Sherlock Hemlock’s Hidden Answer Jigsaw Puzzles ‘Puzzle of the Hidden Numbers’ Sesame Street Muppets Illustratio 1971

Editor: So this is “Sherlock Hemlock’s Hidden Answer Jigsaw Puzzles ‘Puzzle of the Hidden Numbers’ Sesame Street Muppets Illustration” by Jack Davis, made in 1971. It's got this wonderfully chaotic, almost claustrophobic feeling, packed with familiar faces. I'm curious, what catches your eye when you look at this piece? Curator: You know, it throws me right back to Saturday mornings, fuzzy pajamas and a bowl of sugary cereal. But beyond the nostalgia, I see Davis, known for his work with Mad Magazine, doing what he does best – packing every square inch with detail, with visual gags, a sort of organized frenzy. There’s this real push and pull, isn’t there? The dark, almost gothic background against these bright, cheerful characters. Does it remind you a bit of what you expect to see in a Bosch painting? Editor: Gothic background? Bosch painting? I hadn't considered that! I was too focused on the Sesame Street of it all, the innocence. Curator: Well, think about it! All those eyes looking in different directions, the overwhelming number of characters crammed into a tight space... even the candy has a vaguely sinister look! And the humor, of course, which, as we know, has to show that the innocence is, just maybe, an appearance! Do you suppose this is his style commenting on that children's paradise idea? Editor: That is... intense. Maybe it's not just childhood innocence, but a bit of its darker twin too, captured through Davis' unique lens. So many sweets and colours and all those characters – the chaos adds up to an uneasy feeling, in a way. Curator: Precisely! It makes you think twice about just what we thought we were tuning into every day back then, doesn’t it?