Sketchbook in hand, seated indoors, and with the action happening in front of you in a slow and orderly fashion, the courtroom must be an almost perfect place for a reportage illustrator to work. However, trials can run on for days and weeks, the tension and drama is embedded in what is said and there’s not much movement, so it’s also very hard to capture the event visually.
The work of American reportage illustrator Franklin McMahon (1921-2012) is an excellent example of how drawing can be used to document courtroom drama. How does his approach to drawing tie in with the notion of journalism and truth? What do you think he’s managed to capture in these drawings and how has he done it? Write a short statement summarising your reflections.
I was not familiar with this historic event from the US before this exercise, but I am now more informed of the immense impact it had on the Civil Rights movement that followed during the 1950s and 1960s. I also had not heard of Franklin McMahon previously so I spent some time looking through examples of his work, including the drawings related to this court case.
The first thing that struck me about McMahon’s drawings was that he did not use a pristine sketchpad, but opted instead to use various ‘scraps’ of paper such as lined notebook paper, which have been torn from a pad. I think this makes the drawings appear more authentic and as though they have been created with haste to capture the moment – there was no pre-planning involved. Some of the pages have a single sketch of an individual surrounded by blank paper while other pages are full of overlapping sketches, studies and notes.
For most of the drawings McMahon simply used a pencil, which in the context of a courtroom with limited space/facilities and to keep it clean, is a very practical choice. However, in terms of the nature of the drawings, the use of pencil gives the drawings a more sketch-like appearance – they are not ‘perfect’, but quick observations, which the pencil enhances. I believe McMahon then used these sketches as references for more refined finished pieces which often were created using ink and wash.
McMahon scribbled notes and thoughts, as well adding smaller studies, alongside his sketches. For example, when a hand was raised in accusation, McMahon draws this several times as he realised the significance of that moment.
Most of the drawings tend to focus on the individuals, rather than the surroundings, although there are some drawings that include more of the layout of the courtroom, the judge’s bench or the inclusion of the witness stand when people are being questioned, for example. I think this is perhaps because McMahon knew that it was the emotional drama and tension of the case that were the most vital to capture in his drawings rather than relaying non-relevant details in every single sketch – there was intense national interest in the case so McMahon wanted to add to this through his images.
‘Despite’ the seriousness of the subject, McMahon’s drawings have an almost cartoon-like style to them. He used minimal, almost continuous loose lines, which suggests he spent more time looking at the subject rather than the paper, and the individuals are clearly recognisable. I was impressed with how McMahon was able to retain continuity in appearance when drawing a particular person over several different pages.
McMahon was clearly not interested in producing photorealistic illustrations of the event and it would nigh on impossible for him to have created a solely observational visual recording as in all journalism there is at least some personal opinion influence on the content (as is the case with anyone’s personal recollection of a situation for that matter). Rather than recording the literal truth of the events, McMahon captured his own interpretation of the emotional truth through the characteristics of each person he drew – their body language and facial expressions, – so that without having prior knowledge of the case, I was able to comprehend every person’s emotions and attitude. For example, it is apparent from McMahon’s drawings that both the accused individuals and the all-white, male jury had an air of insolence and disinterest in proceedings, which perhaps suggests the former’s confidence in being acquitted for murder, which indeed they were (the men later admitted to committing the crime).
Final Thoughts
Being introduced to Franklin McMahon’s drawings has encouraged me to keep on improving my use of sketching and to focus more on capturing the subject’s personality, features and individuality rather than solely trying to produce a realistic representation (not that this is something I am particularly skilled at either!). Although, obviously, it does depend on the situation and the requirements of the drawing.
I like the freeness of McMahon’s style of drawing – I tend to get really fixated on details. He was not worried about the aesthetics of the page, but rather more concerned with getting his observations of certain moments down on paper. I have generally not added notes to sketches in the past and McMahon demonstrates the usefulness of this practice, for example to refer back to when creating more finished pieces of work.
Finally, I sometimes find sketchbook paper quite intimidating as it is so unblemished and thus I find myself hesitant to use it for rough work. McMahon’s use of lined paper and other ‘scraps’ for his sketches boosted my confidence as I tend to feel more comfortable doodling and sketching on this type of paper.
Bibliography
Bridgeman Images (2016) The Emmett Till Trial, illustrated by Franklin McMahon. Available at: https://www.bridgemanimages.com/en-US/the-emmett-till-trial-illustrated-by-franklin-mcmahon/8106 (Accessed: 22 December 2022).
McMahon Gallery (2018) Franklin Originals – McMahon Gallery. Available at: https://www.mcmahongallery.com/franklin-originals (Accessed: 22 December 2022).
McMahon, M. (2022) Franklin McMahon, The Man Who Drew History. Available at: https://franklinmcmahon.net (Accessed: 22 December 2022).
Wikipedia (2022) Franklin McMahon. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_McMahon (Accessed: 22 December 2022).