Sorry for the lack of updates lately. Life has been a little out of control lately. However, I did have a moment this weekend to take in the new Edward Gorey exhibit at the Orlando Museum of Art. Before I went, I knew very little about Gorey, other than his popular works such as The Doubtful Guest and The Gashlycrumb Tinies. I went with a friend of mine and several of his artist friends, which always fun for me. I love getting the opinions of people with a more technical eye for art, music, or whatever, as they usually pick up on things I overlook. One person in our group knew a lot about Gorey, so I got some extra insight on the man himself.
Many people tend to think of Gorey's work as dark and Gothic, but I could not help but notice a certain whimsy in what he did. I like that his work never takes itself too seriously. It's not heavy, but there is a certain gravity to it. The exhibits often included the books, so the illustrations had context. Another thing everyone marveled at was Gorey's ability to do the detail in his drawings. His drawings are so small, and all the work looks so fine and delicate. The other interesting thing about the outing was learning more about Gorey himself. To say he was eccentric was to put it mildly. Some interesting facts about Gorey:
*He was a voracious reader. When he died, his house in Cape Cod was filled with volume upon volume of books he had read over the years.
*He was a major recluse, as well as single his entire adult life. Once when asked who/what was the great love of his life, he replied "cats." He always owned cats, and even did illustrations for a volume of T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats.
*He did the costumes and scenery for the 1977 Broadway production of Dracula.
*He was obsessed with the ballet, and attended every production of the New York City ballet while he lived there.
No comments:
Post a Comment