- ‘Waterfall’ from the ‘Art of Dr. Seuss’ exhibit.
Yesterday, fellow writer David Taffet and I jaunted over to see the exhibit, “The Art of Dr. Seuss” at Storyopolis Fine Art which is housed in the 4th Wall Gallery in Uptown. We knew it was going to be a quick trip but I could have easily spent more time looking at the work. The exhibit is surprisingly vast and worth every second it takes to get a closer look at Horton, The Cat in the Hat and some of the more surprising art I had no idea about.
His illustrations are no doubt amazing and clever but don’t get too caught up in the stuff you’ve seen already as a kid or even beyond (like I started to). Or save it for last because it’s his other work that needs savoring. It’s something to see his style even before he became famous for it. Advertisements for Flit insecticide and a World War II info book on malaria have the same whimsy as his “Green Eggs and Ham.” Check out this ad. Just wish I remembered what the caption said.
Be prepared though as Dr. Seuss had a naughty side too. In Secret Art, he illustrated some works kept to himself that caught me off guard. I just naturally associate Dr. Seuss with childlike wonder and fantasy but when he twists them into a more adult nature, it’s kind of shocking. Don’t worry, it’s not pornographic or sleazy…just different.
- I had to do a double take on his ‘Myopic Woman.’
My favorites of all were his Unorthodox Taxidermy pieces. Creatures from his books were created into actual wall-hangings that in the beginning sold for cheap but now run above and beyond the $3,000 mark. If you think about it too long, it ends up creepy but the pieces have a wonderful charm behind them.
Check it out for sure. It’s quite a gem to see but you have just over a week left to get in there. The exhibit concludes Aug. 8.
So we jaunted, huh?
I enjoyed the original watercolors of the illustrations from some of the most popular books. Limited edition prints of many are available for sale for under $500.
Also one of Dr. Seuss’s earliest jobs was a series of cartoon ads for “Flit,” an insecticide. In one, a boy has swallowed a bug, so he proudly announces that he’s gargled with Flit to kill the bug. We thought Flit was a mouthwash at first. An ad like that would never fly today – people would be suing when they got sick because they did what the boy in the ad did.
July 31, 2009
Art of Dr. Seuss -fraud-
The so-called Art of Dr. Seuss is “a knowing concealment of the truth or misrepresentation of a material fact to induce someone to his or her detriment” which is one legal definition of -fraud-.
The so-called “Art of Dr. Seuss” was posthumously forged since 1997.
Theodor Geisel a.k.a. Dr. Seuss died in 1991.
The dead don’t create art.
All the so-called serigraphs, lithographs and edition sculptures, falsely attributed to Theodor Geisel, are chromist-made posthumous fakes by either S-2 Editions, Chameleon Editions and others hired by The Chase Group from Illinois, working for the widow Audrey Geisel.
Under U.S. Customs regulations, a lithograph “must be wholly executed by hand by the artist {and} excludes any mechanical and photomechanical processes.”
To learn more about these contentious issues of authenticity, link to: https://garyarseneau.blogspot.com/2006/09/art-of-dr-seuss-fraud.html
Gary Arseneau
artist, creator of original lithographs & scholar
Fernandina Beach, Florida
Wow. Buzz kill Gary. I went to the show and completely enjoyed it. It’s nice to see the adults smiling like kids and the kids enjoying it just as much. One little boy was running around chanting “hop on pop hop on pop hop on pop” and when he found the print he exclaimed with glee. That is authentic.
August 2, 2009
Do the ends justify the means?
How can legitimate artists, who actually create lithographs, serigraphs and sculptures, compete in a marketplace if some misrepresent for sale 72,000 or more posthumous forgeries as the same thing?
How can smiling adults give informed consent on whether to purchase a posthumous forgery, if the other smiling adults cashing in fail to give full and honest disclosure?
Fools Gold is shiny but you don’t leave out the fool part and misrepresent pyrite as gold for sale at $1,000 an ounce to the public without bringing in serious questions of law.
So, when smiling -adults- misrepresent posthumous forgeries as original works of visual art ie., lithographs, serigraphs and sculpture for $225 to $8,000 or more each, those smiling adults not only bring in serious questions of law but the penalties they may exact.
Therefore, some day those smiling adults, who cashed in at those other smiling adults’ expense, may discover the ends do not justify the means.
Gary Arseneau
artist, creator of original lithographs & scholar
Fernandina Beach, Florida