13
Gorey’s way of creating a scene and depicting characters points
to cinematic flair, and filmmaker Tim Burton, writer Lemony
Snicket (David Handler), and Chicago artist Kenneth Gerleve
(
whose work can be seen in the Harlan J. Berk Ltd. Works on
Paper Gallery), pay homage to Gorey. In his oeuvre, there is
an overtone of calamity—of being on the other side of a door
you shouldn’t open but can’t help yourself. Gorey’s writing
and illustrations are offset by whimsy and wit. His elegant
captions are brief and hysterically funny. In the couplets of
The
Gashlycrumb Tinies
(
above), Gorey illustrates the alphabet,
beginning with
A is for Alice who fell down the stairs
and
continuing with
B is for Basil assaulted by bears
.
He works his
way through the alphabet, and each of the twenty-six children
meet a ghastly end because they dared to do…what? Their
rampant curiosity gets the better of them, and Gorey speaks to
parents who constantly warn the rapscallions not to venture
beyond their proscribed boundaries for fear of the dark and
mysterious unknown.
Gorey did not lack for sources of inspiration from some of the
world’s best known writers. He is part Brother Grimm—Jacob
(
German, 1785–1863) and Wilhelm (German, 1786–1859),
Jorge Luis Borges (Argentine, 1899–1986), and Antoine de
Saint-Exupéry (French, 1900–1944); he is all imagination.
Unabashedly, I love Gorey’s work. I like a good story that
sparks imagination so unabashedly as the main character in
The Doubtful Guest
.
I would say you can really have a good
time with both of these exhibitions. My colleagues and I have
been reciting Gorey lines for months, laughing all the way. I
would like to invite all of you to laugh with us at the exhibitions
and the public programs that LUMA has planned, listed in this
edition of
The LUMANARY
beginning on page 6.
Now you may ask what does the art of Edward Gorey have to
do with the museum’s mission. The answer is in laughter. The
spirit feels good when lightened by laughter.
A is for Amy who fell down the stairs
B is for Basil assaulted by bears
U is for Una who slipped down a drain
N is for Neville who died of ennui
Illustrations ©The Edward Gorey Charitable Trust. All rights reserved
