Judge, 1922-08-12 · page 2 of 36
Judge — August 12, 1922 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of "Your Board of Directors" This cartoon satirizes abstract concepts as if they were corporate board members in a business meeting. The artist, Cormac Lowell, explains that instead of depicting an actual corporation's board, he personified human qualities: Love, Time, Money, Polly, War, the Devil, Fate, and Death. The satire works through this clever substitution—treating philosophical and moral forces as if they were mundane business directors in conference. The joke is that these cosmic/moral forces actually control human affairs more than any corporate board does. By rendering them as seated figures around a table, the cartoon suggests that abstract forces, not industrial captains, truly govern society and individual destiny. The piece appeared in Judge's June 24, 1922 issue.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS r I Vik PICTURE reproduced above, which appeared in the June 24th issue of JupGe, has attracted nation-wide interest and thought. Among the great number of letters expressing admira- tion for the big idea behind the picture, and the able way in which Mr. Lowell portrays it, were many asking for fuller explanation of its meaning and further interpretation of characters. The original idea was conceived by Norman Anthony of JupGe’s staff, carried out by Mr. Lowell, whose interpretation is presented below. Tur Eprrors or Jupcr THE INTERPRETATION New York, July 28, 1922. I shall be glad to say anything I can to clear up whatever mystery there is about my cartoon in the issue of June 24th For that Business Number we planned the Board of Directors meeting, or conference, drawing suse that seems such an important phase of present-day business—these interminable con- ferences in which the man one calls to see is always engaged. But instead of a corporation Board of Directors, we chose that of the Human Race. And, an- swering the roll-call are Love, and Time, and Folly, and War, and the Devil, and Fate and Death. Love has just presented a proposition of some sort, which Folly approves of (they're frequently allies), but which irritates the Devil. Time has risen to speak on the subject. Fate is the tall, dark, serious young woman with the book. T hope you think I did right in putting Folly next to War. Death I didn’t want to, couldn't bring myself to, give a place at the table, but he had to be present, so T put him in the door, not joining in, but waiting, waiting, always, to step for- ward and take part at a moment's notice. Comp (L comicbooks.com