Aphorisms of great people in the form of original illustrations by Evan Robertson

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Polish writer Gabriel Laub believed that the future of literature was in aphorismbecause it cannot be filmed. And at the same time, we add, eloquent sayings are also good because you can create laconic illustrations for them. Evan Robertson created a series of excellent prints. We invite readers of the site Culturology. RF to get acquainted with them on the first day of the New Year 2014.

Evan Robertson's collection contains only 50 illustrations, each of which was created "based on" the sayings of famous writers. The author's experiments in the field of literary and visual creativity began with a quote from Ernest Hemingway: "Write drunk, edit sober." The artist's attention was also attracted by the aphorisms of Omar Khayyam, Sartre, Eliot, Locke, Hugo, Fitzgerald and others.

Each print is a kind of riddle that the viewer is invited to solve. For example, to illustrate the well-known lines "Do not believe in either the past or the coming minute, Believe the current minute - be happy now!" (written by Omar Khayyam), the artist painted an hourglass, inside which you can see a glass of wine. Thus, he was able to eloquently convey the contradiction inherent in the poem: the transience of time and the sweetness of life.

It is noteworthy that Evan Robertson comments on each illustration, so that the viewer has peculiar clues. Thomas Eliot's aphorism that he measures his life with coffee spoons, the artist presented in a peculiar way: an almost endless series of coffee spoons looks like a patterned tablecloth. Evan himself advises during a coffee break, even if you drink it alone, not to forget that you are not alone in your love for this drink: a company can always be made up of such a great thinker like Eliot.

Evan Robertson's attention was also drawn to Jeffrey Chaucer's aphorism: "Life is so short, and it takes so long to learn a craft." The artist drew scissors, which are shaped like a mountain, and a needle and thread, pointing the way to the top. The idea of the illustration also arose under the influence of the myth of the three ancient Greek goddesses of fate, moira, who weave the thread of human life.

The idea of V. Hugo that nothing pushes a person to adventure as much as an empty pocket was illustrated by Evan Robertson by imagining the pocket of his trousers in the form of a boat, the eternal symbol of travel. But the thought of André Gide that it is worth believing those who are looking for the truth and doubting those who will find it, was embodied in a print on which a question mark turns into an exclamation mark.

"For a snack" we will present one more interesting print. This is an illustration of the aphorism of William Dubois: "The cause of war is preparation for war." The picture shows a child building a sand castle. Or a defensive structure. Time will tell what it will actually be.