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{{Short description|South African artist}}
{{redirect|Jonathan Shapiro|the American writer and lawyer|Jonathan Shapiro (writer)}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{BLP sources|date=September 2008}}

{{Infobox person
| name        = Jonathan Shapiro
| image       = Jonathan Shapiro 01.JPG
| image_size  = 
| alt         = 
| caption     = 
| birth_name  = <!-- only use if different from name -->
| birth_date  = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1958|10|27}}
| birth_place = [[Cape Town]], South Africa
| death_date  = <!-- {{Death date and age|df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} or {{Death-date and age|death date†|birth date†}} -->
| death_place = 
| nationality = South African
| other_names = Zapiro
| occupation  = Cartoonist
| years_active = 1987–present
| known_for   = 
| website = {{URL|http://zapiro.com}}
}}

'''Jonathan Shapiro''' (born 27 October 1958) is a South African [[cartoonist]], known as '''Zapiro''', whose work appears in numerous South African publications and has been exhibited internationally on many occasions. He is the nephew of British magician [[David Berglas]] and cousin to [[Marvin Berglas]], director of [[Marvin's Magic]].

==Early life==
Jonathan was born into a Jewish family in [[Cape Town]], South Africa to Gershon and Gaby Shapiro. He studied architecture at the [[University of Cape Town]] but found it unsatisfying and moved to the art campus, [[Michaelis School of Fine Art|Michaelis]]. Shortly after this he was conscripted into the army for two years, where he refused to carry arms. In 1983 he became active in the newly formed anti-Apartheid movement, the [[United Democratic Front (South Africa)|United Democratic Front]] and as a result was arrested under the Illegal Gatherings Act and, subsequently, monitored by military intelligence. Zapiro was an important participant in South Africa's [[End Conscription Campaign]], designing its logo. After his military service he applied for and was awarded a [[Fulbright scholarship]] to study cartooning at the [[School of Visual Arts]] in New York for two years.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gambade |first=Emilie |date=2019-11-13 |title=MAVERICK LIFE: Zapiro – Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres |url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-11-14-zapiro-chevalier-des-arts-et-des-lettres-2/ |access-date=2022-07-29 |website=Daily Maverick |language=en}}</ref>

The name Zapiro was derived from the nickname of a fellow pupil at [[Rondebosch Boys' High School]], Martin Szapiro, whose friends called him Zap. After Martin's death in a mountaineering accident, Zapiro chose this name. The first Zapiro character was a character named Preppy, whose main characteristic was his fringe, and who commented on issues that went on around school.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}}

==Career==
[[File:Jonathan Shapiro 02.JPG|thumb|260px|''Zapiro'' drafts a cartoon of [[Nelson Mandela]] at the [[Göteborg Book Fair]] 2010.]]Shapiro started out as the [[editorial cartoonist]] of ''South'' in 1987. In 1988 Jonathan was detained shortly before leaving on a Fulbright Scholarship to study media arts at the [[School of Visual Arts]] in New York. There he studied under the comics masters [[Art Spiegelman]], [[Will Eisner]] and [[Harvey Kurtzman]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jonathan Shapiro {{!}} South African History Online|url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/jonathan-shapiro|access-date=2020-08-04|website=www.sahistory.org.za}}</ref>

Zapiro had started out as the editorial cartoonist for ''South'' newspaper in 1987, and after his stint in New York, he was the editorial cartoonist for the ''[[The Sowetan|Sowetan]]'' from 1994 to 2005. His cartoons appeared in the ''[[Cape Argus]]'' from 1996 to 1997. He has been the editorial cartoonist for the ''[[Mail & Guardian]]'' since 1994, the ''[[Sunday Times (South Africa)|Sunday Times]]'' since 1998 and since September 2005 he has appeared three times a week in the ''[[Cape Times]]'', the ''[[The Star (South Africa)|Star]]'', the ''[[The Mercury (South Africa)|Mercury]]'' and the ''[[Pretoria News]]''.<ref>[https://zapiro.org Zapiro's own website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710022141/http://zapiro.org/ |date=10 July 2015 }}</ref>

In 2010, Zapiro’s cartoons were featured in South African journalist Alexander Parker’s book, ''[https://www.amazon.com/People-Who-Stuffed-South-Africa/dp/0987043722 50 People Who Stuffed Up South Africa]'', about people who had contributed most to the ruination of the country’s government, culture, politics and daily life. His illustrations continued to be featured in three more books published in the series, including a revised/updated version of the first volume.

