Children Playing 1954

Gunther Kraus made this joyful drawing sometime in 1954. The outlines are dark and certain, but the colours are laid down flatly within them, like a colouring book. This kind of playful, rule-based making really resonates with me! There’s such an energy to the way the figures are stacked up on top of each other in a tower. Look at the guy on top – he’s got a cactus! It seems he’s just balancing there, with such poise, while another figure is hanging upside down, supporting the group. And is the second figure up actually eating the foot of the first? I see a lot of Picasso in this work; the simple lines, basic forms, and the way the figures are arranged. But it is also very reminiscent of the drawings of Keith Haring. The cartoonish figures remind me of Haring's street art. But Kraus’s work has a sweetness, and an amateur style that I really love. Ultimately, it stands on its own, as a funny and beautiful piece of work.