A red teardrop with sunburst wings and a triangle tail, a flock of multi-colored rounded polygons passing through a cerulean backdrop, a swarm of polka dotted polka dots scuttling over crumbling brown ellipses; these are the stylized fauna that inhabit the vibrant, visual ecology seen through the eyes of Charley Harper.
For when Harper looks at nature he doesn't see the feathers of a bird or the scales of a fish, rather, as he puts it: "I see exciting shapes, color combinations, patterns, textures, fascinating behavior and endless possibilities for making interesting pictures". Harper's blissful marriage of simple forms and complex arrangements produced lively illustrations that, along with the work of many other mid-Century Modernists, blurred the lines between design and art.
Charley Harper was born on August 4, 1922 in Frenchton, West Virginia and was raised on his family's farm. This rural environment imbued within Harper an appreciation for the natural world that would drive the rest of his life's work. Harper eventually left his native habitat to study as a realist painter at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. However his plans were soon delayed as he was drafted into the military shortly after beginning his studies.
Harper's next three years were spent serving Army Intelligence during WWII. He continued sketching during his service, and experience that also influenced his work (considering his illustrations are of cute lil' woodland creatures rather than blood-thirsty Nazis and horribly disfigured soldiers crying for Momma, it's clear that the war influenced the form of his work, rather than the content). As Harper himself notes, the chaotic nature of war was an environment that forced him to learn how to “grasp the important elements of a scene quickly and put them down with minimum detail.”
After his time in the Army, Harper returned to Cincinnati and finished his studies. He was awarded the first Stephen H. Wilder Traveling Scholarship, which allowed Charley and his wife Edie to explore the American south and west and experience the biomes of those regions and the variety of wildlife that inhabit each ecological community.
Upon his return, Harper began to tutor at the Art Academy of Cincinnati and also began work in a commercial studio. Here Harper began to grow frustrated with the limitations of perspective and shading and realized the lack of commercial demand for realism. He began experimenting with new styles until he developed the iconic style he is now know for.
The synthesis of Harper's experiences was a style he called "minimal realism", through which he strove to depict nature using the fewest possible visual elements, often in the form of basic colorful shapes garnished with more complex details and textures. His style is the expression of his unique perspective of nature, seen by an ever-reducing mind. “I don’t try to put everything in, I try to leave everything out. I never count the feathers in the wings; I just count the wings.” Harper's minimalist style is the product of a diverse array of influences. He was not only inspired by art movements like Cubism and Minimalism, but also some not so obvious sources, such as Einsteinian Physics (non-Euclidean Geometry) and architecture.
As a sauce is reduced to concentrate flavors, Harper's reduction of the natural world to basic shapes and bold colors creates a piquant ecosystem, whose simplicity serves as stark contrast to the complex world created by "intelligent" humans. When I look at Harper's illustrations, I am visited by my recurrent pining for the idyllic simplicity of life as an animal; find food, eat, rest, mate, die. (WARNING: prolonged viewing of Harper's work my lead to our world to appear more and more like a futuristic sci-fi reality, in which an ugly industrialized hellhole is inhabited by mindless lemmings programmed for destruction by skewed social and power structures, all to serve the desires of corrupt political overlords.) And despite the complexities of many of his compositions, a pervading sense of balance remains, providing the same calming effect as a walk through the woods.
Due his work's focus on wildlife, many of Harper's work can be found on posters and other promotional materials for nature-based organizations, such as the National Park Service, Everglades National Park, Cincinnati Zoo, Cincinnati Nature Center, Hamilton County Park District, the Michigan Audubon Society and the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania. Much of Harper's work stems from his 34 year long collaboration with "Ford Times", the travel magazine published by Ford Motor Company. Ford first commissioned Harper to illustrate the recipe section in the December 1948 issue. He continued to do more work with them and because his illustrations were so popular with readers, the magazine began sell prints of his work.
The recognition he gained from his work at "Ford Times" attracted many different clients and allowed him to enjoy commercial success throughout the 50's and 60's. Throughout this time Harper's work spanned from illustrating a Betty Crocker Cookbook, to designing posters for the National Park Service, to creating a tile mosaic mural on the walls of the Cincinnati Federal Building.
Harper also dabbled in writing, and has released compilations of his work that include poems to accompany each illustration.
Whitecoat
Welcome to the world, little whitecoat, baby harp seal with tearful eyes. Warm and cuddly in your immaculate pelt, you are helpless and defenseless on the arctic ice; you cannot swim, you can scarcely crawl. And you are so trusting. We think you are beautiful. We love you. We hear your cries of pain and terror under the hunter's club. But we would wear you. Goodbye, little whitecoat, from the endangering species – those friendly folks who bring you to extinction.
Harper's view of nature is now being introduced to a new generation, as his work has recently taken new forms. In 2008, Old Navy released a line of children's product bearing his work. And proving that an 83 year old man can still be in touch with youth culture, he collaborated with the Dayton-based, nature-themed skateboard company Habitat Skateboards in 2005 to produce a line of skateboard decks. Productive into his late years, Charley Harper created a extensive portfolio of work, and although he died on June 10, 2007 of complications related to pneumonia, he has left behind an extensive portfolio and an enduring legacy, ensuring that futures generations will see cardinals, flocks of birds, and ladybugs in a whole new light.
Add these two enterprising artists to the list of those inspired by Charley Harper. When I look at their simple, avian adornments, I can't help but be reminded of his work.
Sources:
http://castorandpollux.co.uk/2010/07/charley-harper-essay-from-delicious-industries/
http://www.rtpi.org/component/option,com_jevents/Itemid,19/catids,77|78|79/day,25/evid,427/month,08/task,icalrepeat.detail/uid,7894420461b604070a85c82d5471bf28/year,2010/
http://charleyharper.blogspot.com/2009/07/charley-harper-and-habitat-skateboards.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Euclidean_geometry
http://www.jstor.org/pss/1575193
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charley_Harper
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Publications/Birdscope/Spring2006/world_birds.html
http://www.viget.com/inspire/charley-harper/
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