Sunday, April 14, 2013

Ken Turner Blog Series: Influences and Inspirations Blog Entry #4 - EDWARD GOREY (1925 - 2000)

 
 “I really think I write about everyday life. I don't think I'm quite as odd as others say I am. Life is intrinsically, well, boring and dangerous at the same time. At any given moment the floor may open up. Of course, it almost never does; that's what makes it so boring.”
― Edward Gorey

I first came upon the work of Edward Gorey at some point during my college years.  Ever since I was hooked and I've been collecting his work ever since.  Gorey's distinct style was often described as "whimsical" and "grim".  Gorey's pen and ink illustrations often depicted animals.  He also has a connection to animation, his work was animated for the intro in the PBS mystery show called MYSTERY!.
  
*A photo of my Edward Gorey book collection
*The mini-comic and the animated web series "The World of Snowboy & Crow" was heavily influenced by the art of Edward Gorey.
- Link to EPISODE #2


 Edward Gorey artwork from "War of the Worlds"


“My mission in life is to make everybody as uneasy as possible. I think we should all be as uneasy as possible, because that's what the world is like.”
― Edward Gorey
 
MINI-BIO:
Edward Gorey, who was an American writer and artist noted for his illustrated books, was born in 1925, Gorey illustrated book covers before moving on to illustrate about 90 books and write 60 of his own before his death in 2000.  Gorey's most famous book, The Gashlycrumb Tinies, depicts the deaths of 26 children, each representing a different letter of the alphabet.  Gorey's home in Massachusetts was turned into a museum showcasing his work.  Gorey himself was an animal rights advocate so he left the bulk of his estate to a charitable trust benefiting cats and dogs, as well as other species, including bats and insects.

  

 
“I am a person before I am anything else. I never say I am a writer. I never say I am an artist...I am a person who does those things.”
― Edward Gorey

 

  

“Books, Cats, Life is Good.”
― Edward Gorey


Next time on the Influences and Inspirations :

*Hint
"Pinchers of power! You guys! I've been saved by my Pinchers of Power!"

Cheers

 Ken

2 comments:

Little Gothic Horrors said...

I love Edward Gorey! I don't think he's particularly well known here, in Australia, so I became aware of him later than my beloved Charles Addams, but I quickly caught up on his work. We didn't get the PBS Mystery series either, so it was great discovering those little animated intro gems. :)

Ken Turner said...

I will definitely be doing a post on Charles Addams in the near future. I love those PBS animated intros. It's a shame there aren't more. I would love to adapt one his stories into an animated short. ;)