Gerald Scarfe | |
|---|---|
 Illustration of Scarfe | |
| Born | Gerald Anthony Scarfe (1936-06-01)1 June 1936 (age 89) London, England |
| Known for | |
| Notable work | Pink Floyd – The Wall (1982) Yes Minister andYes, Prime Minister titles (1980–1987) Hercules (1997) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
Gerald Anthony ScarfeCBE RDI (born 1 June 1936) is an Englishsatiricalcartoonist andillustrator. He has worked aseditorial cartoonist forThe Sunday Times and illustrator forThe New Yorker.
Scarfe’s other work includes graphics for rock groupPink Floyd, particularly on their 1979 albumThe Wall, its1982 film adaptation, and tour (1980–81), as well as the music video for "Welcome to the Machine."[1][2] From 1980 through to 1987, Scarfe also provided the opening animated titles and end credit illustrations forYes Minister andYes, Prime Minister forBBC Television. Also, Scarfe was the production designer on theDisney animated featureHercules (1997).
Scarfe was born inSt John's Wood, London.[3] As Scarfe was severelyasthmatic as a child, he spent many of his early years bed-ridden,[4] so drawing became a means of entertainment as well as a creative outlet. Scarfe speculated that the dark and grotesque images that often characterise his work are a result of his loneliness and asthma.[4] Scarfe has stated that the irreverence apparent in much of his work can be traced back to "dodgy treatments" and a reliance on what he feels were incompetent doctors.[5]
The cartoonistRonald Searle was an early influence for Scarfe. At the age of 14 and now living inHampstead, North London, Scarfe decided it would be easy to cycle toBayswater and visit Searle. He went several times but never rang the doorbell. It would be decades before he would actually meet Searle in 2005.[6] Scarfe attendedSaint Martin's School of Art (now part of theUniversity of the Arts London) inHolborn, London.[7] He also attended theLondon College of Printing,[7] and East Ham Technical College (nowNewham College of Further Education).[8]
After briefly working in advertising, a profession he grew to dislike intensely, Scarfe's earlycaricatures of public figures were published in satirical magazinePrivate Eye throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Beginning in 1960, he produced illustrations forPunch,The Evening Standard andThe Daily Sketch.The Sunday Times magazine assigned Scarfe to cover the 1964 US presidential election. He continued to work forThe Sunday Times for two years, also producing several cover illustrations forTime magazine, including caricatures of The Beatles in 1967.[9]
In the mid-1960s he took a job at theDaily Mail following aDutch auction for his services with theDaily Express. His decision to work for theDaily Mail led to his estrangement from fellow cartoonistRalph Steadman, alongside whom he had studied art at East Ham Technical College. Soon after, Steadman was commissioned to illustrate Scarfe and "produced an image that was half saint and half Superman, but with a disconnected heart".[10] Scarfe spent only one year working for theDaily Mail, during which time he was sent to provide illustrations from theVietnam War.
Scarfe was approached to work withPink Floyd afterRoger Waters andNick Mason both saw his animatedBBC filmA Long Drawn Out Trip. Pink Floyd's 1974 programme for their tour in the UK and US, in the form of a comic, included a centre-spread caricature of the band.[11] Scarfe later produced a set of animated short clips used on the 1977In The Flesh tour, including a full-length music video for the songWelcome to the Machine.[12]
Scarfe also drew the illustrations for their 1979 albumThe Wall and provided animation and stage props, including enormous inflatable characters for the subsequent1980–1981 concert tour in support of that album.[11] In 1982, he worked on thefilm version ofThe Wall, although he and Roger Waters fell out with directorAlan Parker during the latter stages of editing.[13] As well as the artwork, Scarfe contributed 15 minutes' worth of elaborate animation to the film, including a sequence depictingthe German bombing campaign over England during World War II, set to the song "Goodbye Blue Sky". Some of the animated footage was not original to the film, having been produced for and used in the 1980–81 concert tour, as well as being featured in the 1979music video for "Another Brick in the Wall: Part 2".[citation needed]
Scarfe continued to work with Roger Waters after the latter left Pink Floyd, creating the graphics and animation for Waters' solo albumThe Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking (1984) and its supporting tour.[13] Scarfe was also involved in subsequent theatrical adaptations ofThe Wall, includingThe Wall Concert in Berlin (1990),[13] and Waters' worldwideThe Wall Live (2010-2013) tour, where his animations were projected on a vast scale. Scarfe's collaboration with Waters was marked in 2008 by the release of a signed limited-edition eight-print series, "Scarfe on the Wall", which contained a monograph book with an extended new interview with Scarfe and was signed by Roger Waters. Early editions of "Scarfe on The Wall" (by date of pre-order, not issue number) came with an additional print giving a total of nine in the set – making these the rarest and most valuable sets. In 2010, Scarfe's bookThe Making of Pink Floyd: The Wall was published, detailing the artist's work with Pink Floyd and Roger Waters from 1974 to 2010. The book contains contributions from Floyd members Roger Waters, Nick Mason, andDavid Gilmour, as well as director of the film, Alan Parker.[14]
Scarfe sketched the eponymousExceptional Child for the opening title sequence of the BBC's 1964 television documentary of the same name.[15]
He designed the 'Grot' logo for the BBC TV seriesThe Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin.
