European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 02, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Larson sees no reason to draw out far Side by Robert Saiz Holguin the associated press Ary Larson knows when to say goodbye. You should always leave the party 10 minutes before you actually do says Larson who is walking away from his hugely successful comic strip the far Side after 15 years of bizarre and achingly funny instalments. I just feel like the time is right he says. I Don t want to let it become something that i be seen happen in some other cartoons where they simply become Little industries and the reason for having done it in the first place seems to have been buried the wisecracking cows bespectacled scientists towering Beehive hairdos and the rest of Larson s trademarks will now find their place in pop culture s proverbial scrapbook. The final panel bids Farewe Irto millions of devoted fans on Jan. 1. Reserved and demure Larson has seen his strip grow into popular lines _ of books Best Selling calendars Coffee mugs and greeting cards not to mention the countless clippings that adorn refrigerators and bulletin boards worldwide. His exhibit of science related cartoons even has appeared at the smithsonian institution and resides permanently at the California Academy of sciences in san Francisco. Larson s latest venture was a lbs halloween special titled tales from the far Side. The half hour animated program saw Larson s improbable characters through 10 vignettes of far Side cartoons in settings that Range from insects on air planes to space aliens in the old West. It s fairly experimental he says the Good news is that we did t have a network looking Over our shoulder telling us what to do. The bad news is that we did t have a network looking Over our shoulders telling us what to do. We were All like a Bunch of mad scientists running around oing this thing and As a result it s a real mixed bag of strange in another words a lot like his daily work. There is probably something there to offend someone and to confuse and hopefully to laugh at i made a career based on the big three Larson says. What s happened to me has been so amazing. I be had 15 years of doing. My hmm wednesday november 2,1994 Gary Larson and one of his models a Small Snake sit in the studio where Larson creates the far Side something Jove says Larson who announced his retirement oct. 3. The letter i wrote to newspaper editors when i announced my retirement was actually melancholy. That s when it sort of hit the reclusive Larson 44, a graduate of Washington state University fives with his wife in Seattle. He generally avoids the Media and in this Case apologized beforehand for being a Lousy the far Side syndicated daily to nearly 1,900 newspapers worldwide has built legions of followers through that s Why i never walk in Larson s ability to deliver punchlines that featured a consistent albeit strange dichotomy of highbrow Academia and utter Absurdity. Readers voted it the no. 1 cartoon panel in All major . Market surveys for the past 10 years la soft who May sometimes draw heat for crossing the line of Good taste is his. Own worst critic when it comes to the Corri edic Quality of his work i think one thing that s important to maintain is a sense of fear always doubting Good dose of insecurity helps your work in some ways he says a think i finally started to lose that fear and a few times i be drawn things that in the past i would t have sent in. So it was a red Flag to me that maybe i was sitting on my laurels a Little in describing the Odd nature of his artistic inspiration Larson relies on simile. You know those Little Snow globes that you shake up i always thought my brain was sort of like that. You know where you just give it a shake and watch what comes out and shake it again. It s like that he says. I just get silly inside my head and a Start to think about something and in my head i Start twisting it around contorting it and envisioning it in different Short subject opening soon a museum to by Sandra Skowron the faster than you can say nex a it or. Ben Swansonjr. Opens a drawer extracts a Clear plastic Box and presents what will her the crowning glory of a museum dedicated to Pearly Whites and those who care for them. The contents of the Box Don t look like much. A fragile semicircle of hand carved Ivory held together with wire. But this lower denture a rather uncomfortable looking one at that once sat on the gum s of George Washington. A few blocks from a museum devoted to horror writer Edgar Allan Poe the or Samuel p. Harris National in Baltimore md., will extol profession that exemplifies the Maxim no pain no the museum scheduled to open in 1996, will promote the benefits of conscientious Oral Hygiene and regular professional care and Recap advances in dentistry according to Swanson a dentist and the museum director. The museum is named for a retired 91-year old Detroit dentist who donated $1 million. Harris who is also a founder of the american society of dentistry for children said he wants his namesake institution to emphasize education prevention and Early care. Children May find incentive to Brush once they be seen some of the museum s exhibits. Or. Ben Swansonjr. Holds a piece of history part of George Washington s dentures. The key for example introduced in roughly the 1730s, was used for extractions. Its hinged claw clasped the tooth which was pulled by turning the instrument like a key. There s a lot of torque in this and really it was a very Quick Way to perform extractions at a time when they Didun have painkillers said Swanson who has a degree in dental history. The american dental association is supporting Baltimore s dental museum As the official museum of the profession but there s one big question Mark will people who Don t want to go to the dentist go to a museum about them i think people will be really fascinated l the notion that we re going to talk about pain and How bad it could be said Richard Molinaroli of the Washington firm Miles Fridberg Molinaroli inc., which will design the exhibits. About 40,000 artefacts will be displayed at the museum. Officials say they have the oldest known dental instruments in America the world s largest collection of dental Art and a Silver and Mother of Pearl dental kit made for use on England s Queen Victoria. The stars and stripes 17
