Wednesday, March 26, 2014
MY HERO: RUDOLPHE TOPFFER
I thought I'd put up a blog about Topffer, the Swiss artist who's said to have invented the comic strip. All the illustrations in this post are by Topffer. I have a book about the man but I've only spot read in it so far so I hope there's no errors in the chronology.
Let's see....well, in a way the comic strip can be said to have begun in England with lithographic artists like Hogarth, Rowlandson and Gillray. These guys didn't draw serial comic stories but they pioneered the idea of simplified, funny drawings. Before these guys, drawings appearing in print were labored and were expected to have classical artistic merit.
Maybe Napoleon can take some of the credit for the birth of cartooning because the war against him compelled the British to crank up the production of caricatures insulting the French. Cartooning, which was previously shunned as low class, was now regarded as positively patriotic. Of course, after the war a lot of skilled caricaturists were left with nothing to do and once again cartooning began to be perceived as low class.
Enter Rudolphe Topffer, a young university professor in Geneva. He collected wartime English caricatures and was emboldened to try his hand at it after reading a serious book about the shape of people's heads revealing their true personalities. Since caricature was considered beneath the dignity of a professor he had to draw in his basement, out of sight of snooping eyes.
Topffer drew even more loose than the English. Biographers speculate that this is because he had bad eyesight but it may also have come about because he was only an artist in his spare time. Anyway, influenced by his book of heads, he developed a comedic style that didn't depend on political caricature.
It's a good thing he disdained politics because this endeared him to Goethe who hated political caricature. When Topffer published his first book in 1830 Goethe loudly endorsed it, and that opened a lot of doors for the Swiss artist.
Unfortunately his overnight popularity also worked against him. The print run for that book was only a few hundred copies which quickly sold out. After that large numbers of pirate editions were made and a host of imitators sprung up.
One of these was Cham, an artist hired by the publisher to transfer Topffer's drawings onto lithographic stone. Cham took Topffer's serial panel technique, combined it with his own Daumier-type style, and rushed into print with his own books, which sold very well.
In order to compete with his imitators Topffer increasingly put an emphasis on cartoon acting, something the imitators had trouble with. Some of the drawings in his subsequent books looked like still frames from animated cartoons...in fact, you could argue that Topffer was the father of animated cartoons as well as comics. Anyway, his imitators hit back with an English innovation...the word balloon.
Poor Topffer, being a literature professor, clung to the caption and disdained the balloon. For Topffer the incongruity between the sedate caption and the outrageous drawing was what gave cartoons their appeal, but the public increasingly disagreed. Captions lingered on right up to the 20th Century but the word balloon eventually prevailed.
After the mid-19th Century I don't know what happened to Topffer. He was highly regarded by artists but became less known by the public. Maybe his innovations were dimmed by the entry into cartooning of first rate professional artists like Daumier, Dore, Lear and Wilhelm Busch. Maybe his skeptical attitude toward radical politics put people off. I'm not sure.
Anyway, let's raise a Theory Corner glass to the memory of Topffer who did so much to advance cartooning and the comic strip.
Labels:
early comics,
father of comics,
goethe,
topffer
Saturday, March 22, 2014
I GO TO THE HUNTINGTON
Above, a portrait by Ramsey from the Huntington Library in Pasadena. I just visited there and I thought you might like to see what I found.
I'll start with the exterior, above. This was the house of 19th Century railroad tycoon, Henry Huntington. It's an art museum now. There's a few buildings like this on the estate and collectively they're called The Huntington Library.
Outside are rambling gardens of different types. This one (above) is clearly patterned after pictures by Fragonard, though you can't get a sense of that from this photo. Wait a sec, let me grab another picture...
Okay, there! That's (above) the kind of garden it was. And yes, there really are trees like that.
The centerpiece of the gardens is a small valley containing a Japanese garden. I'm guessing that the gardens are more costly to maintain than the buildings.
The caption on the wall says that Watt's friends thought the likeness was striking, but they remembered him as being much more jovial than he appears here.
Also in a place of honor is this well-known portrait (above) of Samuel Johnson. I'm assuming that Huntington accessed Johnson mainly through Boswell's biography. Imagine that...a rough and tumble railroad guy who found Boswell's book to be useful and inspiring.
Here's (above) Mrs. Huntington. After her husband died she became the richest woman in the world. I was hoping her portrait would convey a haughty attitude, a "Who let you in here? Did you wipe your feet?"-type expression but no, she looks like she was a nice person.
