Les’ Illustration Concepts Class

Pinoke Exhibit September 2, 2009

Pinocchio

The Illustration Department’s 2009 Summer Reading Project

Each year, a book is selected that all illustration students read over the course of the summer break. When students return in the fall they have a common cultural experience that can be shared and discussed and that assignments are based on in class. This year’s book is Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi.
Collodi, whose real name was Carlo Lorenzini, was a politically active writer of novels, pieces in political newspapers and satire as well as children’s literature in 19th century Italy. At 23 he founded Il Lampione (The Lamp), a satirical magazine that published for a year before being shut down by the government (it resumed publishing in 1860), From this social and political environment Pinocchio’s adventures (or misadventures) were born in 1881 as weekly installments in Il Giornale per i Bambini (an Italian children’s newspaper).
Collodi didn’t think much of his offspring. Originally he had ended the story with Pinocchio’s lynching. He eventually was  persuaded to write further chapters.
Despite a ambivalent father, Pinocchio went on to great success (unfortunately after Collodi’s death in 1890). Pinocchio’s adventures are; fantastic, absurd, moralistic, entertaining, allegorical, satiric, in short all the things that make up a good story, and inspire great art.
By 1937 Pinocchio’s adventures were being published in 80 different editions including translations into Swahili, Gaelic and Esperanto. Pinocchio was a popular character before the 1940 premiere of Disney’s full length animated feature. Disney’s use of the story coincides with Collodi’s copyright expiring.  As frightening as some of the scenes in the Disney movie can seem, catch Lampwick’s transformation into a donkey, the original story by Collodi is grimmer. Feet are burned off, Pinocchio is hung, chained up, there are funeral processions, huge sharks…a lot to scare a child into good behavior.
Disney’s version of Pinocchio certainly seems to dominate the visual landscape, but not everywhere. Travel to Italy or other continents than America and Pinocchio’s look can be quite unfamiliar…until we see the iconic long nose.
One hundred and twenty six years after his debut Pinocchio is very much a cultural icon.  He is a metaphor for lying and bad behavior in politicians as well as a symbol of a character’s quest for humanity. Frankenstein, Astro Boy, David from Stanley Kuberick/Stephen Spielberg’s A.I., Edward Scissorhands, are all cousins of Pinocchio.

A Pinocchio exhibit is up on the 8th floor to peak your interest in the little wooden icon. Below is a key to what’s in the showcase.

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Key

1. Hanging Pinocchio 1944 –by Italian illustrator Giovanni Manca.
2. Fables, 2002 (comic book) covers by illustrator James Jean. Geppetto and Pinocchio figure prominently in the story line of the characters from well known Fables in exile.
3. Pinocchio shadow puppet
4. Woodpeckers whittle down Pinocchio’s nose, from Italian children’s book illustrator Attilio Cassinelli’s 1981 Pinocchio  book re’entititled “Once I was a piece of wood”.
5. Fold out cover of the August 1972, (No. 29) National Lampoon. Nixon as Pinocchio with Henry Kissinger as Jiminy Cricket. Illustration by Robert Grossman.
6. The Chicago Tribune offered a fold-up version of Illinois state Senator Roland Burris as Pinocchio. Burris was accused of offering a bribe in exchange for Obama’s Senate seat.
7. “Pinocchio is caught by the gendarmes” by Attilio Mussino 1911.
8. Pinocchio by Winshluss 2009
9. Assorted Disney Pinocchio books , a bank . Pinocchio was Disney’s 2nd feature length animated film debuting in 1940.
10. Pop-up Adventures of Pinocchio- J. Pavlin – G. Seda, (Czech, English version 1974)
11. Cover of an Egyptian edition of Pinocchio.
12. Zombie Pinocchio Tattoo (courtesy of BMEzine.com) and Jiminy cricket tattoo by Mark of High Voltage Tattoos.
13. Astro Boy – a Japanese manga character by Osamu Tezuka , centering around a robot boy.
14. By Italian illustrator  and humorist Benito Jacovitti (1977?/ reissue 2001).
15. Pinocchio float for the 1930 Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade.
16. Pinocchio by Keith Haring
17. A background from Disney’s Pinocchio 1940. Painted by Claude Coats
18. Pinocchio  by Attilio Mussino English 1911 edition.  18a. Character sketches for the 1940 Disney movie
19. Pinocchio red wine  by Dievole.
20. A Polish poster for Disney’s Pinocchio.
21. The Adventures of Pinocchio 1988 by Roberto Innocenti
22. George Bush Coin
23. The Adventures of Pinocchio (Italy) 1935 illustrated by Peiro Bernardini
24. The New Adventures of Pinocchio, Dell Comic book 1963
25. Pinocchio, the Boy, illustrated by Lane Smith 2002
26. Luigi and Maria Augusta Cavalieri 1924.
27. Pinocchio info to come
28. Cut out nose from PinocchioPolititics.com (Behind 28) “Pinocchio is visited by the doctors” by Luigi and Maria Augusta Cavalieri 1924
29. Pinocchio by Gianbattista Galizzi 1957