Starkizzer

If you haven't heard of this man, he is amazing, that is if you like macabre art. I discovered him when I was about 17 or so while browsing through a bookstore. This last Christmas im2smrt4u bought be three of his books, I LOVE them. His illustrations and stories are dark and demented, yet he does them so well.



This picture is a great example of what I mean, it is eerie but needs no description to make one shudder. A skeleton like figure looming over school children. At the same time the image shows an odd protection, the figure is holding a large umbrella over the children that casts an ominous shadow over the group.

Do we have any other Gorey fans? If you are your a fan, what is your favorite "Gorey" and why? Those that don't know him, are you interested in this kind of art?

I wish I had discovered him when I was younger. I know my parents would have let me have his books. I would love to make a trip to the Edward Gorey House in Massachusetts one day.
Location and 2010 Hours of the Edward Gorey House

He also has a naughty sketch that I found the other day while flipping through one of my books. I need to find that one again, quite the menage-a-many; with a horribly twisted ending.

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Frivolity, at the edge of a Moral Swamp, hears Hymn-Singing in the Distance and dons the Galoshes of Remorse. ~Edward Gorey

Redlemon

That brings me back. I think my first exposure to Gorey was on PBS, the opening for Mystery...


I never watched the show, but it must have come on after whatever it was that I did watch on PBS back in elementary school.

I don't remember seeing much of his work on its own. I did have a collection of Chas Addams cartoons.

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I can't read your signature. Sorry.

Plan9

This is gnarly. I'm glad you posted it so I can have something horror-tastic to occupy my time.

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Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

Baraka_Guru

I like Gorey. I can't say I have any particular favourites; it's that I like the style.

I like to contemplate his possible influences, and his possible influence on others.

For example, I'm guessing that the most obvious influences were surrealism and the gothic, but i tend to also think of Aubrey Beardsley (Art Nouveau illustrator) or John Tenniel ("classic" illustrator of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass) when I think of Gorey.

In terms of influences, I tend to think of David Firth's Salad Fingers, which to me seems strongly influenced by Gorey.

Anyway, I like all of this stuff.

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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

mixedmedia

I was introduced to Edward Gorey when I was about 12 or 13 by one of my mom's friends. His garage had been converted into a sort of makeshift library with rows and rows of bookshelves. One day while browsing around I found a copy of 'Amphigorey' and I was mesmerized. He gave me the book and I spent the next couple of years reading and re-reading it. I was obsessed. To this day, I can still recite The Gashlycrumb Tinies by heart, but my favorite has always been The Doubtful Guest.



Just a couple of months ago I purchased Amphigorey and Amphigorey II on Amazon.

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Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

oliver9184

What's the doubtful guest about?

mixedmedia

It's about this mysterious creature (pictured above) that shows up at a family's house one day, makes a bit of a nuisance of itself and never leaves.

__________________
Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

ring

The first time I saw "The Nightmare Before Christmas,"
I noticed it had an Edward Gorey influence. (among others)

Thanks for the vid, Red. I enjoyed PBS Mystery.
I'd love to hear Ms.Mixed reciting.
That would be cool.

flat5

I was introduced to EG in 1971 by a friend who had the little children's books.
Now they are published together. I became an instant fan. Google has lots of info on him.