- Matthew Diffee
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Matthew Diffee Born Denton, Texas Occupation Cartoonist Nationality American
matthewdiffee.comMatthew ("Matt") Diffee is an American cartoonist whose works appear in the New Yorker magazine.
Contents
Biography
Diffee was born in Denton, Texas and was raised as a fundamentalist Christian[1] in Texas and North Carolina.[2]
Matt Diffee presenting at Cusp Conference 2011, Chicago, IL
His father was an airline pilot.[3] He has a background in art and stand-up comedy (which he still performs from time to time),[4] and originally intended as a student at Bob Jones University to become a missionary after college.[1] As a struggling artist he took various day jobs, including road work, construction, and as a convenience store cashier.[4]
Diffee moved from Boston to New York and began contributing to the New Yorker in 1999, after winning a cartoon contest the magazine and the Algonquin Hotel sponsored for an all-cartoon issue, in the process meeting Robert Mankoff, the cartoon editor, in person.[4] Mankoff encouraged Diffee to contribute to the magazine. After three weeks of submission Mankoff chose one cartoon, which became Diffee's first published work. For the next year Diffee submitted fifteen cartoons per week; the magazine published a total of four.[4] The next year Diffee sold eight cartoons to the magazine,[5] each at the standard rate of $675.
Diffee's first book, The Rejection Collection, was a compilation of cartoons by various artists that had been rejected from the magazine along with questionnaires and portraits of each artist. In an interview he noted that 90% of even a successful freelance cartoonist's works are rejected, and that most cartoonists are known only for their work, not their personal lives.[4] Many rejected cartoons are good, he explained, but inappropriate for the magazine because they are politically incorrect or sexually suggestive: "...the idea that the cartoonist did it, and actually pitched it to the New Yorker, makes it even funnier to me, like ‘what were they thinking’?"[4] As of the book's publication the magazine had published more than 100 of Diffee's cartoons, a significant accomplishment for a young cartoonist.[6][7]
Works
His works are mostly single-panel satirical pieces. He credits God with giving him the gifts and inspiration for his career. One of his cartoons depicts a church, with the caption "no shirt, no shoes, no salvation."[1] At Bob Jones University he founded a comedy and juggling troupe, the Leaping Pickles, with the motto "we put the fun in fundamentalism".[3] One of his "classic" cartoons depicts Che Guevara wearing a Bart Simpson tee-shirt.[5][8]
Other than cartoons, Diffee also produces serious artwork, and has hosted "the Rejection Show", a monthly off-broadway production devoted to rejected works by successful artists.[7] He plays banjo and fiddle, and recently won a race in the sport of joggling (juggling while running), for which he will appear in an upcoming documentary.[3][7]
He currently hosts The Steam Powered Hour, a "smart and cozy night of bluegrass music, standup comedy, and cartoons."
Publications
- Matthew Diffee (2006-10-03). The Rejection Collection: Cartoons You Never Saw, and Never Will See, in The New Yorker. Simon Spotlight Entertainment. ISBN 1416933395.
- Matthew Diffee (2007-10-30). The Rejection Collection Vol. 2: The Cream of the Crap. Simon Spotlight Entertainment. ISBN 1416934014.
References
- ^ a b c "PROFILE: NEW YORKER Cartoonist Matt Diffee". Religion and Ethics (PBS). 2005-02-25. Archived from the original on 2008-08-28. http://www.webcitation.org/5aPBSKDLA. ""You might think someone raised a Christian fundamentalist in Texas would not fit in well at the skeptical NEW YORKER magazine.""
- ^ Thomas Collardeau (2007-12-27). "Interview with Cartoonist Matt Diffee". http://blog.ontheinside.info/2007/12/26/interview-with-cartoonist-matt-diffee/.
- ^ a b c Warren St. John (2004-05-02). "Sex With Einstein? Yes, in The New Yorker". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/02/fashion/02TOON.html?ei=5007&en=472a62a3b73d9959&ex=1398830400&partner=USERLAND&pagewanted=print&position=.
- ^ a b c d e f "Cartoonist Matthew Diffee". ontheinside dot info. http://ontheinside.info/author/matthew-diffee/.
- ^ a b Peter Carlson (2006-12-24). "Very Fine Lines:What Makes a Cartoon New Yorker-Worthy? Draw Your Own Conclusion.". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/23/AR2006122300893_pf.html.
- ^ "Matthew Diffee". Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-diffee/.
- ^ a b c "Matt Diffee". Beaver Creek Ski Resort. http://beavercreek.snow.com/info/winter/wa.humor.mattdiffee.asp.
- ^ Martha Irvine (2006-09-25). "'Che' Guevara's iconic image endures". Associated Press. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/23/AR2006092300346.html.
External links
- www.matthewdiffee.com - official site (links to Myspace page)
- San Francisco Chronicle archive of works
- New Yorker Store - "classic" cartoon of Che Guevara with Bart Simpson tee-shirt
Categories:- American cartoonists
- American satirists
- People from Brooklyn
- People from Denton, Texas
- Living people
- Bob Jones University alumni
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