New Yorker Cartoonist to Talk About the Art of Cartooning

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Williamstown – David Sipress, a New Yorker cartoonist, will give a talk titled "Get it? The Art of Cartooning and the New Yorker," on Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 8 p.m. The event will be held in Lawrence Hall, room 231. It is free and open to the public. More than 250 cartoons by Sipress have appeared in the New Yorker since 1998. His cartoons and editorial illustrations have also appeared in Playboy, Harper's, The Funny Times, Utne Reader, The Washington Post, and Spectator of London, among others. He is the author of eight cartoon books and the producer and host of "Conversations with Cartoonists," a series of live interviews with some of the leading artists of the New Yorker, staged over the past year in New York City. Sipress will talk about the art of cartooning. He uses cartoons projected on a screen to talk about the profession, about his own work, and about the work of other cartoonists he admires. He tries to make the presentation not just funny -- the cartoons themselves usually take care of that -- but also informative about an under-discussed and much loved art form. He will discuss the unique way in which cartoons combine drawing and writing, about how cartoonists employ both skills, about being funny, about the whole 'coming up with ideas' issue, and, of course, about the New Yorker. He will hold a Q&A session after his formal comments. Initially inspired by European "gag" cartoonists, he also cites Saul Steinberg and other New Yorker cartoonists as his main influences. His drawing style is loose, personal, and most importantly, always built around the foundation of a funny but resonant joke. He graduated from Williams College in 1968. The lecture is sponsored by the departments of art, anthropology/sociology, Russian, the Williams College Museum of Art, and the Lecture Committee.
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Local Cheer Teams Celebrate Successful Season

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff

The cheerleaders spoke of how their participation helped build their confidence and their focus on academics.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The gymnasium of the Boys and Girls Club was full of laughter, music, dancing, and cheer as multiple generations celebrated the hard work of 413 Cheer and Taconic High School cheerleaders with a fundraiser and showcase.
 
The fifth season for 413 Cheer was filled with achievements as the organization's teams — Codes Red, Blue, Green, Pink, Purple and Orange Fusion — had brought home awards from competitions across Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. Find each team's placements at the end of the article. 
 
This year, Code Red received a wild card bid to the D2 Summit in Orlando, Fla., and Code Blue earned a bid to the Youth Summit in Tampa, Fla., but because of the cost and lack of funds, 413 Cheer will be doing its finals at Myrtle Beach, S.C., this season. 
 
(Donations to cover fees, travel and equipment can be made by emailing 413Cheer@gmail.com.)
 
The showcase last Sunday was the largest since the organization's inception five years ago, featuring spirited performances from each of the teams, a dad dance off, and mom bow challenge, raffles, concessions, and more. 
 
It also featured a performance by Taconic High School's varsity cheerleaders, coached by 413 Cheer's owner and founder Shavelle Boire. 
 
Boire said the school hasn't had a cheer team in several years, but these new cheerleaders persevered, grew, and stole her heart. 
 
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