30: Grotesque Excess & Red Herrings, Part 1: Harry Clarke’s “King Pest” 1919

Mar 18

Listeners, we are back with another edition of our CREATURE DOUBLE FEATURE where we discuss TWO different artworks by TWO different artists and compare what makes them so terrifying!

Usually, we are able to squeeze them into one episode but not this time!

We kick off our 2025 CDF edition with illustrator, painter, and stained glasser Harry Clarke (1889-1931).

You can watch here:

In this episode, we discuss the difference between Harry’s vib and that of his predecessor Aubrey Beardsley’s grotesque and erotic black ink drawings, but also from the many overlapping movements happening at this time: Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, Celtic Revival, Irish Revival, Gothic Revival and many more.

Harry hailed from Dublin, Ireland and was just as popular for his book illustrations during the Golden Age of gift-books as well as his other-wordly stained glass in churches.

While his masterpiece is the “Geneva Window”, a breathtaking example of Harry’s skill and mastery of stained glass, we will be focusing on an illustration from the book of Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allen Poe (1919, 1923).

Yes, horror-ific Edgar Allan Poe.

The work in question is that of “King Pest” from 1919, a story about two drunken sailors bumbling about a 19th century plague-stricken London.

Click PLAY if you dare and get ready to be HARRY-FIED!

Topics include E-Girl socks, El Chavo del Ocho, island getaways, pampooties, Derry Girls, Guinness, TB vaccines and much, much more!

The Pantry in this ep’ is “Horror Vacui”.

MUSIC:

Spooky music by Russell Shoemaker

Pantry tune: Lofi And Chill by HoliznaCC0