Tango: The Dangerous Dance

[Randy W]

from the Sixth Tone

 

Tango: The Dangerous Dance of China’s Zany Cartoonist

• The Chinese artist has attracted a huge following with his irreverent sketches. But not everyone is amused.

Sketches by Tango created in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Courtesy of Tango

 

Quote

Pandas aren’t cute in Tango’s cartoons. They’re not good-natured, lazy, or even very tubby. They’re jerks: cunning, rude, and always having the last laugh.

 

Undermining famous figures with humor and visual sleights-of-hand quickly became a Tango calling card. In one popular cartoon, fashion mogul Karl Lagerfeld ends up resembling the composer Ludwig van Beethoven after a gust of wind ruins his beautifully coiffed hair; while another features Albert Einstein raising a glass and unwittingly revealing his true identity as a lion.

 

Netizens loved these playful pieces, which spurred Gao to create more works in what he describes as a “feedback of achievement.”

 

Today, Tango is a bona fide cultural phenomenon in China, with 1.6 million followers on Twitter-like Weibo. He’s also the author of three books and has had his work exhibited in countries including the United States, France, and Belgium.

 

Edited January 31, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)