The Huntington houses Gainsborough's "The Blue Boy." Gainsborough used to brag that he got his backgrounds from still lifes of broccoli and blankets.
The picture's much parodied in America and the boy's often portrayed as a fop. That's not really fair. The kid looks perfectly manly to me, he's just wearing an outrageous costume that that nobody at the time realized was outrageous.
I wish I could remember whose bust this was. We both have the Fitzgerald nose.
Ouch!
Boy, there sure are a lot of naked people here.
********************
P.S. I just received a comment from K. Marinov on the 7/30/12 post, CAVES IN THE CLOUDS. Marinov sez:
I was doing a Google image search for "cloud caverns" because I flew through one on March 7, 2008, but was too awestruck to reach for my cell camera (that wouldn't have done it any justice anyway). These paintings are all that I could find.
The cloud cavern I saw was on a flight from Odessa, TX to Houston, TX in the pre-dawn hours. I could see daybreak beginning in the horizon and we started flying through some clouds. A short while later, sun not up yet, we flew into a cloud cavern. I saw pillars, mountains, valleys, ceilings, and plateaus very similar to these images.
It was a dark blue/gray hue since the sun hadn't risen yet. But then, the sun rose...
ORANGE! YELLOW! PINK! RED! I WAS IN HEAVEN! I was just awestruck. I hadn't EVER seen anything like that and I now consider my life complete to have seen such a sight. Thank you for posting these pics!
Thursday, March 20, 2014
MORE INTERESTING MAPS
I'll start with a Neverland map that I assume was sold at Disneyland soon after it opened. It's not all that useful as a map but it's cheery and would look good on a wall.
Here's (above) another take on Neverland. I love this poster. Black and white enhances the effect.
Above, a gangster map of Chicago.
Above, a detail.
Above, still more details.
This (above) isn't really a map. It's done by an artist who paints on maps.
Here's (above) a map showing the progress of the Pequod as it hunted Moby Dick.
I read that the octopus (above) appears on more maps than mermaids and narwhales.
Above, Mussolini as a grasping octopus...or is it? In a comment Sir Pogalot says it's Churchill.
Here's (above) the world without water, committed to paper in 1690.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
COMPARING IPAD DRAWING APPS
I thought I'd update my previous post about drawing apps for the iPad mini. Among the apps I use frequently now is "Paper." That's it above. I even use their stylus (see the comments for more on the stylus). I like the pen tool, which actually draws like a brush. It has a nice, fluid line and a beautiful thick and thin.
The problem is that the T&T only appears when you draw fast. If you draw normally with the same brush you get a thin, rapidograph line. That's because the stylus and the program aren't geared for pressure sensitivity. They do support the pressure sensitive Pogo Connect stylus, though comments to the support site indicate that some users aren't happy with the result.
So I start with Paper because that makes the best lines then, when I've got an idea I like, I switch to "Sketches." Sketches is similar to Pencil, but it has more features. The dot and airbrush tools are wonderful!
I just started using the "Animation desk" program. I'll show you the doodle clips I began with when I figure out how to move them to Vimeo or YouTube.
The program has some annoying bugs. Drawing with it is like trying to sketch with a tricycle dipped in paint. Lines drop out, become thin, colors change...there's some real stability issues here...but amazingly, even with those liabilities, the program is still a lot of fun to use...and it only costs a few bucks!
Here's (above) letters drawn with Animation Desk's fan brush and transported to Sketches for those cool halftone dots. Haw! I had no room for the "e" in "before."
Hmmmm....let me try an airbrush pass on that. Wow! It looks like a 50s jazz album.
Here's (above) a photo transported to the "Adobe Ideas" app. I haven't used this free program much so I won't comment on it. I'm still curious about "Procreate," "Sketchbook Pro," and "Art Rage." I'm also wondering about "Inspire Pro," which I think is also free. People tell me it has lots of brushes.
Does anyone here have an opinion about which iPad drawing app has the best brushes for cartooning?
The problem is that the T&T only appears when you draw fast. If you draw normally with the same brush you get a thin, rapidograph line. That's because the stylus and the program aren't geared for pressure sensitivity. They do support the pressure sensitive Pogo Connect stylus, though comments to the support site indicate that some users aren't happy with the result.
