South African cartoonist and satirist, Zapiro (Jonathan Shapiro) was recently awarded with the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters). French Ambassador Aurélien Lechevallier bestowed the award on the cartoonist on behalf of French President Emmanuel Macron on 13 November in Cape Town.

#RWC2019 Will the Springboks bring the #WebbEllisCup home for a third time? Go Bokke! @Springboks Zapiro's archival cartoon published in Sowetan ( 26 June 1995) – https://t.co/R6OIjFect2 pic.twitter.com/aaAuAEko5K — Zapiro (@zapiro) November 1, 2019

Zapiro: An esteemed award

It is said that the French government’s ‘Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters’ is conferred on “persons who have distinguished themselves by their creativity in the field of art, culture and literature or for their contribution to the influence of arts in France and throughout the world.”

“Cartoonists are like an archer, an arrow that can never miss the very centre, the dark spot of the target, a long distance away,” said Ambassador Lechevallier during the ceremony.

According to the Daily Maverick, the ceremony and award was ‘a celebration of cultural and artistic excellence, as well as a nod to the complex, demanding and at times dangerous work done by satirical cartoonists, and the ‘fire’ of laughter – or anger – they spark with their ink’.

“Every day, they walk on the tightrope. But when they walk, like Zapiro, on the ground, they really play with a good type of fire. The kind of fire that ignites laughter when you would think you are no longer able to laugh. The kind of fire that heals the pain, that lifts the suffering. It is the light of a sun that unveils the clear and obvious face of the beauty and the ugliness of the human soul. A fire that spreads to the mind and sparks a series of thoughts and new ideas. A fire that we can share with friends, with colleagues, with strangers in the street. A fire that is at the heart of Art, at the essence of what we call literature or Letters in French.”

While in conversation with the SABC, Zapiro (who has won numerous awards) said that when powerful people like politicians abuse their power, he wants to use his voice to call them out. And that’s why he will continue to fight for freedom of expression, equality and dignity.

“Today, we honour the activist, the freedom fighter, and also the messenger, the passer on, the one who shows the way and carries the values of the struggle to pass them through generations, without rest, and without borders,” Lechevallier continued.

In the past, the ‘Knight’ award was awarded to Susan Sontag, Patti Smith, Steven Spielberg and more.

The significance of political cartoons

According to the New Yorker, throughout history, political cartoons have played a significant role in the shaping of a nation. With just a few strokes of a pen, the cartoonist sums up a complex situation in a single powerful image that explains everything. These cartoons typically combine artistic skill, hyperbole and satire in order to question authority and draw attention to corruption, political violence and other social issues.