American
artist Edward Gorey (1925-2000) is one of the most unique writers and
illustrators of the 20th century. His macabre yet amazingly fun works
reach far beyond the usual acclaim that one would naively expect and
have gained serious critical praise as monuments of surrealist art. His
experimentation is not limited to style but also to themes or to sizes
(matchbox sized book, etc). All his life he was despairing about the
boring sunny funny stories that will of course never be found in any of
his books. Even though some of his work is labeled as work for children
(despite its morbid content), he never liked children much. Instead of
that he did adore cats a great deal, as well as all other animals. In
his life he has written over 100 books.
http://www.goreyography.com/
Without regard to the acclaim for his finely detailed and stylistic artwork it is obvious that this was one sick S.O.B. His unvarnished hatred of children exposes itself repeatedly in his works. Children are often depicted as skeletons or in some phase of being violently murdered or butchered, the pictures are frequently accompanied by his disturbingly descriptive prose or captions.
ReplyDeleteNo less disturbing is the fact that Google chose to celebrate the occasion of what would have been his 88th birthday. Better dead and gone, this one. . .
Yes, wouldn't it be nice if you could get rid of any person, art, or literature that didn't fit your narrow minded view of what each of the aforementioned should be.
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DeleteHere Here Mewmew!!! Well played my friend, well played! ;)
DeleteAnd you, sir, are a philistine.
ReplyDeleteSimon Lagree, you are one of the reasons Gorey became an illustrator. Your unimaginative, P.C. mind-set notwithstanding, your view of Gorey is wholly prejudicial, not factual.
ReplyDeleteGorey didn't hate children. What he intensely disliked was the modern approach to children and childhood.
To illustrate (pun inadvertent), my father read Hamlet to us as small children. We loved the graveside scene where Yorick's headbone is exhumed for inspection. You, on the other hand, probably got Dr Seus or Sesame Street.
I grew up to become a writer and musician. You, on the other hand, grew up to become an internet troll who hides behind a silly monicker.
Gorey knew the value of being exposed to life instead of hiding from it.
ha! He would love this narrow minded bull about him Mr Lagree! .........job done!
ReplyDeleteFunny how someone can make a determination about an artists' work as a whole by doing a google image search and clicking on the first link- you sound like such a knowledgable source and all, even though you obviously have never heard of this artist before today. On the whole, what an intelligent, well-developed critique. Bravo, sir!
ReplyDeleteBravo to you both. Early am has produced a dual of drivel.
ReplyDeleteWell, I, for one, say Happy Birthday Mr. Gorey! Thank you for your wonderful work. :) I think I will wear my Gorey bat earrings today in honor of a life well-lived.
ReplyDeleteI would refer "Simon Lagree" to my favourite Edward Gorey illustration, "Donald Imagined Things". Google it. Dare to break out of your PC prison and imagine things.
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