The Mysteries of Harris Burdick

May 25, 2003 7:39 PM

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick: His disappearance is not the only mystery left behind.
posted by hama7 (16 comments total)

[via dublog]
posted by hama7 at 7:40 PM on May 25, 2003

Thank you, hama7.
posted by ArsncHeart at 7:47 PM on May 25, 2003

Great link! Also, there was apparently a play about Harris Burdick.
posted by bshort at 7:56 PM on May 25, 2003

Uh, that's the whole portfolio isn't it? Not to be a killjoy (because this is fantastic stuff) but is that okay with the author and his publisher? Does "Halo" have permission to reproduce this stuff?
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 7:58 PM on May 25, 2003

Thanks hama7.

I find that this work is very similar to Chris Van Allsburg's. Both artists have a magic, a realism and an Escher-like quality to their work, not to mention a certain dreaminess. Another Place, Another Time is pretty cool. They're all pretty fantastic.
posted by ashbury at 8:08 PM on May 25, 2003

One of these, "The House on Maple Street," inspired a short story by Stephen King (collected in Nightmares and Dreamscapes).
posted by Silune at 8:20 PM on May 25, 2003

Pink... my thoughts exactly.

I love Chris' work... and I think folks should pay for it.

I especially like my signed folio set of these wonderful illustrations.

*beams proudly*
posted by silusGROK at 8:21 PM on May 25, 2003

I think folks should pay for it.

I think I will.

I remember having seen these illustrations some years ago, and couldn't remember the details about them. A book would be much better!
posted by hama7 at 8:28 PM on May 25, 2003

ashbury: I think this work IS chris van allsburg's. It's always ambiguous and the story is that it isn't, but online bookstores that I was looking at say things like "written and illustrated by chris van allsburg", and they really couldn't say that (I think) if he hadn't done the illustrations himself. I also found an article (now lost, but I found it by searching for peter wenders) that claimed that it is by allsburg. Of course, saying this spoils the aura of mystery, and probably identifies me as a humorless idiot.

I think I had this book when I was a kid; the images are hauntingly familiar - it was very strange to look at them now. Thanks, hama7.
posted by advil at 8:46 PM on May 25, 2003

[this is good]

And one should heed hama7's prompting and read the Amazon page carefully.
posted by dhartung at 8:46 PM on May 25, 2003

It's van Allsburg using a literary device.

This is a great book, one of my long-time favorites, and certainly my favorite by van Allsburg, whom I was fixated on as a kid. His pictures are so warm and well-constructed.

They're making a movie of The Polar Express, another one of his books, by the way. They'll be filming it live action with motion sensors all over the actors and then overlaying it with CG. This may work out to be brilliant, since current CG actors all seem to have the same sort of smooth, glowing quality of a van Allsburg painting. Tom Hanks will star. Story here.
posted by Hildago at 9:07 PM on May 25, 2003

This book sits high on our shelf for now, away from little hands that can't appreciate it now. We have had it for years and I always think of the glowing pumpkin when I am about to carve a jack-o-lantern.
posted by whatnot at 9:13 PM on May 25, 2003

Ah, I suspected, but it was late and I didn't want to do the research. Thanks for the info.
posted by ashbury at 6:36 AM on May 26, 2003

I sure hope they don't screw up Polar Express. It's one of my very favorite books. He's that rare combination of excellent illustrator and storyteller.
posted by theora55 at 9:43 AM on May 26, 2003

Chris Van Allsburg also did illustrations for Mark Helprin's childrens books like "A City in Winter." I enjoyed these books and gave them to my neice. Nice to see some of his other illustrations.
posted by Eekacat at 8:07 PM on May 26, 2003

PinkStainlessTail, this site would seem to be the one mentioned in Amazon.com's editorial review of "The Mysteries of Harris Burdick" by Chris Van Allsburg:

A new Internet site, set to launch on October 28, will encourage the use of the pictures to seed creative writing assignments.

Seems like permission was given.
posted by DBAPaul at 7:11 AM on May 27, 2003