Edward Gorey (still in progress)
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
(aka. Ogdred Weary, Mrs. Regera Dowdy, Eduard Blutig, Edward Pig, Raddory Gewe.)
Until recently (when he died, which is as good a reason as any) Edward Gorey was a creator of nonsense equal to Edward Lear, and probably superior. His work is unmistakeable, even if you're not familiar with it. No one else combined the joys of dancing cats, delightful words, sinister drawings and the horrible deaths of little children in such a compelling way.
Gorey's work is best viewed in the books which he both wrote and illustrated. Although he's considered more of an artist, he himself preferred to be called an author. However, the two are really quite inseperable in that no one else's style would really suit either his writing or illustration (exceptions include the 'Treehorn' books, by which are bizarre enough to accomplish this, and of course Gorey's illustrations for Lear's 'The Jumblies' and 'The Dong with a Luminous Nose').
Since his illustration tends to be more well-known, this article will discuss both aspects of his work separately. Visually, the pictures are strikingly stark- they make good use of line shading techniques in order to produce multi-textured effects, and are often heavily shadowed. The finished drawings are composed wholly of meticulously accurate lines of varying direction, giving them a neat but cartoonish appearance. Since they usually contain a wealth of detail, this textural approach is important; even more so considering they are scarcely ever in colour.
There are several visual themes within Gorey's work. The pictures have an old-fashioned look, which is due not only to the turn-of-the- (last) century appearance of the characters, but also the rich detail and the careful, ponderous overall effect. However, this nostalgia suits them, in that you could not easily imagine either Gorey's settings or characters (and the situations they are faced with) in a modern locale.
The characters themselves deserve some attention. There will almost certainly be a bleak landscape with sparse, wintry trees ('The Iron Tonic') miserable, threadbare
Until recently (when he died, which is as good a reason as any) Edward Gorey was a creator of nonsense equal to Edward Lear, and probably superior. His work is unmistakeable, even if you're not familiar with it. No one else combined the joys of dancing cats, delightful words, sinister drawings and the horrible deaths of little children in such a compelling way.
Gorey's work is best viewed in the books which he both wrote and illustrated. Although he's considered more of an artist, he himself preferred to be called an author. However, the two are really quite inseperable in that no one else's style would really suit either his writing or illustration (exceptions include the 'Treehorn' books, by which are bizarre enough to accomplish this, and of course Gorey's illustrations for Lear's 'The Jumblies' and 'The Dong with a Luminous Nose').
Since his illustration tends to be more well-known, this article will discuss both aspects of his work separately. Visually, the pictures are strikingly stark- they make good use of line shading techniques in order to produce multi-textured effects, and are often heavily shadowed. The finished drawings are composed wholly of meticulously accurate lines of varying direction, giving them a neat but cartoonish appearance. Since they usually contain a wealth of detail, this textural approach is important; even more so considering they are scarcely ever in colour.
There are several visual themes within Gorey's work. The pictures have an old-fashioned look, which is due not only to the turn-of-the- (last) century appearance of the characters, but also the rich detail and the careful, ponderous overall effect. However, this nostalgia suits them, in that you could not easily imagine either Gorey's settings or characters (and the situations they are faced with) in a modern locale.
The characters themselves deserve some attention. There will almost certainly be a bleak landscape with sparse, wintry trees ('The Iron Tonic') miserable, threadbare
