When I was young, I had a book of pictures by the Argentine cartoonist Mordillo . Mordillo was hugely successful but I think better-known in the 70s (at least in the UK) than now - I would be interested to know if anyone reading knows him or had his books?
There were almost no words in the book I had (“Cartoons Opus 1”), so no barrier to my child-aged understanding. I loved the jewel colours, suggestions of exotic lands, and dimly understood sexy jokes. Mordillo drew a lot of towers, lush jungles and seas - have a look below.
His towers have always stayed in my mind, and appeared again recently:
The top picture was a direct memory of Mordillo’s bendy tower (ooo-er), though I hadn’t looked at his picture for a couple of years. I like thinking about the influences that show up in my work, some so obvious and direct, others from more dimly remembered images, or feelings inspired by images.
And it seems like such luck, doesn’t it - if I hadn’t had that book (which must have belonged to my parents) when I was five, would I now make a different kind of art? If Mordillo’s cartoons contribute to 0.0000001% of my artistic psyche, isn’t that still important?
Mordillo employed an eerie background-less-ness (!) to the pictures of his that I know. They were set in a nowhere-land. Often there was no horizon line at all, and if there was there would be nothing on it. The action focused entirely on the simple subject of the cartoon. There was something a bit unsettling about this staging - and like many unsettling things, also intriguing.
While it is true I don’t always love drawing backgrounds, and my grasp of perspective is still a bit adorable, I think it’s more the eerie, sans-setting, timeless quality of Mordillo’s pictures that keep appearing in my work.
At least, that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!
I have no idea why but it made me think of 'The shrinking of Treehorn'. I can literally hear all your more educated followers shrinking and then turning green...I am afterall a newbie at this
Of course! I'm from Argentina And I remember I had a very big Mordillo's poster in my room. I still enjoy his books and, now that I draw cartoons, I know how difficult is to make a joke with no words.