Since 2017, Zapiro has been the editorial cartoonist for the publication, ''[[Daily Maverick]]''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.14321/j.ctv47wg47|title=Taking African Cartoons Seriously: Politics, Satire, and Culture|date=2018|publisher=Michigan State University Press|isbn=978-1-61186-296-6|doi=10.14321/j.ctv47wg47.13|jstor=10.14321/j.ctv47wg47}}</ref>

Zapiro's caricatures also appear in the form of puppets on the satirical television and web show ''[[ZANEWS]]'', a [[Spitting Image]] type of programme he helped launch in 2009 alongside producer [[Thierry Cassuto]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2018|title=The Team|url=https://www.zanews.co.za/the-zanews-team#.YAgYs-gzZPY|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=20 January 2021|website=ZANEWS}}</ref>

== Bibliography ==
Zapiro has published 29 annual cartoon collections:

* ''The Madiba Years'' (1996)
* ''The Hole Truth'' (1997)
* ''End of Part One'' (1998)
* ''Call Mr Delivery'' (1999)
* ''The Devil Made Me Do It!'' (2000)
* ''The ANC Went in 4x4'' (2001)
* ''Bushwhacked'' (2002)
* ''Dr Do-Little and the African Potato'' (2003)
* ''Long Walk to Free Time'' (2004)
* ''Is There a Spin Doctor in the House?'' (2005)
* ''Da Zuma Code'' (2006)
* ''Take Two Veg and Call Me in the Morning'' (2007)
* ''Pirates of Polokwane'' (2008)
* ''The Mandela Files'' (2008) – Large Format Hardcover
* ''Don't Mess with the President's Head'' (2009)
* ''Do You Know Who I Am?!'' (2010)<ref>[https://zapiro.org/books/ Zapiro's own website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208070116/https://zapiro.org/books/ |date=8 December 2015 }}</ref>
* ''The Last Sushi'' (2011)
* ''But Will It Stand Up in Court?'' (2012)
* ''The Big Fat Gupta Wedding'' (2013)
* ''Vuvuzela Nation – Zapiro on SA Sport 1995'' – 2013 (2013)
* ''Democrazy'' (2014)<ref>{{cite web
 |url=https://zapiro.org/Zapiro-Democrazy-Fathers-day-offer/ 
 |title=Zapiro Democrazy Father's Day Offer 
 |accessdate=8 July 2014 
 |date= 
 |publisher=Zapiro.com 
}}{{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* ''It's Code Red!'' (2014)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://jacana.bookslive.co.za/blog/2014/10/30/the-best-of-zapiros-2014-cartoons-collected-in-its-code-red/|title=The Best of Zapiro's 2014 Cartoons Collected in It's Code Red!|website=Jacana @ Sunday Times Books LIVE|language=en-US|access-date=2017-04-14}}</ref>
* ''Rhodes Rage'' (2015)
* ''Dead President Walking'' (2016)
* ''Hasta la Gupta, baby!'' (2017)
* ''WTF - Capturing Zuma - A Cartoonist's Tale'' (2018)
* ''Let the Sunshine In'' (2018)
* ''Which Side is Up: Cartoons from Daily Maverick (2019)
* ''Zapiro Annual 2020: Do the Macorona'' (2020)

===Awards and exhibitions===
Shapiro became the first cartoonist to win a category prize in the [[CNN]] [[African Journalist of the Year Award]]s in 2001, and was awarded the [[Mondi]] Newspaper [[Award for Graphic Journalism]] in both 2003 and 2004. That same year he was made an Honorary Doctor of Literature by the [[University of Transkei]]. In 2005 Shapiro won the Principal [[Prince Claus Awards|Prince Claus Award]].