So I start with Paper because that makes the best lines then, when I've got an idea I like, I switch to "Sketches." Sketches is similar to Pencil, but it has more features. The dot and airbrush tools are wonderful!
I just started using the "Animation desk" program. I'll show you the doodle clips I began with when I figure out how to move them to Vimeo or YouTube.
The program has some annoying bugs. Drawing with it is like trying to sketch with a tricycle dipped in paint. Lines drop out, become thin, colors change...there's some real stability issues here...but amazingly, even with those liabilities, the program is still a lot of fun to use...and it only costs a few bucks!
Here's (above) letters drawn with Animation Desk's fan brush and transported to Sketches for those cool halftone dots. Haw! I had no room for the "e" in "before."
Hmmmm....let me try an airbrush pass on that. Wow! It looks like a 50s jazz album.
Here's (above) a photo transported to the "Adobe Ideas" app. I haven't used this free program much so I won't comment on it. I'm still curious about "Procreate," "Sketchbook Pro," and "Art Rage." I'm also wondering about "Inspire Pro," which I think is also free. People tell me it has lots of brushes.
Does anyone here have an opinion about which iPad drawing app has the best brushes for cartooning?
Thursday, March 13, 2014
NEWSPAPER CARTOONISTS OF 100 YEARS AGO
I thought I'd show a few examples of early newspaper comics you might not have seen. This one (above) is extracted from a page by William F. Marriner. He was a terrific draughtsman and a really funny guy.
He died in 1914 at the age of 41. At first it was believed he was shot after he came home and interrupted a burglary in progress, but a neighbor quoted him as saying that if his wife didn't come home soon he'd kill himself and torch his home, which is exactly what happened.
Can you believe it? Comics strips were used to illustrate serialized books (above). We should do that today.
This comic was printed in a Sunday supplement magazine, This Week. It looks more recent than a hundred years old, but I couldn't resist including it
Imagine being a kid cartoonist and growing up with newspaper comics like this (above). I like the way this artist packs the page with art.
Above, another brilliant Sunday page by Powers.
I can't believe the comics page attracted artists of this caliber (above). Whatever happened to this guy?
Ahhh, refreshed at the fountain of Rube Goldberg (above).
Here's (above) a detail from George Herriman's "Stumble Inn." Fantagraphics says they'll publish a whole book of this strip soon.
Oh, what the heck! I 'll put up the entire Herriman page.
***************************
BTW: All these strips were stolen from Alan Holtz's amazing blog, "Stripper's Guide." You can find a link in the right sidebar.
Labels:
early cartoonists,
goldberg,
herriman,
t. e. powers,
william marriner
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
BOB FOSSE CHOREOGRAPHY (PART 2)
Here's three more Fosse dances. That's Gwen Verdon above, from the film version of "Damn Yankees." There's a couple of classic Fosse moves here which Gwen didn't get right, but it doesn't matter because she projected tremendous appeal. Geez, being a star dancer is tough. In addition to knowing how to sing and dance and act, you have to somehow acquire charisma and a personal style.
Here's (above) "Rich Man's Frug" (pronounced like the fru in "frugal) from "Sweet Charity." It's not one of Fosse's best efforts but it's full of good ideas and it's an interesting clip to study. Watch it and try to answer the question, "Exactly what went wrong?" I'll take a stab at an answer.
For me there's a story problem. The dance lacks context. We need to see all this weirdness through the eyes of a character we care about. Shirley McLane should have been part of the number, an innocent clumsily trying to pass as a big city sophisticate.
Camera placement was also a problem. Fosse was a master at staging and photographing big ensemble numbers for the camera, but even he didn't pull them off 100% of the time. Nobody does...it's the nature of the business. There's a youTube interview where Fosse talks candidly about the problem and you can see that the very mention of the subject gave him the shivers. What do you do when the public demands a home run every time you're at bat?
Here's when Fosse got it right...a big ensemble number that works flawlessly.
Here's (above) "Rich Man's Frug" (pronounced like the fru in "frugal) from "Sweet Charity." It's not one of Fosse's best efforts but it's full of good ideas and it's an interesting clip to study. Watch it and try to answer the question, "Exactly what went wrong?" I'll take a stab at an answer.
For me there's a story problem. The dance lacks context. We need to see all this weirdness through the eyes of a character we care about. Shirley McLane should have been part of the number, an innocent clumsily trying to pass as a big city sophisticate.
