From 1984 to 1996, Edward Gorey created a series of postcards celebrating National Postcard Week for Gotham Book Mart (See my post from May 4, 2012). The cards announce an annual exhibition of postcards at the gallery.
The original artwork from the 1993 card shows a young woman leaping over the outstretched arms of an adoring male audience in the moonlight. As she soars above them, she is scattering a postcard for each to catch. All of the open hands wear a matching ring, and presumably matching tuxedos. The crosshatched background deepens behind the woman, giving the image the appearance of a stage set. This artwork has been reproduced many times with the lettering removed from the sash.
It is always interesting to compare Mr. Gorey's original uncropped artwork to the final cropped image. For this image, the cropping shortens the arms on the left and cleans up the edges, tightening the image and focusing our attention on the woman. The uneven edge on the original art reveals the hand work involved in producing the crosshatched background, bringing Mr. Gorey's involvement with the piece alive.
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2 comments:
Hi there, I found your site when looking for Ed Gorey images. I would like to cite the image with the woman wearing the sash with the men's hands stretched forward. Did you find it in a book?
Thanks!
Lauren
This image was made as a postcard for the National Postcard Week, one of which I have in my collection. The original artwork for this image which I show on my post is in my collection.
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