The Formalism Aesthetic of Dr Seuss

Dr. Seuss is one of my favorite artists. Born in 1904 at the beginning of formalism movement, his works often depict absurd gadgets, landscapes, and characters. As a child I loved reading his books and looking at his wacky illustrations. When I was an adult I discovered is other artworks that explore a broader set of emotional topics and artistic styles, while still being distinctly “Seussian”. The following works are some of my personal favorites, and I will use them as examples for defining the formalism aesthetic.

Pink-Tufted Small Beast in a Night Landscape (1)

This painting depicts a Seussian creature perched on the edge of some very abstract architecture. The form of the architecture would be impossible/impractical to build in real life, with an assortment of stairs and archways leading nowhere in particular. The purpose of this artwork is more to capture the mood of the creature relaxing in the image.

The Great Cat Continuum (2)

Another example of Dr Suess’s formalism. This painting features a series of red windows all in a row, going on seemingly forever. It is not of anything real or even realistic. Just a bunch of red rectangular boxes floating in a sea of electric blue. There is a single cat in one of the windows, bringing a small amount of expressionism into this work.

Green Cat With Lights (3)

This painting depicts an extremely abstract green cat against a green background standing in a web of white and yellow dots. At first glance this painting looks to be of nothing except abstract colors, but the form of the cat and the lights soon settles into view.

Freebird (4)

My personal favorite Dr. Seuss painting. Even though this has a clear subject and a location, the express purpose of this painting is to invoke a feeling of peace and beauty in the viewer.

Every Girl Should Have a Unicorn (5)

This one looks like just a bunch of colorful squiggles for a while, until you realize there is a girl riding a unicorn, and the squiggles represent some kind of forest.

Alley Cat for a Very Long Alley (6)

Again Seuss paints an extremely abstract cat. The colors and proportions almost make it difficult to understand what one is even looking at before the form of the cat can be seen and appreciated.

So with these examples, I argue that Dr Seuss indeed incorporated the formalism aesthetic into his art style, whereby functionality and narrative were present, but nearly irrelevant, as they were hidden within the abstract forms.

Sources

(1) Pink-Tufted Small Beast in a Night Landscape: https://www.drseussart.com/secretandarchive/pink-tufted-small-beast-in-a-night-landscape

(2) The Great Cat Continuum: https://www.drseussart.com/secretandarchive/thegreatcatcontinuum

(3) Green Cat With Lights: https://www.drseussart.com/secretandarchive/green-cat-with-lights

(4) Freebird: https://www.drseussart.com/secretandarchive/freebird

(5) Every Girl Should Have a Unicorn: https://www.drseussart.com/secretandarchive/every-girl-should-have-a-unicorn

(6) Alley Cat for a Very Long Alley: https://www.drseussart.com/secretandarchive/alley-cat-for-a-long-alley