You may have watched \u201cHow the Grinch Stole Christmas,\u201d or read \u201cThe Cat in the Hat,\u201d but have you gazed upon \u201cThe Rather Odd Myopic Woman\u201d? Or how about, \u201cThe Cat that Changed the World\u201d?<\/p>\n
Those works are also part of Theodor Seuss Geisel\u2019s \u2014 better known as \u201cDr. Seuss\u201d \u2014 \u201cMidnight Paintings\u201d collection. Some of that art will be on display in a special upcoming exhibition, \u201cThe Art of Dr. Seuss \u2014 A Rare Editions Event\u201d at the Chuck Jones Gallery Downtown, May 13\u2013June 4.<\/p>\n Jones is the legendary animator and director who brought the world Bugs Bunny, the Road Runner and the rest of the \u201cLooney Tunes\u201d characters.<\/p>\n The Midnight Paintings were works Geisel created at night for his personal enjoyment. Sometimes the paintings involved some of his best-loved characters, and sometimes they explored more of the wackiness and creativity the art medium allows.<\/p>\n A \u201cGreenish Cat [sits] on a Pinkish Pot,\u201d a \u201cCat Detective [goes to] the Wrong Part of Town,\u201d or a neighbor tells another neighbor, \u201cMy Petunia Can Lick Your Geranium\u201d in some of the pictures. The art plays with colors and lines and has a surreal, sometimes Dali-esque quality.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a Seussical aesthetic, but it\u2019s very smart and very adult,\u201d said Chuck Jones gallery director Michael Fiacco. \u201cIt shows his naughty side.\u201d<\/p>\n The exhibit will feature 18 pieces from the special artwork collection and nearly 40 pieces in all. There will also be selections from Geisel\u2019s unorthodox taxidermy, illustration art, and Chuck Jones\u2019 archive collection.<\/p>\n Yes, taxidermy.<\/p>\n Geisel\u2019s father had a 30-year career as superintendent of the Springfield, Massachusetts park system, and during that time, he would often send his son shed parts, such as bills and antlers, from the zoo for scientific study. Geisel melded these parts together to make brand new creatures in what Jeff Schuffman, national sales manager for Chase Art Companies, describes as a \u201cflurry of creative activity.\u201d Chase Art manages the collection for Dr. Seuss Enterprises.<\/p>\n \u201cSome he did for advertisement, some he did just for fun \u2014 like the \u2018Goo Goo Eyed Tasmanian Wolghast,\u2019\u201d Schuffman said.<\/p>\n Geisel had asked his wife Audrey not to release the paintings or many of the sculptures until after his passing. She complied and it wasn\u2019t until 1995 that the book \u201cThe Secret Art of Dr. Seuss\u201d was published, showcasing these works.<\/p>\n In the book\u2019s introduction, Audrey wrote, \u201cI remember telling Ted that there would come a day when many of his paintings would be seen and he would thus share with his fans another facet of himself \u2014 his private self.\u00a0That day has come.\u00a0I am glad.\u201d<\/p>\n In 1997, the first exhibition was launched by Chase Art to showcase pieces from the collection \u2014 serigraphs, lithographs, and sculpture reproductions of the original. There were 850 pieces made of each of the works and when those are sold out, 155 collaborator proofs will be made available, in stages, to less than two dozen galleries across the world.<\/p>\n Chuck Jones Gallery is one of those galleries.<\/p>\n \u201cWe covet these and manage them very closely,\u201d Schuffman said.<\/p>\n The late Jones and Geisel first met and collaborated during World War II. Not on the combat field, but in \u201cFort Western\u201d \u2014 a commandeered portion of the old Fox Studio on Sunset Boulevard. The men worked with then-Colonel Frank Capra, making animated training and propaganda films for the United States Army. Many of the films featured \u201cPrivate SNAFU,\u201d a hapless soldier who created havoc by not following the rules \u2014 or as Chuck Jones described in in his book \u201cChuck Reducks,\u201d \u201cthe worst soldier in the Army.\u201d SNAFU was an acronym used by the military at the time, meaning \u201cSituation Normal All F-d Up.\u201d<\/p>\n The two men stayed in touch after the war ended, but it wasn\u2019t until 1965 that Jones wrote that he \u201clured [Geisel] off of that lovely hilltop home in La Jolla into the maelstrom of television\u201d to produce the book-to-film \u201cHow the Grinch Stole Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n That in itself is its own story, but suffice it to say the project cemented the relationship between a legendary animator and a \u201cliving Hans Christian Anderson\u201d \u2014 as Jones referred to Geisel.<\/p>\n \u201cThese were two incredible genius talents that changed the world,\u201d Schuffman said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey saw life differently than other people,\u201d said Craig Kausen, grandson of Chuck Jones and president of the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity.\u00a0Kausen said Jones had to visit Geisel three times \u2014 the last time with storyboards \u2014 before Geisel would commit to making the Grinch into the cartoon character for TV.<\/p>\n The legendary relationship between the two animators has continued through San Diego\u2019s Chuck Jones Gallery and Chase Art. The gallery was one of the first to host an \u201cArt of Dr. Seuss\u201d collection exhibit, and Schuffman noted the staff\u2019s commitment to both men\u2019s art has kept the exhibit coming back.<\/p>\n \u201cThey understand the historical sense and the contemporary sense,\u201d Schuffman said. \u201cThey represent the work extraordinarily well. It\u2019s a phenomenal working relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n Schuffman will be visiting the gallery at an opening night reception Saturday, May 13, from 7-9 p.m., which is free and open to the public. The exhibition will be on display through June 4 and the gallery will also feature more common works of Dr. Seuss and other animators, along with Jones\u2019 personal and working collection as well, in a celebration of pop culture.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople smile when they come in here and that\u2019s a great thing,\u201d Fiacco said.<\/p>\n Chuck Jones Gallery is located in the Gaslamp Quarter at 232 Fifth Ave. They are open Monday to Saturday 10 a.m.\u20139 p.m., and Sundays 11 a.m.\u20138 p.m. For more information, visit drseussart.com<\/em><\/a>, chuckjones.com<\/em><\/a>, or call 619-294-9880.<\/p>\n \u2014Joyell Nevins is a local freelance writer. Reach her at <\/em>joyellc@gmail.com<\/em><\/a> or follow her blog Small World, Big God at\u00a0<\/em>swbgblog.wordpress.com<\/u><\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Por Joyell Nevins<\/p>","protected":false},"author":826,"featured_media":239226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"A sassy, Seussical display","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11549,11547,11600,11550],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-239225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-features","category-sdnews","category-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/826"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/web-MAIN-new-Dr.-Seuss-A-Prayer-for-a-Child.jpg\")
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