Thursday, March 22, 2018
Car-icature
The art of capturing a personality in a quick sketch was perfected in the '30s by many magazine artists. It's lost now.
I was struck by the universality of the technique in two pictures from an otherwise uninteresting 'advertising yearbook' published in '39. Each city paid to include a few pages of publicity for its advantages.
Here's an example of the caricature applied to humans:
These men are about the same age and same race, and most have the same equipment. Same hairstyle, same bowtie, same rimless glasses, same cigar. Despite the standardization, the artist managed to capture a unique quality in each man.
A less obvious example:
These cars are about the same age and the same type, and have the same equipment. Separate headlights, vertical radiator, open fenders, sedan body. Despite the standardization, the car in the foreground INSTANTLY shouts HUDSON! The artist captured the essence of Hudsonness with a few minimal lines.
Car-icature.
¶ 2:55 AM 
These men are about the same age and same race, and most have the same equipment. Same hairstyle, same bowtie, same rimless glasses, same cigar. Despite the standardization, the artist managed to capture a unique quality in each man.
A less obvious example:
These cars are about the same age and the same type, and have the same equipment. Separate headlights, vertical radiator, open fenders, sedan body. Despite the standardization, the car in the foreground INSTANTLY shouts HUDSON! The artist captured the essence of Hudsonness with a few minimal lines.
Car-icature.
¶ 2:55 AM
