In his talk Careful \u2013 This Pen is Loaded, Zapiro took the audience on a journey through his career.<\/p>\n
ALSO READ: Guests enjoy a Columbian food sensation<\/a><\/h4>\n\u201cI have always tried to speak to as broad a spectrum as possible with regard to age, gender and every kind of background,\u201d he began.<\/p>
<\/div>\n\u201cMy own background? Well, my pen was loaded from a young age.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe we were all cartoonists when we started out.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you think about it we all started out drawing pictures that were rude and without boundary, which expressed exactly what we were thinking.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen somewhere along the line we get schooled into being a little less rude, and some of us just continue.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is what a cartoonist is, someone who speaks from the heart and sometimes points out things that are sometimes uncomfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2019\/11\/48GCNENTERTAINMEN_57624-520x390.jpg\")
Zaprio (Jonathan Shapiro) takes audiences at St Dunstan\u2019s College on a journey through his life as a cartoonist.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAfter this explanation, Zapiro shared some early caricatures of his school teacher, which pulled a laugh from the gathered crowd.<\/p>\n
Going to school in the midst of apartheid, Zapiro, who dreamed of being a cartoonist, didn\u2019t think he would get the chance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew I wanted to be a cartoonist, but studied architecture,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went through architecture school learning a lot about drawing, which I loved, but also feeling I really wasn\u2019t an architect.<\/p>\n
\u201cI satirised the head of the school, which brought me more attention than anything I ever did architecturally.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring my fourth year of studying, my practical year, I went travelling \u2013 as they ask you to do if you can.<\/p>\n
\u201cI decided to meet some cartoonists and met Albert Uderzo, who does Asterix.<\/p>\n
\u201cI rang his door bell, unannounced at 11pm as I had got lost in Paris, and he was so kind to me and invited me in.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd through his daughter, who was studying English, we spoke because he didn\u2019t speak a word of English.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really is amazing when I think back on it and it was one of the reasons I was going to give up architecture come hell or high water.\u201d<\/p>\n
ALSO READ: Garden of Lights set to light up the night sky<\/a><\/h4>\nZapiro then took the audience through the highs and lows of his career, as he portrayed the good, the bad and the ugly of life in South Africa.<\/p>\n
During his career, he has worked for publications like Sunday Times and Mail and Guardian and he now works at Daily Maverick.<\/p>\n
But Zapiro said he does not only draw what he sees happening in South Africa, but abroad as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI draw what I see,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The icon also shared his admiration for the likes of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and late statesman Nelson Mandela, both of whom he has created cartoons and sculptures of.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t
\u201cMy own background? Well, my pen was loaded from a young age.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe we were all cartoonists when we started out.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you think about it we all started out drawing pictures that were rude and without boundary, which expressed exactly what we were thinking.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen somewhere along the line we get schooled into being a little less rude, and some of us just continue.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is what a cartoonist is, someone who speaks from the heart and sometimes points out things that are sometimes uncomfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n After this explanation, Zapiro shared some early caricatures of his school teacher, which pulled a laugh from the gathered crowd.<\/p>\n Going to school in the midst of apartheid, Zapiro, who dreamed of being a cartoonist, didn\u2019t think he would get the chance.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew I wanted to be a cartoonist, but studied architecture,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cI went through architecture school learning a lot about drawing, which I loved, but also feeling I really wasn\u2019t an architect.<\/p>\n \u201cI satirised the head of the school, which brought me more attention than anything I ever did architecturally.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring my fourth year of studying, my practical year, I went travelling \u2013 as they ask you to do if you can.<\/p>\n \u201cI decided to meet some cartoonists and met Albert Uderzo, who does Asterix.<\/p>\n \u201cI rang his door bell, unannounced at 11pm as I had got lost in Paris, and he was so kind to me and invited me in.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd through his daughter, who was studying English, we spoke because he didn\u2019t speak a word of English.<\/p>\n \u201cIt really is amazing when I think back on it and it was one of the reasons I was going to give up architecture come hell or high water.\u201d<\/p>\n Zapiro then took the audience through the highs and lows of his career, as he portrayed the good, the bad and the ugly of life in South Africa.<\/p>\n During his career, he has worked for publications like Sunday Times and Mail and Guardian and he now works at Daily Maverick.<\/p>\n But Zapiro said he does not only draw what he sees happening in South Africa, but abroad as well.<\/p>\n \u201cI draw what I see,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The icon also shared his admiration for the likes of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and late statesman Nelson Mandela, both of whom he has created cartoons and sculptures of.<\/p>\nALSO READ: Garden of Lights set to light up the night sky<\/a><\/h4>\n