https://nicholasroukes.com/ An independent magazine on humour, wit and satire in visual art: the artists behind the jokes, the history of parody and absurdity, and the studio methods that make a picture funny. en-us Tue, 22 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://nicholasroukes.com/books/press-criticism-as-argued-humour/https://nicholasroukes.com/books/press-criticism-as-argued-humour/Tue, 22 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMTBooksClose readings of how newspapers covered a story turn exaggeration, absurd detail and a critic's wit into the argument itself. https://nicholasroukes.com/humor-in-art/deadpan-laughter-in-classic-film-noir/https://nicholasroukes.com/humor-in-art/deadpan-laughter-in-classic-film-noir/Sun, 20 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMTHumor in ArtClassic noir hides dry jokes inside grim rooms. The one-liner under pressure and the absurd detail turn contrast into laughter. https://nicholasroukes.com/studio/comic-timing-in-still-photography/https://nicholasroukes.com/studio/comic-timing-in-still-photography/Fri, 18 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMTStudioA funny photograph depends on timing, not subject. The half second before or after the expected moment makes the frame read as comic. https://nicholasroukes.com/artists/meissen-monkeys-satire-in-a-hand-sized-figure/https://nicholasroukes.com/artists/meissen-monkeys-satire-in-a-hand-sized-figure/Wed, 16 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMTArtistsHow Meissen modellers fit satire into hand-sized figures: pose, scale and glaze carry the joke, and what a restorer sees when the figure is repaired. https://nicholasroukes.com/humor-in-art/the-visual-gag-in-classic-anime-read-without-sound/https://nicholasroukes.com/humor-in-art/the-visual-gag-in-classic-anime-read-without-sound/Mon, 14 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMTHumor in ArtHow 1970s to 1990s animation builds a sight gag through held poses, speed lines and comic deformation, and why the joke survives dubbing. https://nicholasroukes.com/studio/set-dressing-for-a-joke-the-viewer-feels/https://nicholasroukes.com/studio/set-dressing-for-a-joke-the-viewer-feels/Sat, 12 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMTStudioHow production designers build visual gags through scale mismatch, misplaced objects, and repetition, and why the audience laughs without knowing why. https://nicholasroukes.com/artists/watercolour-comedy-gestures-that-carry-a-joke/https://nicholasroukes.com/artists/watercolour-comedy-gestures-that-carry-a-joke/Thu, 10 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMTArtistsWatercolour carries a joke through blooms, hard edges, and speed. A look at the medium's own comedy and what a daily practice journal teaches. https://nicholasroukes.com/books/funny-objects-in-the-county-museum-catalogue/https://nicholasroukes.com/books/funny-objects-in-the-county-museum-catalogue/Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMTBooksLocal history collections keep novelty signs, joke tools and amateur carvings. A county museum catalogue dates them and preserves both the object and the laugh.