Cole Johnson is such a huge fan of Fay King that he couldn't let her spotlight on Stripper's Guide be snuffed after just two days. So he sent me a big batch of her
Daily Mirror illustrated columns/strips to run. Here is some analysis of King's genius from super-fan Johnson:
Fay really didn't have much art talent, and had little respect for anatomy lessons. She has a bit of trouble conveying expressions, and differentiating one scribbledy scarecrow from another (Was that one supposed to be that one's mother?) . Her basic shtick was this old maid naggy advice --don't argue over trivia, don't be jealous, don't use slang, keep your house clean -- but she would also make time-to-time comments on the news as well, usually some obvious finger-waving at a publicly embarrassed celebrity. Included with this batch of strips are some bathetic items which appeared at the time of the Lindbergh kidnapping. And I've heard people suggest T. E. Powers was the worst cartoonist? Maybe we're just all being chivalrous.
Count me as another Fay King fanatic. I don't know why -- because her cartooning isn't very good and her writing ability only slightly better. Perhaps it's the self-caricatures, which are absolutely charming
ReplyDeleteI know several people personally who could draw better than this. Worse, I don't think that's a very surprising thing to hear. I chock this up to what youtube sensations are today: totally irrational, random, and, objectively speaking, undeserving of their acclaim and success, and yet vital to a vibrant unpretentious art scene. Not to get too philosophical, but it's stuff like this that makes you wonder about what art is all about, as well as question the value of merit (or lackthereof) that we attribute to artists.
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