We are back with another edition of our CREATURE DOUBLE FEATURE where we discuss TWO different artworks by TWO different artists and compare what makes them so terrifying!
Usually, we are able to squeeze them into one episode but not this time!
We kick off our 2025 CDF edition with illustrator, painter, and stained glasser Harry Clarke (1889-1931).
Whoo-ee, y’all, what a journey this one has been!
Part of our process of building our episodes includes immersing ourselves in the time and place these artists worked - we want to know what they were seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting?
This time it included watching Derry Girls and traveling (virtually) to the mecca of the Irish Celtic Revival: the enchanting Aran Islands off the Western coast of Ireland.
ARAN ISLAND
It also led us to really ponder what made Harry’s vib different from his predecessor Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898), known for his grotesque and erotic black ink drawings, but also from the many overlapping movements happening at this time: Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, Celtic Revival, Irish Revival, Gothic Revival and many more.
AUBREY BEARSLEY
Harry hailed from Dublin, Ireland and was just as popular for his book illustrations during the Golden Age of gift-books as well as his other-wordly stained glass in churches.
STAINED GLASS - GENEVA WINDOW
While his masterpiece is the Geneva Window, a breathtaking example of Harry’s skill and mastery of stained glass, we will be focusing on an illustration from the book of Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allen Poe (1919, 1923).
Yes, horror-ific Edgar. Allen.Poe.
The work in question is that of “King Pest” from 1919, a story about two drunken sailors bumbling about a 19th century plague-stricken London.
KING PEST
Sounds chill but the combo of grim and gory Poe plus Harry’s scary talent of visualizing such tales will give you the heebie-jeebies (not all speaking from experience 👀).
Click PLAY if you dare and get ready to be HARRY-FIED!
Topics include E-Girl socks, El Chavo del Ocho, island getaways, pampooties, Derry Girls, Guinness, TB vaccines and much, much more!
The Pantry in this ep’ is “Horror Vacui”.
And, of course, we want to hear from YOU!
What are YOUR favorite Harry Clarke illustrations from Tales of Mystery and Imagination?
Some of our favorites include “The Tell-Tale Heart” “The Assignation”