Kurt Vonnegut.docx

Kurt Vonnegut.docx

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KurtVonnegut

KurtVonnegut'sFantasticFaces

MostreadersinterestedinthefantasticinliteraturearefamiliarwithKurtVonnegut,particularlyforhisusesofsciencefiction.Manyofhisearlyshortstorieswerewhollyinthesciencefictionmode,andwhileitsdegreehasvaried,sciencefictionhasneverlostitsplaceinhisnovels.

Vonneguthastypicallyusedsciencefictiontocharacterizetheworldandthenatureofexistenceasheexperiencesthem.Hischaoticfictionaluniverseaboundsinwonder,coincidence,randomnessandirrationality.Sciencefictionhelpslendformtothepresentationofthisworldviewwithoutimposingafalsifyingcausalityuponit.Inhisvision,thefantasticoffersperceptionintothequotidian,ratherthanescapefromit.Sciencefictionisalsotechnicallyuseful,hehassaid,inprovidingadistanceperspective,"movingthecameraoutintospace,"asitwere.IAndunusuallyforthisform,Vonnegut'ssciencefictionisfrequentlycomic,notjustinthe"blackhumor"modewithwhichhehasbeentaggedsooften,butinbeingsimplyfunny.

Lessgenerallyfamiliarthanthefiction,however,areVonnegut'screationsinthegraphicarts.Theserevealthesamepostmodernheterogeneityofmodeandsubjectfoundinthefiction-realismandabstraction,thefantasticandthemundane,sentimentandirony,humorandmelancholy.

Vonnegut'svisionofthefantasticindailylifesurelymusthavebeeninfluencedbysomeoftheextraordinaryeventsthatoccurredwhilehewasstillayoungman,suchasthesuicideofhismotheronMother'sDay1944whilehewashomeonleave;hissurvivingasaprisonerofwartheAlliedfirebombingthatdestroyedDresden;thedeathofhissisterAlicefromcancerwithinhoursofherhusband'sdeathinatraincrash.Hisfictionstrugglestocopewithaworldoftragi-comicdisparities,auniversethatdefiescausality,whoseabsurditylendsthefantasticequalplausibilitywiththemundane.MuchthesameoutlookpervadesthegraphicartworksthathaveincreasinglyoccupiedVonnegutinrecentyears.

Thedrawingofthelocketbearingthe"SerenityPrayer"slungbetweenMontanaWildhack'sbreastsinSlaughterhouse-Five（1969）isthefirstappearanceofartworkinoneofVonnegut'snovels.'Thesimplefelt-tippendrawingsinBreakfastofChampions（1973）,however,werewhatfirstcalledgeneralattentiontoVonnegutasagraphicartist.Theycameasasurpriseatthetime,firstasbeinganunusualadditiontoanovel,butalsofortheirfrank,oftennaiveandsimplyfunnyqualities.Moststartling-andtosomeatthetime,offensive-werethedepictionsofanassholeand"awide-openbeaver."Butthedrawingsearntheirplaceinthenovel,andmustbeseenasintegraltoit.Somemakegraphictheludicrousdisparitiesthatoftenexistbetweenwordsassignifiersandwhatitistheysignify.Otherssimplyfunctionasembellishmentsorevenpunchlinesofjokes.Intheiralmostchild-likesimplicityoflinetheyhaveacertainironicproprietyinanovelwherethecentraleventisanartsfair.Aboveall,theyarepartof-anddrawattentionto-theseeminglynaive,evenadolescent,perspectivebywhichVonnegutdeconstructsanddemystifiesAmericancultureandsocietyinthisnovel.

Vonnegutcontinueddrawing,frequentlymakingdoodleswithafelt-tippenonpagesofdiscardedmanuscript.Fromtheseheevolved"felttipcalligraphs,"abstractfacesdrawnwithbrightlycoloredsoftfelttippens.'Hewasinvitedtoenterashowwhereartworkbywriters,includingNormanMailerandTennesseeWilliams（bothaccomplishedpainters）wereexhibited.Hesaid,"I'vedrawnallmylife,ontheedgesofmanuscriptsandthingslikethat.ButIstartedthinking,'Thisistheamateurapproach.'...SoIdecidedtotakemyselfseriouslyasanartist...Myfatherwasanartist,mygrandfatherwasanartist,andIhavethreechildrenwhoareaccomplishedartists."

Moreformalizeddrawings,similarinstylebutcomposedtoamuchlargerscaleonparchment,followed.Somethirtyofthesewereexhibitedinaone-manshowattheMargoFidenGalleryinGreenwichVillage,openingonOctober15,1983.Vonnegutalsoexperimentedwithsmalleretchings,whosesubjectswereoftenselfportraits,usuallyprofileswithbushyhairanddroopingcigarette,roughlysimilartotheonethatappearsattheendofBreakfastofChampions.

ThemediumusedinmorerecentgraphicshaditsorigininarequestbyanoldfriendfromVonnegut'sdaysasaPRwriteratGeneralElectrictoassistinthededicationin1993ofanewcollegelibrary.OllieLyon,onceafellow"flack"atG.E.,hadgoneontoresideinLexington,Kentucky,andbecomechairoftheDevelopmentCouncilforMidwayCollege.HeinvitedVonneguttoperformoneofhis"HowtoSucceedinaJobLikeMine"eveningsasafund-raiserforthenewlibrary.Vonnegutadditionallycreatedoneofhisself-portraitsforaposteradvertisingtheevent.AnotherfriendofOllieLyon,thebooksellerJohnDinsmore,providedtheconnectionwithLexingtonartistJoePetroIII,whosilkscreenedVormegut'sgraphicfortheposter.Sincethen,VonnegutandPetrohavecontinuedtheircollaboration,withVonnegutproducingimagesonlargesheetsofacetate,whichPetrothensilkscreens.'