He provided caricatures ofPaul Eddington, SirNigel Hawthorne andDerek Fowlds (as their respective characters) for the opening and closing sequences ofYes Minister andYes, Prime Minister.[16]
Scarfe was approached to work on the 1997Disney filmHercules byRon Clements andJohn Musker, longtime fans who had risen to prominence within Disney following the success ofThe Little Mermaid. Scarfe worked as a conceptual character artist, designing almost all of the characters and then supervising the 900 Disney artists charged with adapting his designs for the film.[17]
TheRoyal Mail used Scarfe's artwork for a set of fivecommemorative postage stamps, issued on 23 April 1998. Honoring English comedians, the stamps feature Scarfe caricatures ofTommy Cooper,Eric Morecambe,Joyce Grenfell,Les Dawson andPeter Cook.[18][19]
He was invited to create a sculpture for theMillennium Dome, which was entitled "Self Portrait". The Dome's chief executive PY Gerbeau said "it mirrors what we like – and what we don't – about our nation".[20]
Scarfe has designed sets for a number of operatic productions, includingTobias Picker'sFantastic Mr. Fox. Following a chance meeting at aBBC prom he worked withPeter Hall on his version ofMozart'sThe Magic Flute, which drew critical acclaim. He is lined up to provide animation forJim Steinman'sBat Out of Hell, a stage show featuring Steinman's music.[citation needed] Scarfe designed the sets and costumes for the English National Opera's 1988 production ofOrpheus in the Underworld; among the costumes Scarfe designed were those of the characters Orpheus, Eurydice, and the Gods of Mount Olympus. He also produced all the costume and scenery designs for the 2002Christopher Hampson production ofThe Nutcracker, for theEnglish National Ballet.[21][citation needed]
In 2003 Scarfe collaborated with theNational Portrait Gallery andBBC Four to make caricatures of a number of famous Britons, to depict (along with guest commentary) their heroic and villainous attributes. Amongst the over 30 portraits he depicted included caricatures ofHenry VIII,Winston Churchill,Queen Elizabeth I,Pete Best,Richard Branson,Adam Smith,William Blake,The Beatles,Agatha Christie andDiana, Princess of Wales. In 2009, he also created a caricature ofJames May out ofLego which was shown in episode 5 ofJames May's Toy Stories forBBC Two. Scarfe andJane Asher also appeared in the episode.[citation needed]
In its edition of 27 January 2013 (Britain'sHolocaust Memorial Day), London'sSunday Times published acartoon by Scarfe depicting Israel's Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu paving a wall with the blood and bodies ofPalestinians, captioned "Israeli elections—will cementing peace continue?"[22] The cartoon's timing and content was criticised by groups including theEuropean Jewish Congress and theBoard of Deputies of British Jews, with accusations ofantisemitism leveled against Scarfe.[23][24]
Unaware the cartoon would appear onHolocaust Memorial Day,[25] Scarfe argued that the cartoon was clearly aimed specifically at Netanyahu and his policies, and were in response to his election, rather than being related to Holocaust Memorial Day.[26][27] The newspaper's proprietor,Rupert Murdoch, apologised for the cartoon onTwitter, and acting editorMartin Ivens promised to be more vigilant in future.[28]
The cartoon was published in the Israeli newspaperHaaretz, whereAnshel Pfeffer discusses the cartoon in great detail, giving four reasons why, in his opinion, the cartoon is not antisemitic.[29] WriterHoward Jacobson claimed the cartoon was not antisemitic.[30] British Chief RabbiLord Sacks condemned the cartoon.[31]
Since June 2013, Scarfe has presented a programme onBBC Radio 4 calledRecycled Radio,[32] which is described as "the chopped-up, looped-up, sped-up world...where old programmes are reused to explore a series of weighty subjects".[33]
In October 2013 Scarfe donated his time to decorate one of the large Wallace & Gromit statues to be auctioned for the Bristol hospital charity that was featured live on the BBC.[34] His contribution finally ending up being sold to an internet bidder from Miami Florida where the statue was exported into a private collection, ultimately topping all estimates on value with a bid second highest only to the Pixar statue contribution.
In 2014, Scarfe's Bar was opened in the Covent Garden area of London, in theRosewood London, where his "distinctive caricatures not only decorate the walls but also influence the creative thrust behind their menus."[35]
He is married to actressJane Asher, whom he met in 1971.[36] The couple wed in 1981[37] and have a daughter and two sons.[38]
