Burton Humor

Tim Burton was one of the artists I used last semester to explain where my line of humor was coming from. I have always admired Burton's works. It probably started with Nightmare Before Christmas or maybe it was Edward Scissorhands. Anyway, I really got into his work after I read The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy. It seemed just my type of humor. It was sick yet you couldn't help but laugh at it. This is how I wanted my work to function. I know it's not going to be read as sick which is fine but I believe I chose a sensitive enough topic that some people may not find appealing. What I love most about Burton's works are his drawings. Some of them are good enough by themselves, but are ultimately enhanced by the text. I don't think I have the courage to add text just yet to my work and I don't know if it actually needs it but it is something to think about I guess. The Boy with Nails in his Eyes is my favorite out of the entire book. The fact that he has nails in his eyes does actually gross me out. I have this thing about eyes and stuff touching them, but with the tree upside down and him holding the star I can't not laugh. The entire book is like this which is fabulous.

The other artist that I mentioned in my artist statement last semester was Edward Gorey. He is actually my main inspiration for this series. All of his works have that odd, quirky feel to them but one book always stood out to me more than the others. The Gashlycrumb Tinies was one of the funniest things I had ever read. It reads like a children's book which goes through the alphabet. The catch is that each letter stands for a different child that has died in some horrible and some not horrible way. The illustrations also are quite child like but there is an overwhelming sense of morbidity throughout the whole book. My favorite of course is Neville who dies of ennui. His little face peering out of the gigantic window just kills me every time. To me Gorey really pushes humor to the edge and that is why I love him so.