| Yes! I just got dissed in the house of commons! Canwest -- Kathryn Greenaway August 21, 2006 |
MONTREAL - Terry Mosher, a.k.a. Aislin, describes his approach to cartooning as merely mischievous.
American cartoonist Patrick Oliphant once put it another way. "Anyone as mean as [Mosher]," he wrote for the
introduction to one of Mosher's books, "is likely to be invited to go four rounds by the Pope himself."
Television viewers nationwide will have an opportunity today to judge for themselves.
The Montreal Gazette's master satirist is the subject of a documentary called Dangerous When Provoked: The Life &
Times of Terry Mosher, which airs on the CBC television series Life & Times tonight.
Director John Curtin filmed Mosher over the course of a year. They visit his birthplace in Ottawa, and they visit his
primary training ground of Quebec City -- where he put himself through art school in the '60s by selling drawings in
the back alleys of the old city before it was legal. It was during this time -- he graduated in 1967 -- that Mosher
adopted his first-born daughter's name as a nom de plume.
Dangerous When Provoked opens with an anecdote about a cartoon Mosher drew of Brian Mulroney, a favourite
target of Mosher's for many years.
The cartoon depicts Mulroney face down in the snow in front of his Westmount home, in the dead of winter, after
being tripped by Pierre Trudeau.
The infamous image led to one of Mosher's happiest moments: being denounced in the House of Commons.
Curtin found Mosher to be marvelously articulate. The artist speaks almost playfully about his fearless approach to
provocative cartooning.
Mosher's award-winning cartoons have been on public display for decades, but little is known about what has
driven him to visually toy with political, public and human foibles for more than 30 years.
Although the camera does not reveal all, it does suggest the complexity of the artist is reflected in his detail-driven
art. Not all is obvious at first glance, but much can be learned if you take the time to poke around in the minutiae.
Under the glare of the documentary lens, Mosher's eyes glisten when he speaks of the importance of his charity
work. The eyes glint when he takes stock of his body of work.
The mischief is still there.
CanWest News Service
The most moving moments come when he speaks frankly about his deadly dance with alcohol and cocaine and how
he managed to turn his life around and, in turn, help others struggling with self-destructive behaviours.
"I find myself walking down the street feeling buoyant," Mosher, 63, said in the interview. "Having gone through all
that and survived -- if I can help someone else, I will."
Mosher's work has been published in newspapers and magazines, including Maclean's and Time, plus dozens of
books. His latest book, What Next? (McArthur and Company), will be in bookstores in October, as will Mordecai's
Montreal (Madison), edited by David Macfarlane and illustrated by Mosher.
CBC's Rex Murphy once said, "Aislin is vivid, steely and fierce. His cartoons are a diary of every folly and
controversy that has meshed with the sad Canadian consciousness over the past three decades."
Under the glare of the documentary lens, Mosher's eyes glisten when he speaks of the importance of his charity
work and the beauty of his drug-and-booze- free world. The eyes glint when he takes stock of his body of work.
The mischief is still there.
American cartoonist Patrick Oliphant once put it another way. "Anyone as mean as [Mosher]," he wrote for the
introduction to one of Mosher's books, "is likely to be invited to go four rounds by the Pope himself."
Television viewers nationwide will have an opportunity today to judge for themselves.
The Montreal Gazette's master satirist is the subject of a documentary called Dangerous When Provoked: The Life &
Times of Terry Mosher, which airs on the CBC television series Life & Times tonight.
Director John Curtin filmed Mosher over the course of a year. They visit his birthplace in Ottawa, and they visit his
primary training ground of Quebec City -- where he put himself through art school in the '60s by selling drawings in
the back alleys of the old city before it was legal. It was during this time -- he graduated in 1967 -- that Mosher
adopted his first-born daughter's name as a nom de plume.
Dangerous When Provoked opens with an anecdote about a cartoon Mosher drew of Brian Mulroney, a favourite
target of Mosher's for many years.
The cartoon depicts Mulroney face down in the snow in front of his Westmount home, in the dead of winter, after
being tripped by Pierre Trudeau.
The infamous image led to one of Mosher's happiest moments: being denounced in the House of Commons.
Curtin found Mosher to be marvelously articulate. The artist speaks almost playfully about his fearless approach to
provocative cartooning.
Mosher's award-winning cartoons have been on public display for decades, but little is known about what has
driven him to visually toy with political, public and human foibles for more than 30 years.
Although the camera does not reveal all, it does suggest the complexity of the artist is reflected in his detail-driven
art. Not all is obvious at first glance, but much can be learned if you take the time to poke around in the minutiae.
Under the glare of the documentary lens, Mosher's eyes glisten when he speaks of the importance of his charity
work. The eyes glint when he takes stock of his body of work.
The mischief is still there.
CanWest News Service
The most moving moments come when he speaks frankly about his deadly dance with alcohol and cocaine and how
he managed to turn his life around and, in turn, help others struggling with self-destructive behaviours.
"I find myself walking down the street feeling buoyant," Mosher, 63, said in the interview. "Having gone through all
that and survived -- if I can help someone else, I will."
Mosher's work has been published in newspapers and magazines, including Maclean's and Time, plus dozens of
books. His latest book, What Next? (McArthur and Company), will be in bookstores in October, as will Mordecai's
Montreal (Madison), edited by David Macfarlane and illustrated by Mosher.
CBC's Rex Murphy once said, "Aislin is vivid, steely and fierce. His cartoons are a diary of every folly and
controversy that has meshed with the sad Canadian consciousness over the past three decades."
Under the glare of the documentary lens, Mosher's eyes glisten when he speaks of the importance of his charity
work and the beauty of his drug-and-booze- free world. The eyes glint when he takes stock of his body of work.
The mischief is still there.