He has held solo cartoon exhibitions in New York, London and Frankfurt and many in South Africa, and has also exhibited in numerous group shows locally and internationally. His exhibition "Jiving with Madiba" was held at the [[South African Jewish Museum]] in Cape Town from 14 July to 27 November 2011. He has been an invited participant in cartoon events in Cameroon, Botswana, Australia, France, the UK, the Netherlands and Italy. In 2003 he was Africa's only representative amongst cartoonists invited to the [[World Economic Forum]] in Davos, Switzerland, and he attended the forum again in 2004–2006.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.whoswhosa.co.za/user/3521|title=Jonathan Shapiro {{!}} Who's Who SA|website=www.whoswhosa.co.za|language=en|access-date=2018-01-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322091729/http://www.whoswhosa.co.za/user/3521|archive-date=22 March 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In 2007, he received the Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award at the annual [[Cartoonists Rights Network International]] dinner, capping the 50th Anniversary Convention of the [[Association of American Editorial Cartoonists]]. At the South African Cartoonists Awards in 2008 he won the Best Humorist Cartoon award.<ref>[http://zapiro.webvanta.com/about/About_Zapiro Zapiro's own website] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130210022849/http://zapiro.webvanta.com/about/About_Zapiro |date=10 February 2013 }}</ref> In 2009, the Media Institute of Southern Africa awarded Zapiro its MISA Press Freedom Award for his two decades of humour and satire in South Africa.<ref name=misa>{{Cite web|url=http://www.misa.org/index.php?Itemid=758|title=MISA Press Freedom Award: Previous winners|publisher=Media Institute of Southern Africa|date=|accessdate=8 October 2012}}</ref>

He was awarded the Freedom to Publish Prize by the [[International Publishers Association]] in 2012.<ref>[[International Publishers Association]] (IPA)'s official web page: [http://www.internationalpublishers.org/2012-recipient-zapiro  IPA Freedom to Publish Prize 2012 recipient] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424232213/http://internationalpublishers.org/2012-recipient-zapiro |date=24 April 2013 }}</ref> In 2019, He was awarded the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres one of France's highest cultural honours.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-11-16 |title=South African cartoonist Zapiro receives top French cultural award |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20191116-south-african-cartoonist-zapiro-receives-top-french-cultural-award |access-date=2022-07-29 |website=France 24 |language=en}}</ref> He was also ranked by Jeune Afrique magazine as one of the 50 most influential personalities on the African continent.

==Criticism==
{{see also| Rape of Lady Justice cartoon controversy}}
In 2003, members of the [[Faith and Politics Institute]], an American organisation, lodged complaints against three of the cartoons at an exhibition for visiting American congressional representatives as well as members of the institute. The cartoons in question depicted former American president [[Bill Clinton]] and US policies of "trade and not aid", and President [[George W. Bush]] with a raised middle finger in a comment on American unilateralism and Bush's stance on the [[World Summit on Sustainable Development]].<ref>{{cite news
|first=Aneshree
|last=Naidoo
|title=Zapiro censored
|url=http://www.mg.co.za/article/2003-06-03-zapiro-censored
|publisher=Mail&Guardian online
|date=3 June 2003
|accessdate=20 September 2008}}</ref>

In 2006, former Deputy President of South Africa [[Jacob Zuma]] furthered his claim of being "tried by the media" and threatened to bring defamation action against various elements of the press for remarks that he alleged were defamatory. Approximately R15 million of the R63 million rand demanded by his legal representatives were in connection with Zapiro cartoons.

In 2008, Zapiro met with further animosity, this time from the South African ruling party, the [[African National Congress]] (ANC) over a cartoon that appeared in the ''Sunday Times'' on 7 September 2008. The cartoon depicted a scene where the ANC president's ([[Jacob Zuma]]) staunchest supporters (ANC Youth League president [[Julius Malema]], secretary general of the ANC – [[Gwede Mantashe]], SACP secretary general [[Blade Nzimande]] and Cosatu secretary general [[Zwelinzima Vavi]]) were holding down [[Lady Justice]], with Zuma in a state of undress getting ready to [[Rape of Lady Justice cartoon controversy|rape Lady Justice]].<ref>{{cite news
 |first=Jonathan 
 |last=Shapiro 
 |title=cartoon 
 |url=http://www.mg.co.za/cartoons/08sep08xzapiro.gif 
 |publisher=Sunday Times 
 |date=8 September 2008 
 |accessdate=20 September 2008 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100105221857/http://www.mg.co.za/cartoons/08sep08xzapiro.gif 
 |archivedate= 5 January 2010 
}}</ref> Mantashe, who was shown in the cartoon with a speech bubble containing "Go for it, boss", labelled the cartoon "racist", while ANC spokesperson Jesse Duarte said the cartoon was "vile, crude and disgusting". Zapiro refused to apologise for the cartoon. The African National Congress, the [[South African Communist Party]] and the [[ANC Youth League]] released a joint statement as a formal response to ''The Sunday Times'',<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?doc=ancdocs/pr/2008/pr0908.html 
 |title=ANC, SACP and Youth league statement on the Sunday Times 
 |accessdate=20 September 2008 
 |date=8 September 2008 
 |publisher=ANC 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090520013152/http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?doc=ancdocs%2Fpr%2F2008%2Fpr0908.html 
 |archivedate=20 May 2009 
 |df=dmy 
}}</ref> while the [[Congress of South African Trade Unions]] (COSATU) issued a separate press statement demanding an apology.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cosatu.org.za/show.php?ID=1692|title=COSATU condemns Zapiro's Cartoon|website=www.cosatu.org.za|access-date=2017-04-14}}</ref>

