Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Blackstock's Collections by Gregory L. Blackstock

This is a collection of drawings by a retired dishwasher from Seattle, known for playing his accordion around town, who is also an artistic savant. His work consists of detailed drawings of objects, animals, and vegetables, each page devoted to the many varieties of each item.

From shoes (on the back),

to insects,

to tools, to plants, knots, instruments, fish, and the like, Blackstock's incredible undertaking of cataloging the minutiae of everyday objects is reminiscent of old field guides or biology books. His "visual lists" are not necessarily interesting simply because he is autistic, nor is his autism the driving force of his work--the drawings have a simple beauty all their own, and the dictionary-like quality is also kind of appealing.

The inside cover and flaps on each side feature handwritten soup recipes, of all things. I'm not sure how I feel about pineapple and cream of peach soup, but I like the sentiment all the same.

No comments:

Post a Comment