• Skip navigation and go to content
  • Go to navigation

Norman Rockwell Museum

  • Visit
    • Hours & Admission
    • Directions
    • Exhibitions
  • Learn
    • Programs
    • School Programs
    • Curriculum Lab
  • Research
    • Norman Rockwell Collection
    • Archives and Library
    • Rockwell Center for Americal Visual Studies
    • IllustrationHistory.org
    • Frank Schoonover Collection Raisonné
  • Donate
    • Make a Gift
    • Become a Member
  • Shop
  • Calendar
  • Contact
    • Staff Directory
    • Norman Rockwell Museum e-newsletter sign-up
    • Careers
    • What's my Rockwell Worth?
      FAQ

Illustration History

  • History
  • Artists
  • Genres
  • Essays
  • Resources
  • Podcast
  • History
    • Time Periods
  • Artists
  • Genres
  • Essays
  • Resources
  • Podcast
Home > Illustrations > Cry Uncle

Cry Uncle

By Frances Jetter | Created: 2009

Cry Uncle

"My work focuses on telling stories in pictures. Political subject matter, not only to protest and document, intrigues me as an exploration of human nature."

Publication
  • Cry Uncle, limited edition book
Publication Date
  • 2009
Medium
  • Linoleum Cut
Support
  • Paper
Illustration Size
  • 18 x 24 in.
Collection
  • Collection of the artist

©Frances Jetter

Comments from Frances Jetter:

Cry Uncle is the 23-page accordion fold book on torture, (edition limited to 15 copies) which I wrote, designed and illustrated in 2009. The images are linoleum cuts, 18” x 24”, printed on translucent, handmade Japanese paper. The type was done in letterpress, with the large type in old wood letters. When the book is unfolded, it is over 40 feet long.

My work focuses on telling stories in pictures.  Political subject matter, not only to protest and document, intrigues me as an exploration of human nature. The way type looks and sounds as it becomes a character’s voice is of great interest, as well as how language changes meaning with the addition of a comma, or by modifying scale or font.

The sack and the book inside are large and imposing. Thin, creased, fragile looking Nepalese paper on the cover resembles human skin. The translucence of the interior pages allows the viewer to glimpse the shadow image of what came previously. The zippered red mouth on the sack that holds the book is the beginning and end of the story; the torturer’s lips are sealed.

Genres
  • Books
  • Graphic Novels
  • Fairy Tales and Fables
Global Perspectives
  • North America
Related Time Periods
  • The Decade 2000-2010 The Decade 2000-2010

Support the Project

We need your help to keep this project alive and growing. How can you help?

Submit Work
Make A Donation
About The Project

Stay Informed

Join our mailing list to receive updates about this growing project.

Art Works. National Endowment for the Arts. arts.gov

This project is supported in part by an award
from the National Endowment for the Arts.

"The great band of illustrators have shown us to ourselves and I am proud to be among their company."
- Norman Rockwell

©Copyright 2020 Norman Rockwell Museum
9 Route 183, Stockbridge, MA 01262 | 413.298.4100
Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions