Peter Vos created an overfamous card game. Overfamous in Holland that is. 1970. Very hard to explain this in English. About the shit-trush, the weird-frog, the room-elephant, the listen-finch, and the keyboard-lion*. Very ponderous translations of very poetic names, sorry. I can't find a picture of a reasonable size, I'll ask Willem tomorrow, he must have a copy. Picture above is a lithography that has nothing to do with the card game. My brother bought me the card game for my birthday. But my stepmother didn't like it, and took it away from me. She didn't hide it very well though, and whenever she wasn't at home, I went to the big china cabinet in the living room and stared at the pictures. Those days of controversy are not gone. Two weeks ago indignation went through Holland because of the domino-sparrow**. Again, a ponderous translation of a poetic name. A sparrow was shot, because flapping about, it threatened to ruin an attempt on the domino world record. Questions in parliament. This week's indignation is about bouncing-chicks***. Again, a ponderous etc. An award winning artschool graduate made a video of dead chicks. She bought them dead and frozen in a petshop, where they were being sold as feed. She put bouncing balls inside them and had them bounce on video. I think they look extremely funny, like cartoon characters. But the poor artist. Her website was found by some overpopular vulgar weblog, and she has been swamped with hate mail. I found out about this through an illustrators mailinglist I subscribe to. Even there, indignation. The big condemnation of all art tout court. All of these people would have taken away Peter Vos his "beestenkwartet" from their little girls, no doubt about it.
*Schijtlijster, mafkikker, kamerolifant, luistervink, klavierleeuw.
**Dominomus.
***Stuiterkuiken.
I chuckled thinking about it but wasn't patient enough to wait for the video . . .we try and hide nona's Barbies.
Beautiful blog btw, will try and visit more often!
I forgot she took the gardgame away. Idiotic, it was (is) beautiful.
With some 'species reassignment' and a little creativity, it's possible to do the names justice:
scaredy-cat, nutbird, fat hippo, listening bug, piano monster.
@Larry: certainly sounds better, I agree. But the card game in question is very literal. For example the shit-trush. Vos really drew a trush -not just any bird-, and he really drew shit, there is no way around it. The same goes for the rest of the creatures.
Well, yeah, which is why it wouldn't work in English as it is. There's no reason for English speakers to associate thrushes with fear or shit, or frogs with madness :)