Jorge Raul is as unique as his caricatures. An avid traveller, the professional caricaturist has visited 99 countries and made Dubai his 100th stop to participate in Dubai Shopping Festival 2009. Jorge’s hands have created over 60,000 caricatures since he began sketching in 1975 and the artist is one among the talented participants in this year’s DSF.
Born in Argentina and now settled in Spain, Jorge says interaction with people is the key in street art. “If you are sketching on the street and want people to come and sit for you, wit and humour are essential. I try to talk to passersby as much as I can and show them my works. A caricature, unlike normal drawings, depicts people in a humorous manner and I’m satisfied of good sketch when I see a smile on people’s faces.”
After years of creative work, Jorge can now finish a black and white caricature in just about ten minutes and a colour-caricature in about twenty. The artist is currently in Al Seef Street where visitors can get their sketches done in minutes. Jorge will head down to The Walk at JBR where he can be found from Jan 22 to Feb 13.
A caricature is either a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness, or in literature, a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be insulting or complimentary and can serve a political purpose or be drawn solely for entertainment. Caricatures of politicians are commonly used in editorial cartoons, while caricatures of movie stars are often found in entertainment magazines.
The term is derived from the Italian caricare- to charge or load. An early definition occurs in the English doctor Sir Thomas Browne’s Christian Morals (first pub.1716).