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emma_in_dream) wrote2010-12-30 08:50 pm
emma_in_dream) wrote2010-12-30 08:50 pm
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# 44 Jean Cocteau: Erotic Drawings (1999)
Jean Cocteau: Erotic Drawings (1999), ed Annie Guederas
This is a collection of his line drawings, all of gay sex. The preface says, somewhat pretentiously, that the subject doesn’t matter, it’s the line that is important. And yet, when I look at how much Cocteau conveys with very simple line drawings, I agree. The subject matter is a cliche but his clarity of line is amazing.
It’s a lovely collection, except that it isn’t properly catalogued. The pictures are lumped together thematically rather than chronologically. No information is given on dimensions or materials or even the date of composition, so you are left guessing as to whether his work changed over time. Some of the later works (?) seem to be made with texta on scraps of paper. Did he do what Picasso did and make gifts for friends at cafes? I don’t know because the editor hasn’t bothered to tell me.
Nor does the editor provide much background information on Cocteau. She assumes we know of his work, including his biographical writing *Le Livre Blanc* (1927). Apparently he drew illustrations in the margins of his copy (31 in the first edition, 500 in the second, both by subscription only as the material was racy). But are the illustrations in this collection? I don’t know because the editor doesn’t tell me.
In short, good art in an unsatisfactory edition.
Edited to say: It suddenly occurs to me that the intended audience might be people who want to look at porny pictures. In which case, well edited. For people who want to know about the art, not so much.
This is a collection of his line drawings, all of gay sex. The preface says, somewhat pretentiously, that the subject doesn’t matter, it’s the line that is important. And yet, when I look at how much Cocteau conveys with very simple line drawings, I agree. The subject matter is a cliche but his clarity of line is amazing.
It’s a lovely collection, except that it isn’t properly catalogued. The pictures are lumped together thematically rather than chronologically. No information is given on dimensions or materials or even the date of composition, so you are left guessing as to whether his work changed over time. Some of the later works (?) seem to be made with texta on scraps of paper. Did he do what Picasso did and make gifts for friends at cafes? I don’t know because the editor hasn’t bothered to tell me.
Nor does the editor provide much background information on Cocteau. She assumes we know of his work, including his biographical writing *Le Livre Blanc* (1927). Apparently he drew illustrations in the margins of his copy (31 in the first edition, 500 in the second, both by subscription only as the material was racy). But are the illustrations in this collection? I don’t know because the editor doesn’t tell me.
In short, good art in an unsatisfactory edition.
Edited to say: It suddenly occurs to me that the intended audience might be people who want to look at porny pictures. In which case, well edited. For people who want to know about the art, not so much.