There is something fundamentally satisfying about the work of the great George Herriman, especially in his masterpiece, the
Krazy Kat strip. His landscapes appear surreal (unless you've ever visited the canyons of the Southwest United States) as do the relations between his characters (unless you've ever truly negotiated the tangled web of real human interaction). Krazy loves Ignatz the Mouse, who expresses his undying contempt for the Kat with the utter violence of regularly flung bricks to Krazy's noggin. Offisa Pupp harbors his own unrequited for the Kat, and fails to see that Ignatz' regular attacks are welcomed by Krazy, since they demonstrate that Ignatz's feelings for him are intense and result in constant attention.
All the inhabitants of Coconino County are playing out the roles that destiny has assigned them, in an environment that magnifies their individual insignificance, at least insofar as they try to assert some kind of control over their fate. Krazy rolls with things and is happy, even when laid out by another brick, while Ignatz and Offisa Pupp are endlessly frustrated in their efforts to alter the outcome of their little "play." I think there's a lesson in there, but even if not, it sure is a beautiful strip to view and think about.
There is something fundamentally satisfying about the work of the great George Herriman, especially in his masterpiece, the Krazy Kat strip. His landscapes appear surreal (unless you've ever visited the canyons of the Southwest United States) as do the relations between his characters (unless you've ever truly negotiated the tangled web of real human interaction). Krazy loves Ignatz the Mouse, who expresses his undying contempt for the Kat with the utter violence of regularly flung bricks to Krazy's noggin. Offisa Pupp harbors his own unrequited for the Kat, and fails to see that Ignatz' regular attacks are welcomed by Krazy, since they demonstrate that Ignatz's feelings for him are intense and result in constant attention.
All the inhabitants of Coconino County are playing out the roles that destiny has assigned them, in an environment that magnifies their individual insignificance, at least insofar as they try to assert some kind of control over their fate. Krazy rolls with things and is happy, even when laid out by another brick, while Ignatz and Offisa Pupp are endlessly frustrated in their efforts to alter the outcome of their little "play." I think there's a lesson in there, but even if not, it sure is a beautiful strip to view and think about.
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