The haunting of The West Wing.
The work of EDWARD GOREY is available in dozens of books, on t-shirts, posters and even lunchboxes. Just because you’ve already seen it in those places is no excuse to pass up the McNay Art Museum’s “ELEGANT ENIGMAS: THE ART OF EDWARD GOREY.”
The exhibit collects 175 of Gorey’s art pieces, providing a glimpse into the morbid humor that pervades the work of one of the most-recognizable American illustrators. It also gives perspective on Gorey’s (1925-2000) lasting influence on fantastic art and fiction – and on pop culture in general.
In Gorey’s neo-Victorian world, death and menacing visitors lurk amid the comforts of old mansions and manicured gardens. Often, as in his book The Gashlycrumb Tinies – several pages of which appear in the exhibit — the work mimics the style and language of children’s books. “A is for Amy who fell down the stairs; B is for Basil assaulted by bears.”
A Gorey detail from the Gashleycrumb Tinies.
While words play a big part in Gorey’s pieces, some of the most effective works in the exhibit include none at all. A section of his book The West Wing gives a silent tour of a decaying mansion where wide cracks cross the hallways, wallpaper peels in strips and ghostly handkerchiefs float through the rooms.
A few individual pieces fall a little flat stripped of the context of Gorey’s books. But even those provide valuable insight into his technique, offering an up-close look at the obsessive detail of his pen work. They made me realize just how poorly some of his illustrations have been reproduced in books.
Emerged in Gorey’s crabbed and eccentric world, it’s apparent just how big a debt writers, illustrators and filmmakers owe him. It’s hard to imagine LEMONY SNICKET or EMILY THE STRANGE existing outside of Gorey’s shadow — not to mention the films of TIM BURTON or some of the work on TOM WAITS’ later albums.
Wandering the gallery last weekend, it was also clear just how wide a cross section of people the work affects. A teenage Goth couple seemed to be having a near-religious experience as they quietly and reverently took in each piece. And, more than once, I overheard older visitors say they gained their appreciation of Gorey through his introduction to PBS’s “Mystery” series.
Gorey’s work has broad resonance, I think, because it’s an antidote to the Disneyfication of our culture — a cure for the safe, saccharine childhood-regression fantasies spewed by Hollywood and Madison Ave. “Yes, the world is a dark place,” Gorey seems to be saying. “Don’t despair in it or try to cover it over. Find the humor and wonder in it.”
“Elegant Enigmas” ships out Sept. 13. If you’re a fan of fantastic art or simply looking for a respite from clean, safe and homogeneous culture, don’t miss it.
