Victor Pross Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 (edited) The Late Great Al Hirschfeld: Minimalist caricaturist. If ever there was an iconic figure in the world of caricaturing--it would have to be that of Al Hirschfeld. This great artist was able to able to capture a likeness and the essence of his subjects with the least amount of lines—whereas I’m a detail freak. He was the great minimalist of caricaturing. His works are primarily pen and ink, hardly ever did he render in color. His gift was not only at capturing a striking resemblance, but he was also known for the humorous and brilliant “situations” that he placed his subjects in. One critic wrote: "Though his caricatures often exaggerate and distort the faces of his subjects, he is often described as being a fundamentally 'nicer' caricaturist than many of his contemporaries, and being drawn by Hirschfeld was considered an honor more than an insult." Peronally, I go "nice" and "mean"--depending on the subject. :devil: What an imagination! I can only dream of equaling him. Here was a talent. Judge for yourself here: http://www.alhirschfeld.com/index2.htmlFrom a website: "To readers of the New York Times, the name of "Al Hirschfeld" is synonymous with the word "caricature". His satirical drawings have appeared in the drama pages for over sixty years. And every Sunday, theatre lovers rush to their favorite section to see who has been immortalized. Mr. Hirschfeld's works have been sought after by private art lovers and public institutions as well. His works are included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, and Harvard University's Fogg museum, as well as many others." Edited November 3, 2006 by Victor Pross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Grieb Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 Al Hirschfeld was great. In his field he was the best. Thanks for the tribute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 I always find it hard to rate someone as "the best," and that's true with caricaturists. I think Hirschfeld was definitely one of the best, but I can't rate his work as being better than Mort Drucker's from the 70s, including his MAD magazine stuff, or better than C. F. Payne's work over the past dozen years (not including his Rockwellian Reader's Digest work, which I'm not a fan of). I'd say that Hirschfeld's work was the most stylistically distinct, Drucker was the most prolific and versatile (his work ranged from full-blown, full-color images to a style similar in its minimalism to Hirschfeld's), and Payne is the most refined, the most artsy, with much more focus than the other two on abstract elements such as compositional proportions and classical color palettes. To me, all three are tied as "the best."J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victor Pross Posted November 4, 2006 Author Share Posted November 4, 2006 Jonathan,I pictured you as a visual artist, but it seems that this is not so. You certainly have a great appreciation for the visual arts—and a great sum of knowledge. I’m impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 Victor:I pictured you as a visual artist, but it seems that this is not so. You certainly have a great appreciation for the visual arts—and a great sum of knowledge. I’m impressed.Well, thank you, but I don't feel that I have a great sum of knowledge, just an intense passion for the subject.Why does it seem to you that I'm not a visual artist?J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victor Pross Posted November 4, 2006 Author Share Posted November 4, 2006 J, my mistake...I was reading the below post from the What is Talent thread, and I misunderstood your meaning. What kind of stuff do you do then? I suck at math, and always have. I tried very hard in school, but could barely manage to be average at math up until junior high, after which I could no longer rise to the level of average. I'm totally incompetent at it. I'm less naturally incompetent at history, I'm only somewhat naturally incompetent at basketball and music, and I'm almost completely lacking in natural incompetence at visual art. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 Victor,I work as an illustrator doing mostly 3D rendering and animation, but I also do some fine art painting, sculpting and photography. I prefer realistic styles, but I sometimes explore other modes if the subject calls for it.Btw, I've notice that a lot of the work that you've posted here doesn't include info about which media you've used. Are you working mostly in oil on canvas?J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victor Pross Posted November 4, 2006 Author Share Posted November 4, 2006 (edited) Jonathan,Why not post some of your stuff? I would love to see it. No, not oils--too toxic. Takes forever to dry. I work in acrylic and gouache. Edited November 4, 2006 by Victor Pross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Grieb Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 Jonathan; Please post some of your work or let us have a link to a web site so we can see it. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 Thanks for your interest. I might post some scans of my work sometime.J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Stuart Kelly Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 Jonathan,I would love to see them too.Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inky Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 If I'm not much mistaken, he had an exhibit all to himself at Beatlefest a few years ago. He has a very distinctive style, I recognized it immediately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now