Copyright©2002JillKrementz.

Fromthatbeginning,thenumberofgraphicsintheVonnegutcataloguehasgrownsteadily.OvertheyearsVonneguthadcometospeakoffindingwritingmoreonerous.Galapagos（1985）presentedscientificaswellasliterarychallenges,andhislaborswithhismostrecent-andhesays,finalnovelTimequake（1997）,extendedforseveralyears.Painting,ontheotherhand,hefoundfun.AsVonnegutdescribesit,writingislabor,andthewriter'srewardarriveswhenheorshehandsthemanuscripttotheeditorandsays,"It'syours."Thepainter,hesays,"getshisrocksoffwhileactuallydoingthepainting.Theactitselfisagreeable."'Afteracareerasawriterextendingverynearlyhalfacentury,suchareleaseissurelydeserved.

AmongtheearlierproductsofthealliancewithPetrowerethosewithaclearancestryintheBreakfastofChampionsillustrations.Therewastheselfportrait,reproducedwithminorvariationsandseveralcolorcombinations.Thenotorioussignaturerectumfromthenovelreappearsas"Sphincter,"alsoinarangeofcolors."OneEyedJack"isaderivationoftheprofile,evidentlyevolvedfromtheselfportrait.Oneofseveralsimilargraphics,itdatesbacktothetimeoftheMargoFidenGalleryexhibition.

Withitselaboratelyoverlappingcurlicuesaroundtheeyes,itprecedesaseriesofincreasinglyfantasticfaces.Vonnegut'sinterestinmakingabstractionsoffacesislong-standing:

"Thehumanfaceisthemostinterestingofallforms.SoI'vejustmadeabstracts,ofallthesefaces.Becausethat'showwegothroughlife,readingfacesveryquickly"（Horizon5）."One-EyedJack"hasbeenexpressedinvaryingcolorcombinations.Anearlyversionwasinorangeandgreen,acombinationthatVonnegutseemstolikebutwhichPetrorejectsbecause"thecolorsdon'tplayoffeachotherwell.117Therewerethreeeditions,knownbytheirdominantbackgroundcolorastheRed,CeruleanBlueandDarkGrayEditions.Theywerescreenedon30x22inchespaper,roughlythesizeofmostofthegraphics,allsignedinpencilbyVonnegut.

Morefantasticis"EgyptianArchitect"of1993.Theinterestincoilsateyesandnostrils,seeninvariousselfportraitsandin"One-EyedJack,"continues.Notevidentinearlierworkaretheinterestinbackgroundanddepthandtheplaywithtriangles,pyramidsandthingsEgyptian,whicharetoreoccurelsewhere.Theminimaluseofcoloremphasizeswhitenessandnegativespace,pushingthetwofacesrightupintotheframingoftheborderandelongatingthedistancetothepyramidinthebackground.Thepyramidisblackandpalegold,thebackgroundskyisaqua,andthesevencoloredpanelsintheeyeoftheleft-handfigurearealternatingpalegoldandaqua.Othertrianglesareformedbetweenthetwoheadsandbetweentheright-handheadandtheborder.AsinsomeofVonnegut'searlierdrawings,whatappeartobetwofacesmaybeoneplusitsreflection.（Thesingularnounofthetitleaddscredencetothisreading.）Theverticallinedissectingtheright-handfaceintersectstheflatlineofthehorizon,alinethatcontinuesinthestraightmouthofthatface.Thereisconsequentlyacounter-pointingofthecurlingandthestraight,anotherrecurrentcharacteristicinVonnegut'sgraphics.Theexpressionsonthefacesareatoncearrestingandamusing.Theleft-handprofilewearsalookperhapssuggestiveofintellectualself-satisfaction,whilethefullfacelooksquestioningandstartled.

"Cheops"（1994）continuestheEgyptianmotif,thoughVonnegutinsiststhathedoesnotworkwithathemeinmindandthattitlesareassignedlater.Bothpaintingsactuallyhaveasciencefictionfeeltothemaswell,ofalienbeingsandvastspaces."Cheops"wouldappeartobeoneofthosepaintingsthatVonnegutsayshebeginssimplywithintersectinglines（Vonnegut10/18/95）.Thistimetherearetwolinesdissectingtheimageverticallyandtworunninghorizontally.Thehorizontallinesproducestartlingaffects,amongthemtheimpressionoftwohorizons.Abovetheupperhorizontaladramaticfaceloomsagainsttheskylikeahugesupernaturalpresence,itseyesfiercelycommanding.Theabstractionofthefaceseemstostandincontrasttothesolidityofthepyramidswhilerepeatingtheirtriangles.Thedownwardpointingpyramid,hoveringovertwopyramidsstandingonthesecond,lowerhorizon,addstotheaffectofsomevastdesertmirage.Thetwosolidblocksofcoloratthebottom,yellowandred,lendasoliditythatinvitestheeyeintothedeepblankspacesabove.But