Rage Against the Drying of the Ink
‘My name is Garson Hampfield, and I’m a crossword inker.’
With a smoky sax below the words, so begins an inspired mockumentary about the dying art of puzzle-inking. Created by Michael A Charles, the seven-minute animation is so finely infused with humour you can’t help but wish that inkers existed. As imaginary dinosaurs go, Garson seems a likeable fellow, a proud craftsman stranded with the likes of candlesmiths and chimney sweeps.
My favourite section, around the 3:30 mark, appraises the work of Richard Hubler and Manuel Oscadero – two preeminent inkers in the industry. The former’s black squares ‘are subtle, you might even say intellectual. His corners are subdued, ironic, self-aware.’
By contrast, Manuel exhibits a fiery Latin temperament. Apart from his squares being deep moody blacks, his corners are ‘aggressive, there’s a barely repressed savagery to them, they grab you by the cojones.’
This YouTube gem won’t seize you there, but deeper, where only the delicate chord of bittersweet comedy can reverberate. I for one won’t look at a crossword grid the same way.
September 2nd, 2008 at 5:38 pm
hey David… good to meet you at the Melb Writers Fest. only sorry we didn’t have longer to talk. hope it all went well for ya mate. cheers
September 3rd, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Ditto Nathan. A regal feast for the humble writers.
For an extra ghost-booster, thinking of your upcoming book, check out the Ghosts chapter of Offbeat. The pick of the eerie in Australia (assuming you haven’t squatted in these places already) include
+ the Kidman Hotel in Kapunda;
+ a cattle station just out of Geraldton;
+ and a mushroom tunnel in Picton.
September 4th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
This is indeed gold. I think it’s a parody of the Wordplay doco, right down the slight resemblance to Will Shortz.