BY Joseph Cavalieri | February 7, 2010

Titles like “The Two Dogs and the Dead Ass” and “The Countryman and the Serpent” fascinate me.

I have incorporated both of these, and may others into my work. Instead of illustrating a “dead ass” which was originally meant to me a donkey, I changed it to a naked man with his ass floating above water. Messing up the stories and changing the characters makes the art more contemporary. I find art and music that incorporates storytelling fascinating. Say for instance the musical group the Decemberists. Sometimes I add more chapters to the fables.

With the sketch from my last posting, I search the many fables of La Fontaine. One of his fables, “The Horse Seeking Revenge on the Stag”, pops out. Now I have great joy to explain this story to you.

There was a horse who really wanted to kill a stag (a male deer with antlers), but the stag would always outrun him. Why did he want to kill this deer, who know, but this is what La Fontaine wrote. The horse had a plan, hire a man with a gun to mount him, chase the deer, and shoot him dead. Guess what? The plan worked. Later that night the horse finds himself in the man’s stable. The man tells him he will feed him and make his life very comfortable. The horse feels he needs to repay the man and decides to give in, but realizes he is now chained and has lost his freedom. Realizing this the horse dies.

Above are some reference photos.