicine, > he also published the first-ever theme issues on smoking by any > medical journal in the world, in 1983 and 1985 respectively. > > "The wide-ranging controversies surrounding tobacco are captured in > the cartoons, from the misguided quest for a safe cigarette to the > targeting of tobacco advertising to women and minority groups," Blum > said. "Cartoons on smoking have had an impact at both the local and > national levels. Editorial cartoons practically laughed Joe Camel out > of town and helped pass countless clean indoor air laws." > > In their artist's statement, several of the cartoonists relate that > their family members have suffered from smoking-related illnesses. For > example, David Fitzsimmons of The Arizona Star, said "My mother and > father died within a month of each other because of their inability to > overcome their addiction to cigarettes. I understand, firsthand, the > impact of tobacco on the lives of people." > > For half a century, the cartoonist most unapologetically opposed to > smoking and the tobacco industry was The Washington Post's Herblock > (Herb Block), several of whose cartoons are reproduced in the show. > > Not all cartoonists have depicted tobacco as an evil weed. Indeed, > several could be described as anti-anti-smoking, in part based on > their belief in the freedom to choose. Clay Bennett of the Christian > Science Monitor wonders if there also should be laws against nagging > and finger-wagging. The New York Post's Sean Delonas foresees the > advent of a smoke police force roaming sidewalks and parks. > > The exhibition debuted at the Ann Tower Gallery in Lexington, Ky. in > conjunction with the annual convention of the Association of American > Editorial Cartoonists. It also was displayed in Seattle, Tuscaloosa, > and Birmingham, Ala. Its display in Washington, D.C. is the conclusion > of its traveling schedule. > > "We are happy to be hosting 'Cartoonists Take Up Smoking,' said > Adrianne Noe, Ph.D., the museum's director. "The assembled > cartoonists' work rivals any scalpel we have on display for their > sharpness. They span the humorous to the deadly serious and will allow > visitors to relive a public medical and political debate about a > health issue that continues to grasp us all. It's particularly fitting > to host this wonderful collection at the nation's medical museum, > where it will be seen amid other exhibits that inspire learning about > medicine and health, including the real lungs of a person who smoked." > > The exhibit, which was produced with the cooperation of the > Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, will be on display at > the museum during the week of the World Conference on Tobacco or > Health, July 10-15, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, > D.C. > > Lori Jacobi, M.A., archivist at the University of Alabama Center for > the Study of Tobacco and Society, provided additional support with the > design, organization, and coordination of the exhibition. Eric > Solberg, M.S., of Houston, Texas, past director of Doctors Ought to > Care, served as Blum's principal adviser since the exhibition's > inception a decade ago. > > The exhibit installation was designed by museum exhibits manager, > Steve Hill, with assistance from anatomical collection curator Lenore > Barbian, Ph.D., exhibits specialist, Bill Discher, registrar Michelle > Fontenot, collections manager Elizabeth Lockett, public affairs > specialist Courtney MacGregor, and public affairs officer Steven > Solomon. > > The Herblock Foundation gave a special unrestricted gift to the Center > for the Study of Tobacco and Society, which is helping to cover > various expenses and to produce a facsimile exhibition for display in > other cities. > > The exhibit is running through September 2006. It will be on display > at the museum, which is open every day except Dec. 25 from 10 a.m. to > 5:30 p.m. The museum is located at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, > 6900 Georgia Ave. and Elder Street, NW, Washington, D.C. For more > information call (202) 782 2200 or visit www.nmhm.washingtondc.museum. > Admission and parking are free. > > ### > A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org. For the terms of participation, please refer to http://www.archivists.org/listservs/arch_listserv_terms.asp. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname *or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES To post a message, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>