Tomi Ungerer

{{Infobox writer

| birth_name = Jean-Thomas Ungerer

| image = Tomi Ungerer par Claude Truong-Ngoc mars 2014.jpg

| imagesize = 200

| caption = Ungerer in 2014

| pseudonym =

| birth_date = {{birth-date|28 November 1931}}

| birth_place = Strasbourg, Alsace, France

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|2019|2|9|1931|11|28}}

| death_place = Cork, Ireland

| death_cause =

| occupation = Artist, illustrator, writer

| period = 1957–2019

| genre = Children's picture books, erotic literature

| subject =

| movement =

| influences =

| influenced =

| notableworks = {{plainlist|

Flat Stanley
Moon Man

}}

| awards = {{awd |Commander of the Legion d'Honneur (2018)|Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration (1998) }}

| partner =

| relations =

| alma_mater = Municipal School for Decorative Arts (Strasbourg)

| signature =

| website = {{url|https://www.tomiungerer.com}}

}}

Jean-Thomas "Tomi" Ungerer ({{IPA|de|ˈtoːmi ˈʊŋəʁɐ|-|De-Tomi Ungerer.ogg}}; 28 November 1931 – 9 February 2019) was a French artist and writer from Alsace (a French region on the French/German border). He published over 140 books ranging from children's books to adult works and from the fantastic to the autobiographical. He was known for sharp social satire and witty aphorisms. Ungerer is also famous as a cartoonist and designer of political posters and film posters.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/u/ungerer_t.htm|title=Tomi Ungerer|website=lambiek.net}}

Ungerer received the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1998 for his "lasting contribution" as a children's illustrator.

Biography

Ungerer was born in Strasbourg in Alsace, France, the youngest of four children to Alice (Essler) and Theo Ungerer. The family moved to Logelbach, near Colmar, after the death of Tomi's father, Theodore—an artist, engineer, and astronomical clock manufacturer—in 1936. Ungerer also lived through the German occupation of Alsace when the family home was requisitioned by the Wehrmacht.

As a young man, Ungerer was inspired by the illustrations appearing in The New Yorker magazine, particularly the work of Saul Steinberg. In 1957, the year after he moved to the U.S., Harper & Row published his first children's book, The Mellops Go Flying, and his second, The Mellops Go Diving for Treasure; by the early 1960s he had created at least ten children's picture books with Harper, plus a few others, and had illustrated some books by other writers. He also did illustration work for publications including The New York Times, Esquire, Life, Harper's Bazaar, The Village Voice, and for television during the 1960s, and began to create posters denouncing the Vietnam War.

Maurice Sendak called Moon Man (1966) "easily one of the best picture books in recent years." After Allumette: A Fable, subtitled With Due Respect to Hans Christian Andersen, the Grimm Brothers, and the Honorable Ambrose Bierce in 1974, he ceased writing children's books, focusing instead on adult-level books, many of which concern sexuality. He eventually returned to children's literature with Flix in 1998. Ungerer donated many of the manuscripts and artwork for his early children's books to the Children's Literature Research Collection at the Free Library of Philadelphia.

A consistent theme in Ungerer's illustrations is his support for European construction, beginning with Franco-German reconciliation in his home region of Alsace, and in particular European values of tolerance and diversity. In 2003, he was named Ambassador for Childhood and Education by the 47-nation Council of Europe.

File:Strasbourg Musée Tomi Ungerer décembre 2012.JPG in Strasbourg]]

In 2007, his home town dedicated a museum to him, the Musée Tomi Ungerer/Centre international de l’illustration.

Ungerer divided his time between Ireland, where he and his wife had moved in 1976, and Strasbourg. In addition to his work as a graphic artist and 'drawer', he was also a designer, toy collector and "archivist of human absurdity."

A biographical documentary film, Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story, was produced in 2012. The film was featured at the 2013 Palm Springs International Film Festival. In 2015–2016, the Kunsthaus Zurich and the Museum Folkwang in Essen devoted a large exhibition to Ungerer's artistic oeuvre and in particular his collages. A comprehensive book has been published by Philipp Keel from Diogenes with essays by Tobias Burg, Cathérine Hug and Thérèse Willer.

Ungerer died on 9 February 2019 in Cork, Ireland, aged 87.{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/11/obituaries/tomi-ungerer-dead.html |title=Tomi Ungerer, Brash Illustrator for Young and Older, Dies at 87 |first=Neil |last=Genzlinger |date=11 February 2019 | website = The New York Times |access-date=12 February 2019|archive-url= https://archive.today/20190212174803/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/11/obituaries/tomi-ungerer-dead.html |archive-date= 12 February 2019 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.thejournal.ie/tributes-paid-to-french-artist-and-writer-tomi-ungerer-4488600-Feb2019/ |title=Tributes paid to French artist and writer Tomi Ungerer |work=TheJournal.ie |author=Cónal Thomas |date=11 February 2019|access-date=17 February 2019}}

File:Strasbourg-Square du Tivoli Tomi Ungerer-Plaque.jpg

Work

Tomi Ungerer described himself first and foremost as a story teller and satirist. Prevalent themes in his work include political satire (such as drawings and posters against the Vietnam War and against animal cruelty), eroticism, and imaginative subjects for children's books. Ungerer's publications are held by the German National Library, including:

= Children's books =

The Mellops Go Flying (1957)
Mellops Go Diving for Treasure (1957)
Crictor (1958)
The Mellops Strike Oil (1958)
Adelaide (1959)
Christmas Eve at the Mellops (1960)
Emile (1960)
Rufus (1961)
The Three Robbers (1961)
Snail, Where Are You? (1962)
Mellops Go Spelunking (1963)
Flat Stanley (1964) — art by Tomi Ungerer, written by Jeff Brown
One, Two, Where's My Shoe? (1964)
Beastly Boys and Ghastly Girls (1964) — art by Tomi Ungerer, poems collected by William Cole
Oh, What Nonsense! (1966) — art by Tomi Ungerer, edited by William Cole
Orlando, the Brave Vulture (1966)
Warwick's Three Bottles (1966) – with André Hodeir
Moon Man (Der Mondmann) (Diogenes Verlag, 1966)
Cleopatra Goes Sledding (1967) – with André Hodeir
What's Good for a 4-Year-Old? (1967) — art by Tomi Ungerer, text by William Cole
Zeralda's Ogre (1967)
"The Donkey Ride" (1967) — art by Tomi Ungerer, fable adapted by Jean Showalter
Ask Me a Question (1968)
The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1969) — text by Barbara Hazen
Oh, How Silly! (1970) — art by Tomi Ungerer, edited by William Cole
The Hat (1970)
I Am Papa Snap and These Are My Favorite No Such Stories (1971)
The Beast of Monsieur Racine (1971)
The Hut (1972)
Oh, That's Ridiculous! (1972) — art by Tomi Ungerer, edited by William Cole
No Kiss for Mother (1973)
Allumette; A Fable, with Due Respect to Hans Christian Andersen, the Grimm Brothers, and the Honorable Ambrose Bierce (1974)
A Storybook (1974) — art by Tomi Ungerer, collection of short stories adapted by various authors
The Great Song Book — ed. by Timothy John (1978) English version of Das grosse Liederbuch, 1975
Tomi Ungerer's Heidi: The Classic Novel (1997) — art by Tomi Ungerer, text by Johanna Spyri
Cats as Cats Can (1997)
Flix (1998)
Tortoni Tremelo the Cursed Musician (1998)
Otto: The Autobiography of a Teddy Bear (1999)
Zloty (2009)
Fog Island (2013)

= Adult books =

Horrible. An account of the Sad Achievements of Progress
Der Herzinfarkt (1962)
The Underground Sketchbook (1964)
The Party (1966)
Fornicon (1969)
Tomi Ungerer's Compromises (1970)
Poster Art of Tomi Ungerer (1972)
America (1974)
Totempole (1976)
Babylon (1979)
Cat-Hater's Handbook, Or, The Ailurophobe's Delight (1981) — co-authored by William Cole
Symptomatics (1982)
Rigor Mortis (1983)
Slow Agony (1983)
Heute hier, morgen fort (1983)
Far out Isn't Far Enough (1984)
Femme Fatale (1984)
Schwarzbuch (1984)
Joy of Frogs (1985)
Warteraum (1985)
Schutzengel der Hölle (1986)
Cats As Cats Can (1997)
Tomi: A Childhood Under the Nazis (1998)
Liberal Arts: The Political Art of Tomi Ungerer (1999)
Erotoscope (2002)
De père en fils (2002)

= Other works =

Design of Dr. Strangelove film poster (1964)
Design of the logo for the ill-fated Broadway musical Kelly (1965)
Art work, poster, and titles for the film Monterey Pop (1968)
Design of the Janus Aqueduct in Strasbourg (1988)

Awards

The biennial Hans Christian Andersen Award conferred by the International Board on Books for Young People is the highest recognition available to a writer or illustrator of children's books. Ungerer received the illustration award in 1998.

Ungerer received the 2014 Lifetime Achievement of the Year award at the Sexual Freedom Awards. In 2018, he was made a commander of the Legion of Honour.

In 2007 a museum dedicated to his life and work opened in Strasbourg.https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2007/10/29/graphisme-le-dessinateur-tomi-ungerer-entre-en-son-musee-strasbourgeois_972342_3246.html

Literature

{{ill|Wilhelm Hornbostel|de}} (ed.): Tomi Ungerer. Zwischen Marianne und Germania, on the occasion of the exhibitions of the same name at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, 19 December 1999 – 13 February 2000, and at the Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin, 16 March – 13 June 2000]. Prestel, Munich 1999
Maria Linsmann: preface to exhibition catalogue Tomi Ungerer-Illustrationen und Plastiken, Burg Wissem, {{ill|Bilderbuchmuseum|de}} of Troisdorf 2000
Thérèse Willer: Tomi Ungerer, the "Picasso“ of caricature. In: Graphis. The international journal of design and communication, {{ISSN|0017-3452}}, vol. 59, no. 348, 2003, pp 18–37
Thérèse Willer: Tomi Ungerer. Das Tomi Ungerer Museum in Strasbourg. Diogenes, Zurich 2007, {{ISBN|978-3-257-02094-6}}. (catalogue of the permanent exhibition, with 210 illustrations by Ungerer, three essays by Thérèse Willer and several introductions)
Thérèse Willer: Tomi Ungerer: Energie. EnBW Service, Karlsruhe 2007, {{ISBN|978-3-934510-26-5}}.
Tomi Ungerer. Der schärfste Strich der westlichen Welt. du Kulturmedien, No. 812, Zurich 2010, {{ISBN|978-3-905931-04-4}}, [http://www.du-magazin.com/de/magazin/nachbestellungen/detailheft.htm?heftid=242 Table of contents] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517020042/http://www.du-magazin.com/de/magazin/nachbestellungen/detailheft.htm?heftid=242 |date=17 May 2013 }}
{{ill|Daniel Keel|de}} (ed.): Expect the Unexpected. Essays über Tomi Ungerer zu seinem 80. Geburtstag, essays by {{ill|Manuel Gasser|de}}, Walther Killy, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Robert Gernhardt, Anna Gavalda, Elke Heidenreich. Diogenes, Zurich 2011, {{ISBN|978-3-257-05614-3}}

References

{{Reflist|refs=

[http://www.ibby.org/index.php?id=273 "Hans Christian Andersen Awards"]. International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY). Retrieved 3 August 2013.

{{cite news

| last = Platthaus

| first = Andreas

| url = https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/buecher/autoren/zum-tod-von-tomi-ungerer-der-mann-mit-herz-der-mann-mit-schmerz-16032908.html

| title = Zum Tod von Tomi Ungerer / Der Mann mit Herz, der Mann mit Schmerz

| work = Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

| date = 9 February 2019

| language = de

| access-date = 10 February 2019

}}

{{cite web

| url = https://www.diogenes.ch/leser/autoren/u/tomi-ungerer.html

| title = Tomi Ungerer

| publisher = Diogenes

| year = 2019

| language = de

| access-date = 10 February 2019

}}

{{cite web

| url = https://portal.dnb.de/opac.htm?method=simpleSearch&reset=true&cqlMode=true&query=auRef%3D118625462&selectedCategory=any

| title = Publications by Tomi Ungerer

| publisher = German National Library

| language = de

| access-date = 10 February 2019

}}

[http://www.literature.at/viewer.alo?objid=14769&viewmode=fullscreen&rotate=&scale=3.33&page=95 "Tomi Ungerer"] (pp. 100–01, by Sus Rostrup) / The Hans Christian Andersen Awards, 1956–2002. IBBY. Gyldendal. 2002. Hosted by Austrian Literature Online. Retrieved 3 August 2013.

{{cite web

| url = http://www.tomiungerer.com

| title = Official Website

| publisher = Tomi Ungerer

| access-date = 17 August 2013

}}

[http://lambiek.net/artists/u/ungerer_t.htm Ungerer profile]. Lambiek's Comiclopedia.

{{Cite news

| last = Kennedy

| first = Randy

| url = https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/07/27/arts/0727-KENNEDY_index.html

| title = Tomi Ungerer Returns

| newspaper = The New York Times

| date = 27 July 2008

}}

Author bio, Moon Man (Phaidon Press Limited, 2009).

