Monday, March 17, 2008

The Far Side

I was thinking about an example of words and images combined to create some sorto f creative art. I was looking around on my desk and saw my Complete Far Side Collection by Gary Larson and thought what a great example of words and images.  Gary Larson cerated simple art and combined it with witty writing to create one of the world's most popular comic strips.

Mostly all of Larson's comics are single rectangular boxes that illustrate some sort of conflict. Be it man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. animal, or even animal vs. animal, as Larson tended to anthropomorphize animals in many of his comics.

During his career, Larson had been criticized about many of his comics to be insensitive to certain social issues (such such as violence against animals and humans), and insensitive to certain groups of people.  Larson had claimed that hte people who had protested agaisnt his comics often misunderstood his purpose and humor.

Looking at all his comics, it's wonderful to see the distinct world Larson created within all of his comics. The citizens, animals, houses, buildings and all other elements of his world have a very difinitive look and feel. In my opinion, Larson's work is very creative and often times an outright, and at the same time, a subtle comment on society and certain social issues.







1 comment:

Musings from Me said...

I LOVE the Far Side. My all-time favorite strip is "Trouble Brewing." On one side of the frame we see Doreen's Nursery with babies leaning against a fence. On the other side we see Dan's House of Dingoes with dingoes leaning against the same fence. Very funny!