Dr. Seuss @ The Sydney Opera House with Graphic Festival

Editorial from Timeout Magazine:
The Graphic Festival event, and the coinciding (free) Seuss retrospective exhibition in the Opera House’s western foyer, was made possible with the support of the Seuss estate’s Australian agent Trevor Harvey, whose Art of Dr Seuss gallery on Oxford Street is a shrine to the man not just as an illustrator, but as an artist. The gallery showcases Seuss’s sculpture, subdued ‘midnight paintings’ and editorial cartoons from the ’20s and ’30s, letting them jostle for space alongside the Cat in the Hat and other familiar characters.

Harvey talks passionately about Seuss – alternating between using his commonly known pen name and his birth name, Theodor Giesel – and his blend of surrealism and schoolboy doodling. Ultimately, though, he says, Seuss’s vision was unique. “That’s really the key that everyone looks for in a ground-breaking artist,” Harvey says. “Whether it be in dance, or in theatre, or in art, they’ve got to bring something else to the table that’s totally theirs.”

As you might expect, Harvey is also outspoken on what he sees as the abuse of the Seuss legacy in mediocre movie adaptations. “The Cat in the Hat made me cry,” he says, sincerely. “Audrey [Giesel’s widow, 90] tried to get it stopped, bless her heart. She’s on record as saying that Ted would have turned in his grave.”

But the twinkle is restored to Harvey’s eyes when conversation turns to the Graphic Festival project. “They’re a wonderful, creative bunch of people,” he says. “They get it.” Dr Seuss Meets Elefant Traks promises to inspire a deeper appreciation of Seuss with a modern all-ages audience while, crucially, remaining true to his spirit. “Seuss was fearless. That’s what’s wonderful about true creatives. And, the way I see it, Elefant Traks are fearless too. They’re going to do something very original, very creative, very Seussian. And I think he’d approve.”

See full article https://www.au.timeout.com/sydney/art/events/32650/dr-seuss-meets-elefant-traks