Since I work at a museum, I find that I don’t often want to go to museums during my free time anymore. And that’s sad, because I love museums. I love wandering around and seeing new and interesting things. But because I deal with the crowds at work, I avoid the crowds when I’m at home.I don’t want to crane my neck to see things, get bumped into by strollers, and end up overheated because of all the people. Yesterday though, I got myself out of the house to visit the Cartoon Museum and I had a thoroughly pleasant time and all crowd-free.
The Cartoon Museum is a somewhat hidden gem placed right in the middle of it all. The museum is practically next to the British Museum, in fact it’s almost impossible not to see that museum’s building on the way to the Cartoon Museum. Centrally located near lots of shops, restaurants, and other regular tourist spots it’s easy to include the Cartoon Museum in your sight seeing agenda. The museum is two floors with a few different exhibits, the staff is friendly and eager to chat, and the museum (at least during my midday Monday visit) wasn’t crowded. There were about a dozen other visitors when I went, which in that small space, is enough people to feel like you’re a part of something, but not so many that you wish you were at home. 
For copyright reasons visitors aren’t allowed to take photos of the actual cartoons, but photos of galleries in general and non-cartoon things were permitted. What I liked a lot about the museum is their balance of seriousness and whimsy. We’ll get to whimsy later, but let’s start with serious. The exhibits are well thought out and very informative. Its not a place that’s just showing off lots of cartoons. Their exhibits clearly strive to show the history, uses, and evolution of comics as forms of art and information. Currently their main exhibit is Heckling Hitler, an exhibit that shows World War II coverage as drawn by cartoonists. The intro text to the exhibit says that before television and internet news wasn’t a very visual medium and cartoons provided an immediate and accessible impact.
The exhibit showed thorough World War II coverage using a medium I had never considered. There were cartoons about Hitler, cartoons about soldiers, cartoons about austerity measures, and cartoons about victory. Through the arrangement of the cartoons, I could really see the value they might provide to people who were scared, working hard, or suffering – and all looking for news. Cartoons can make things look lighthearted, they can poke fun, and they can make people villain and heroes – which are all things you might need in war time. I even learned about a guy called Carl Giles who was a cartoonist and also served as a war correspondent. He reported in both written and artistic forms. How cool is that?
There are also exhibits about the history of cartoons, starting with ones as far back as the 1700’s. The collection is mainly British cartoons, so it was cool to see a lot of new stuff and a few things I recognized but hadn’t known was British. Nerdy me actually knew the old William Hogarth stuff better than I knew any current cartoons. Also, unrelated to anything else – I loved the butt print cushions. It’s funny, relevant, and doesn’t take itself too seriously.
But I think the best bit was how the museum worked to get your involved with the cartoons. They had a library of books and comics that you could read through. On the top floor they even have a little area to sit – so lingering and enjoying yourself is actively encouraged. They also had handouts for kids to fill out as they visited. The best room though was where children (and adults) could draw their own cartoons. The tables had comic table cloths and loads of pencils and paper. On the walls they had some helpful diagrams about drawing accurate and proportionate people. Even better though, they said that in cartoons faces and heads don’t have to be like real life and it’s ok to stretch and change bodies. And then, I stood in front of the crazy mirror and got all crazy stretched out. I love that the mirror could help inspire creative ideas for cartoons.
All in all, a fun place with creative ways to engage and lots of interesting information. I highly recommend it if you’re looking to get off the beaten track of London museums.
