Seth's earlier work seems more ornate than his later work, more detailed. Compared to this, Big in Japan is quite severe, if I can use that term. Look at all the frou-frou in this house. Of course that's the look he wanted for this setting, but all of Happydale is so loaded with details that you can entertain yourself for hours going through the details in the background. He said himself that he never put in details the way Geoff Darrow did, with whom he was often compared, but he did like them. Just in the furnishings and tchotchkes in this room, you've got a heavily carved grandfather clock, a table loaded with chess set, statue, candy dish, vases, and other things, then there is the floral wainscoting, and all the pictures seem to be in fancy frames. On top of the TV there are a video, its box (I think), a bowl of cookies, and the letter F. Eugene is lying on the floor surrounded by comic books and cookies. There are also various hard-to-read details in the extreme foreground. I can't tell what they are, but they make you believe that the room goes on farther, and that if you could stretch the edges out more, you would see more of the house. Seth makes you think that this is NOT a "picture"; it's more like a photo of a real place.
No comments:
Post a Comment