John Monahan (left) "was at heart a graphic artist, emphasis on artist," the Boston Globe says today in an obituary, "and he watched with quiet dismay as his ever-increasing administrative duties pushed aside the creativity he reveled in while exploring new avenues for news graphics. In 1997, he walked away from the business and never returned."At the time, Monahan was assistant managing editor for graphics at the Associated Press.
He was a counselor for the past decade at Bournewood Hospital in the Boston suburb of Brookline, a job he first held while working his way through college. Monahan took his life March 19 in a Rhode Island hotel, his family said. He was 55 and lived in Randolph, Mass.
"John was a true pioneer of the infographics revolution," Jerald Council, a Gannett presentation editor who worked for Monahan at Gannett News Service in the late 1980s, wrote in one of many online tributes posted by former colleagues.
Related: More tributes on Charles Apple's Visual Editors blog
[Photo: Globe]
I'm Paul Stigers and I used to work for the Des Moines Register's news art department.
ReplyDeleteI did a loanership at Gannett News Service in D.C., starting March of 1987, during the Contra hearings.
I was credited as the first "intern" at GNS in John's 'art department' even though I was there on loan and not as a college student.
If memory serves me, John was the one who told me I was the first 'intern'. I remember it was during the time that J. Ford Huffman was in charge of the department.
I had no idea then that 1987 would be the best year of my life professionally and that John would be one reason why. Also, little did I know that I WOULD be John's student after all! It was my honor.
Instead of going to Richard Curtis' art dept. at USA Today - like I assumed I would - I was assigned to John where I quickly found that he was the only artist in the department. They didn't even have drawing boards. There may have been another artist with him at that time but I was expecting at least half a dozen artists in a typical newroom art dept. setting only to find one or two in cubicles.
The Register started using macs aroung 1984 so I came in with some experience, but i would find out very quickly that my experience wasn't nearly as extensive as John's. By the time I got to D.C. I was pretty capable with the software but John still helped me a lot by showing me tips and techniques that I hadn't had time to learn back home.
We almost instantly became friends and he made me feel so comfortable learning from him. He was able to help me a lot without coming off as a teacher.
I remember John as many others have: As at once being very serious about the job AND hysterically funny. He was always so busy but so willing to stop whatever he was doing to help me learn and grow as an artist.
He always encouraged me - which at the time I was not really used to getting back home. That period of time was my best time in the newspaper business by far and John was a big part of why I feel that way.
His enthusiasm about even the most mundane assignments was addictive. I kept in touch with John a few years after I left D.C. to return to the Register, and even caught up with him at Poynter, at one of the seminars he established and was teaching there. That would have been the last time I saw him.
He was a hell of a guy and I know he'll be missed by so many that he touched in the news graphics community.
He left his mark on the business as a true pioneer of computerized newspaper graphics.
John and I walked away from the world of newspaper graphics the same year. I would never have thought he would ever leave the business because of how dedicated he was to it. I was so saddened to hear of his death, and my condolences go out to his family.