On 21 May 2010 the ''[[Mail and Guardian]]'' published a strip from Zapiro depicting [[Muhammed]], as part of [[Everybody Draw Mohammed Day]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mg.co.za/zapiro/fullcartoon/2525|title=Zapiro - Mail & Guardian|website=www.mg.co.za|language=en|access-date=2018-01-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-05-21-uproar-over-mg-prophet-muhammad-cartoon|title=Uproar over M&G Prophet Muhammad cartoon|last=Pillay|first=Verashni|work=The M&G Online|access-date=2018-01-03|language=en}}</ref> On 20 May 2010, the ''M&G'' had won against an eleventh-hour court bid by the [[Jamiatul Ulama Transvaal|Council of Muslim Theologians]] to bar the publication of the cartoon.<ref>[http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/MG-defends-Mohammad-cartoon-20100521 M&G defends Mohammad cartoon]</ref> A week later, Zapiro released another cartoon in response to the various reactions to the original cartoon. In it he said that he would have to accept that exceptions would be necessary in regard to 'religious censorship'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mg.co.za/zapiro/fullcartoon/2546|title=Zapiro - Mail & Guardian|website=www.mg.co.za|language=en|access-date=2018-01-03}}</ref> This was seen by some{{who|date=November 2017}} as a statement that he felt that his freedom of speech would have to have been limited because of those that were insulted by his cartoon which had graphically depicted Mohamed.

In 2016 a cartoon he published depicting [[National Prosecuting Authority]] head [[Shaun Abrahams]] as a monkey was criticised for being racist. Shapiro apologised for the cartoon stating that "I've offended politicians for all sorts of things. I've been attacked because of the cartoons of Jacob Zuma. I can defend, I'd say‚ 99% of them. Occasionally‚ I make mistakes{{nbsp}}... This‚ I see now as a mistake."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2016/05/26/Zapiro-now-sees-that-depicting-Abrahams-as-a-monkey-was-a-%E2%80%98mistake%E2%80%99|title=Zapiro now sees that depicting Abrahams as a monkey was a 'mistake'|last=Jordaan|first=Nomahlubi|date=26 May 2016|website=|publisher=TMG Digital|access-date=8 June 2016}}</ref>

==References==

{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://zapiro.com/ Zapiro's official website]
*[http://www.mg.co.za/zapiro/ M&G Zapiro Archive]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050208132511/http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/zapiro/ Zapiro on the Sunday Times website].
*[https://www.lambiek.net/artists/z/zapiro.htm Lambiek Comiclopedia biography.]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050828141910/http://zapiro.rivera.za.net/ Unofficial Zapiro meta-archive]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100414133208/http://africartoons.com/cartoonist/zapiro Zapiro profile and cartoons at Africartoons.com]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051123143937/http://www.cartoonist.co.za/zapiro.htm Zapiro profile at Cartoonist.co.za]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051103151623/http://www.megweb.uct.ac.za/www/307F/Zapiro/index.htm Zapiro Unofficially]
*[http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=139&art_id=vn20051208061521715C998776 IOL report]
*[http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=6&art_id=nw20080908112018657C833260 Zapiro cartoon leaves ANC fuming]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20081217031229/http://multimedia.thetimes.co.za/photos/2008/11/zapiro-the-mandela-files/ Zapiro – The Mandela files]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160829061424/https://vimeo.com/12078752 Interview with Zapiro]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Artists from Cape Town]]
[[Category:South African Jews]]
[[Category:20th-century South African artists]]
[[Category:South African male journalists]]
[[Category:South African editorial cartoonists]]
[[Category:Jewish South African anti-apartheid activists]]
[[Category:South African anti-apartheid activists]]
[[Category:South African caricaturists]]
[[Category:Jewish caricaturists]]
[[Category:Michaelis School of Fine Art alumni]]
[[Category:Alumni of Rondebosch Boys' High School]]
[[Category:21st-century South African artists]]