{{cite web

| url = http://www.psfilmfest.org/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=23778&FID=63

| title = Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story

| publisher = Palm Springs International Film Society

| access-date = 17 June 2013

| url-status = dead

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151210065724/http://www.psfilmfest.org/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=23778&FID=63

| archive-date = 10 December 2015

}}

{{cite web

|url = https://www.sexualfreedomawards.co.uk/highlights/

|title = Highlights over the Years

|last = Owens

|first = Tuppy

|website = Sexual Freedom Awards

|access-date = 17 November 2017

|archive-date = 28 November 2017

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171128110951/http://www.sexualfreedomawards.co.uk/highlights/

|url-status = dead

}}

{{cite news

| author =

| title = French cartoonist, llustrator Tomi Ungerer is dead

| url = https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/429867-french-cartoonist-llustrator-tomi-ungerer-is-dead

| work = The News International

| location = Karachi

| date = 9 February 2019 |access-date = 9 February 2019

}}

{{Cite book |last = Ungerer

|first = Tomi

|title = Tomi: A Childhood under the Nazis

|publisher = Roberts Rinehart Publishing Group

|location = Colorado

|year = 1998

|isbn = 1-57098163-9

|url-access = registration

|url = https://archive.org/details/tomichildhoodund00unge

}}

{{cite book

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NoUhAQAAIAAJ&q=ALICE+THEO+UNGERER

| title = Who's who in U.S. Writers, Editors & Poets – Curt Johnson – Google Books

| year = 1988

| publisher = December Press

| isbn = 9780913204214

| via = Google Books

| access-date = 17 August 2013

}}

{{Cite web

| url = http://libwww.freelibrary.org/blog/index.cfm?srch=3&postid=1153

| title = Happy Birthday, Tomi Ungerer!

| website = Free Library Blog

| date = 26 November 2010

}}

{{cite web

| url = http://www.tomiungerer.com

| title = Tomi Ungerer – Biography

| access-date = 15 August 2010

| work = Official website

}}

Press release ref. [http://www.kunsthaus.ch/fileadmin/templates/kunsthaus/pdf/medienmitteilungen/2015/pm_ungerer_e.pdf Kunsthaus Zürich presents ‘Tomi Ungerer. / Incognito] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224235032/http://www.kunsthaus.ch/fileadmin/templates/kunsthaus/pdf/medienmitteilungen/2015/pm_ungerer_e.pdf |date=24 December 2016 }}.

[http://www.diogenes.ch/leser/titel/tomi-ungerer/incognito-9783257021332.html Incognito] Diogenes

{{cite news

| url = https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2017/12/31/legion-d-honneur-veronique-colucci-et-tomi-ungerer-distingues_5236221_3224.html

| title = Le dessinateur Tomi Ungerer, père des " Trois Brigands ", est mort

| newspaper = Le Monde.fr

| date = 31 December 2017

| language = fr |access-date = 9 February 2019

}}

{{cite web

| title = Biographie de Tomi Ungerer

| url = https://www.musees.strasbourg.eu/biographie-tomi-ungerer

| website = Musées de la ville de Strasbourg

| access-date = 10 February 2019

| archive-date = 25 March 2019

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190325055611/https://www.musees.strasbourg.eu/biographie-tomi-ungerer

| url-status = dead

}}

{{cite web

| last1 = Carey

| first1 = Joanna

| title = Tomi Ungerer, rennaisance (sic) man of children's book illustration

| url = https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/feb/24/tomi-ungerer-childrens-book-illustration

| website = The Guardian

| date = 24 February 2012

| access-date = 10 February 2019

}}

External links

{{official website}}
{{DNB portal|118625462}}
[http://www.musees-strasbourg.org/index.php?page=musee-tomi-ungerer-en Musée Tomi Ungerer]
[https://www.lambiek.net/artists/u/ungerer_t.htm Lambiek Comiclopedia page.]
Biography translated from an [https://web.archive.org/web/20040810034250/http://www.asm-humaninterest.ch/e/tu4e.html exhibition] in Hanover
[http://d.hatena.ne.jp/chuukyuu/20090807/1249582015 Tomi Ungerer: The Artist and His Background] d.hatena.ne.jp 1971
{{youTube|23778|Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story – Trailer}}
{{LCAuth|n80036613|Tomi Ungerer|148}}
{{IMDb name|1857033}}