The great George Herriman rarely passed up an opportunity to draw smoke coming from a chimney. He seemed to place smoke in a picture the way a hat designer would place a feather in a lady's chapeau.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBVw17fbxL9B_7sWpCDn6-eShh6zpEr8YSajdPnM3LLQliWsvN7X_uMTg6-VNaOzbDnQSxjFs71TWBFeo2Ugw0dMeTD-p83VizNJNnOTltk4xzKKaDFGaEcAQmX4pYOxJYn_ughn3qI7q9/s400/Herriman+001.jpg)
For art's sake, every fireplace in Coconino County must have been roaring all summer long.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFaxfitp1La__I8KTFNaWpeH6GNZ7CM_RDZuuDjp8Bs34tMRs5lTtVATtlcg1p3UY9EB-9Lno-QpGtOmhPRrrOBhp1HGJh9nbNl9fdz2G_A0PoKupAz8bHB3LeKRJD-S4y09zlu8AbP_k/s400/Herriman+003.jpg)
Each example is different-- fluid, intuitive and beautiful.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghSWqKzHGGb-MaQ6Vc-2LMktVwgJ7MXqhnpxJ6d-ydKQSiyrtwK4Mqf-JrmOn11tqGENPQhQNNAhTEyH9r3t9t6aZxF9kKtx0q9Np7SUlgIedF29wOh9mLVXAfzJsgSRjjvSUbXMOVMkBn/s400/Herriman+002a.jpg)
You can look at each of these little abstract designs as a miniature rorschach test:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWEsoQqCFk6dK8xGXmKqiu1xZlHcxYGSC4d5qXlThYNcV9H31_FSaqu8DCyJgT8u-ZBChAJvLPAo6hER3iqGiCvQv7hhRFYN3cQbfG4RY8hfaji8TTWCVKgIWSLlbltEtygKQKzvFlA0j4/s400/Herriman.4.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4yV3nKo_xPV859t3Eg0kY5zmMrBOMLMYpnogOQNQOHYzj1bzBJcdyLmSBekL2ZUndHm5DIXdA3k9ec7DaDTJ-aM8haCgAXr0FA8TSZoRn-izohhIMchwephzF8uKfg3sy5kzuFeFjxnZq/s400/Herriman.2.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidvIY21uobjrw2BlsSuztVyowux5xTWLRkqtJFvU80iEGH2TFJTXxMqAA58-QY9L-21gD79Y-msAdKxoEasfQmF4pqOBre_8J-Apxu2KlLAQ4wqbYQUVwppq5X5T53ViC4olc-h7W4Nym3/s400/Herriman.1.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkwePjO_nhZI0gTTCE3NhtyPIyxdKWRneNiKe0EC43DlI5rVwSq8L4IGK36PTYXi9yOj2-40e3i0_tHkUmPocnqnZPJLKDCa-haYfwkiC9Ifcm1_xyI2mlV7-xDuBtpbdH2ozDQD9iR2TS/s400/Herriman.3.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPgk_9Lk5kcKAfPbD0n2T9B9HBM5JkwcsmCbevnvB3Fusxkr4aa56yANgXipwRTeDarMO8uT__gFAmq2EHnwAHa7InMFGJ6hTVFbBtoKkqURMSLbu8sxHi2PpX6HBNkshyphenhyphenQRQ5RGV4jrLx/s400/Herriman.6.jpg)
For comparison, here is a drawing by famed artist Ellsworth Kelly from the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York :
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-6heZz5O_1kys5olEj-hcWQil4tpwk1O1my9aYqRJT2f0tCrGpeZ3kcWMp5Ou5TwxYSFaRZssmCLBxCD6jRM6O7ke4YuDMB2ixubWnzMK0DcQCEQ-J6ydcZlE_VtV8UHdr2ivAyan7Ym/s200/MOMA+Ellsworty+Kelly.jpg)
I think the smoke from Krazy Kat's chimney is far superior as abstract art.
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