Curious Minds Podcast: Why Are Artists Hired to Illustrate Trials?

Discover how illustrators capture what happens behind closed doors with Curious Minds, an original podcast by Domestika

Curious Minds is an original podcast by Domestika that explores the curiosities and untold histories of the creative world.

Each week we’ll bring you a new episode, interviewing experts and creatives as we dive into the unusual origins of the images, patterns, and designs we take for granted.

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Thanks to courtroom illustrators, we have a visual record of everything from Charles Manson’s trial to Supreme Court proceedings.

But why hire an artist instead of a photographer? There are a few reasons - and not all of them have to do with access.

In our fifth episode of Curious Minds, we speak with veteran courtroom illustrators Bill Robles, Jane Rosenberg, Arthur Lien, and Elizabeth Williams, co-author of "The Illustrated Courtroom", to understand the crucial role they play in capturing what happens behind closed doors, and to discover what artists can offer that a camera cannot.

You can download the transcript of this episode at the end of this article.

Restrictions on cameras in courtrooms vary depending on the country, state, and even the judge.

In the case of Supreme Court hearings, where cameras continue to be banned, courtroom illustrators like Arthur Lien offer not just a visual record but also create transparency in the judicial process.

But there’s also a human element. Beyond trying to faithfully translate the scene in front of them onto the page, artists also have to be keen observers of human nature, highlighting the subtle yet expressive gestures of their subjects so that they can better illustrate the human element of a case. Rather than a camera, which offers a snapshot of a single moment, the process of drawing a person in motion and over time enables artists to capture a more comprehensive portrait of their subject.

The materials that an artist uses to capture these scenes depends on their personal preference and style. Watercolors, pencils, magic markers, pastels - any medium is fair game as long as they can quickly use it while seated in the courtroom. This is just one of the physical demands that illustrators need to consider, along with their seat and the time limitations that force them to work on increasingly short deadlines.

To discover why cameras were first banned from courtrooms, how the modern news cycle has changed courtroom illustration, and if artists can ever be fully objective observers you can listen to our newest episode of Curious Minds on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Click on the link below to download a transcript of this episode. It will be saved in your Downloads folder as a PDF.

If you'd like to read more stories behind the images, patterns, and designs we take for granted, check out our other blog posts for Curious Minds, an original podcast by Domestika.

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