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When Syracuse University sophomore and caricature collector Lupe Rosas, found out a caricaturist was coming to campus, she immediately texted junior Gabriela Peniston “we HAVE to go.” After receiving their cartoon, the two laughed as they examined it.

“It literally looks exactly like us,” Rosas said. “It’s actually insane. They’re very talented artists.”

SU hosted the two caricaturists from Blue Apple Productions in the Schine Student Center on Wednesday. The event was part of SU’s “Let’s Be Engaged” program, which supplements “Orange After Dark” by creating compelling daytime events.

A continuous line formed for the duration of the event as attendees waited their turn to be cartoonified. The artists skillfully drew the subjects in less than five minutes. For two hours, over 40 students received free caricatures of themselves or with their friends. When the event ended at 3 p.m., the people still in line were turned away as the artists packed up.

Collin Snyder | Staff Photographer

Students get their first look at the caricature. They reacted with laughter and excitement.

Caricature artist Michael Carter said he was excited to see so many students eager to receive one of his drawings. He wore a feathered fedora and a wide grin as he drew the students.

“I really have a job like no one else,” Carter said. “Having a line of students waiting really feeds my ego.”

Carter acknowledged that his career is somewhat unconventional; he began doing caricatures as a high school student when a teacher noticed his in-class doodles and asked him to participate in a school event. He said he wants SU students to see him as an example of a successful artist.

“I hope to encourage students to start their own business and to be entrepreneurial,” Carter said. “I want to show them a career like this can be successful.”

Lily Wegerski, Student Engagement’s events and activities coordinator, helped plan the event and said she hoped it would provide students with a positive souvenir and a fun midday break from their schedule.

“College is all about work-life balance,” Wegerski said. “The caricaturist is a great way to provide entertainment to students and create memories, because you’ll leave with a little piece of art of you.”

At Schine, many students stopped doing their work to get in line. They said the event was a welcome break, especially during an otherwise stressful time of the year as the semester begins to wrap up. Peniston said she was grateful to do something outside of her normal daily routine when she’s been so overloaded by classes.

Many students were impressed with the accuracy of their drawings. Senior Olivia Sauda said she had the event in her calendar since the beginning of the semester. She was very happy with her caricature and enjoyed the process, impressed by the ease and speed with which the artists completed their work.

“The attention to detail is crazy,” Sauda said. “The necklaces, the eyebrow slit, he got everything right.”

Collin Snyder | Staff Photographer

Students pose for a selfie with their new drawing. They were eager to show the exaggerated portraits to others.

Others were shocked by the final product and said it leaned into the exaggerated nature of caricatures. Freshman Alexia Landry has pin-straight hair and a self-described “larger than normal forehead” but was caught by surprise when she saw the artist’s depiction of her.

“I think I was done a little dirty but it’s OK,” Landry said. “The caricature made my forehead much larger than it is in real life. My head takes up half the page.”

Carter said he appreciates when subjects have a sense of humor and understand that being made fun of is part of caricature art.

The artists talked with students as they sketched, getting to know the subjects and drawing more accurate pictures. Students laughed with the caricaturists for the entire duration of their turn.

Carter said the conversations get students to smile and act naturally, making the drawings easier and more true to the subjects.

“You get to talk to these people and learn a little bit more about them,” Peniston said. “And now I get a whole different perspective of myself because I know how they see me.”

Published on November 13, 2024 at 10:46 pm

ehrosen@syr.edu