Sunday, October 11, 2009

Sendak Tribute Envelope, October 2009

Anybody who's ever spoken to me knows what a big influence Maurice Sendak has on my work. Ever since my Dad read "Where the Wild Things Are" to me as a boy, I've been mesmerized by Sendak's work. We are very lucky to have the Rosenbach Museum here in Philly, because they always have something of Sendak's on display.

Sendak's work has a perfect blend of the joys and fears of childhood. His line work is calculated but also playful. I know a lot of people are skeptical about Spike Jonez' film adaptation of "Where the Wild Things Are" coming out next week, but I am very hopeful. So far, all of the music videos Jonez directed have been visually brilliant. Also, "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation" were two films that were catered perfectly to my taste.

So this week's envelope for Joannie was a tribute to Sendak's book that carried such a profound influence on my work. It's a blatant ripoff, but I had fun drawing it. I rip Sendak off a lot. Joannie is going with me next week to take my neice to the film.

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