Camera placement was also a problem. Fosse was a master at staging and photographing big ensemble numbers for the camera, but even he didn't pull them off 100% of the time. Nobody does...it's the nature of the business. There's a youTube interview where Fosse talks candidly about the problem and you can see that the very mention of the subject gave him the shivers. What do you do when the public demands a home run every time you're at bat?
Here's when Fosse got it right...a big ensemble number that works flawlessly.
Monday, March 10, 2014
CHOREOGRAPHY BY BOB FOSSE (REVISED) (PART I)
NOTE: I've revised this post, and now it's in two parts. The second part follows this one).
Geez, I wanted to talk about choreography and the terms musical comedy choreographers use for dances and dance moves...terms like "the Foxy Trio" and "the Tea for Two," and words like "Terpsichore" and "Violanda." I just couldn't self-educate, even in a small way, in the short time I had. Oh, well...I'll still write about it soon, even if everything I say requires correction.
I still have choreography on my mind, though. I thought about posting about Jack Cole, an early jazz choreographer. While watching his videos I got sidetracked into watching Bob Fosse numbers again, and seeing him at his best wiped everything else from my mind. Here's three of the ones I watched. You've probably seen them before. I have, dozens of times. I'm obsessed, I know. I'm to be pitted.
Fosse was a musical comedy guy. Watch numbers he worked on like "A Secretary is Not A Toy," "Whatever Lola Wants", "Brotherhood of Man" and the money song from Caberet to get a feeling for how he handles humor. He's great at it. It's surprising then, that he's so good at dramatic dances like the one above. Of course he sneaks humor into them.
Here's the death finale from "All That Jazz." The dark humor in it makes everything seem doubly tragic. I can't watch this without tears flowing. It's amazing that the most moving depiction of death on film was done by a dancer.
Friday, March 07, 2014
CAROL BURNETT AND JERRY LEWIS
Wow and Double Wow! Take a look at this sketch (above) from the old Carol Burnett Show. It starts out a little slow, but stay with it...it gets better. Jerry's great in it!
Here's Carol (above) as William Shattner. This video isn't as good as the one at the top with Jerry but it contains some great ideas. That's the problem with TV...you can have a terrific idea but you hardly ever get the time to get it right.
I'm guessing that the scene where the two girls push each other's breasts up and down was built around funny, padded bras that were meant to stay in place in whatever direction they were pushed in. The gag didn't come off because the bras wouldn't work.
Here's Carol as Charo's mother. Haw!
And finally, Burnett's spoof of the film, "Born to Be Bad." Nice, eh?
Wednesday, March 05, 2014
TED GEISEL DRAWS HANDS
Geisel is, of course, the real name of the kids book author, Dr. Seuss. I love the way he used to draw hands. I've blogged about this subject before, but I thought it might be worth revisiting if I added photos of my own hands to help make my points.
Geez, this hand (above) is brilliant. It would belong in a cartoon museum if there was such a thing. What would you call it? A caricature of a hand?
Hmmm...well, not exactly. Real hands (above) don't look at all like the kind Geisel drew. Geisel's hand has long, breadstick fingers and elegant sweeping lines. It's so different than a real hand that "caricature" doesn't seem to describe it.
Here's (above) another Geisel hand. It looks gnarly and boney and...I'm searching for the word...deep-fried. It's less a caricature of a hand than a rethinking of what a hand is.
A real hand (above) is a multi-purpose tool that can be used for pointing and a hundred other things. That's all fine and good but Geisel favors the hand that's tailor-made for a task, and so do I. Geisel's deep-fried hand is a specialty tool. It's meant for pointing and nothing else. It would be no good for holding a spoon and sipping soup.
In the course of a funny cartoon a character's hand design may change many times....yet, paradoxically, it still must recognizably be the same character's hand. Interesting, huh?
Here (above) I'm guessing that Geisel just wanted to show how gnarly and ginger root-like a hand could be. Look at the joints and spots and wrinkles and hairs. Look at the weird bend in the thumb. Whatever the hand is pointing to is probably less interesting than the hand itself.
For comparison, here's (above) a real hand. How boring! In order to make interesting hands the Geisel way it might help to ask, "What is a cartoon hand for?" The answer is, it's for spilling and dropping, for scratching an itch, for insulting others with gestures, and for quirky, independent behavior that embarrasses its owner.
Labels:
dr,
hands,
how to draw hands,
seuss,
ted geisel
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)