Art Appreciation: Scott Kirschner

Not Your First Pick Draftees

A green-skinned figure wearing a big smile and a horned half-mask while holding a bow in one hand makes a gesture with the other hand that could be interpreted as a mockery of a military salute. Closer to the viewer is another guy, a goblin, because this card is and all three characters in the illustration are goblins, hides behind the first, showing his sharp teeth and long tongue while whacking an index finger at the third guy. The third guy is obviously the recruiter giving the card its name. Arms crossed and holding a list which indicates a busy day ahead of him, he does not look too impressed with the recruits – although he might actually be giving them a thumbs up? Or he is just pointing with his opposing digit to send them ahead to whatever destiny they are being recruited for. The flavor text is one of my favorites for any Magic card: "Next!"

I am still uncertain if Goblin Recruiter secured its spot in my Cube because it goes well with the other goblins the Cube has (which exceeds two score) or because I just love Scott Kirschner's hilarious illustration for the card. This uncertainty is actually what made me decide that Kirschner was someone our Art Appreciation series should be dedicated to. No other card in my Cube has made me think that it may simply be the artwork or bling that earned it its place there.

A Hymn to Kirschner

While we are at my Cube, there is only one other Kirschner-illustrated card in it and it's choosing also tells a story about my appreciation for the work of this artist. That card is – a card where a significant number of other Magic art lovers would not agree that Kirschner's art is the best of the four available illustrations. But I was never a big fan of Susan van Camp's howling wolf for this card, which is considered as the best by many. And while I do like Liz Danforth's robed ritualists and how Quinton Hoover brings his usual brand of awesome Magic art to the game, Kirschner just come out on top for me.

The scene looks like a goofy character desperately begging an aloof fortune teller to predict him a better future, while broad and threatening figures in the background wait to dish out the unwanted destiny. It could also be a couple of nerds preparing to play a game of collectible cards in a seedy bar in the bad part of a medieval town. (Raise your hand if you have been there, done that!)

Awesomely Artsy and All That

What I really like about Scott Kirschner's work comes down to three main factors. First, there is the almost dull pastel-like color scheme. Then you have his choice of media with backgrounds that seem simple to the superficial glance, but on a closer inspection reveal themselves to be beautifully textured. Even more than that, there are the dynamically posed, often distorted, and unsettling figures in unbalanced stances with arms, legs, and sometimes other unidentifiable limbs in postures the make me think of choreography (an artform I know even less about than painting). Most of his artworks tell a story through the movements preceding and following the snapshot caught in the now of the painting.

Scott Kirschner is not a guy that you will find loads of information about using an everyday level of Google-jutsu. And to keep this article out of the upper echelons of pretentiousness, where I would at best, manage to expose myself to fair accusations of lack of knowledge about my subject (the artist in question, as well as art in general), I have decided to stay down to earth with my usual, Whoa! Isn't that just cool? Y'know, the stuff that this guy paints or draws or whatever? Seriously though… Isn't his art just really cool?

The Stuff of Legends

Kirschner's debut on a Magic card came with Legends when he illustrated five cards. His works in this set span from the somewhat forgettable and over , the third of which while not among his top works, to my judgement, does point forward to some of his later trademark unbalanced postured figures. Then there's the beautiful but not particularly Kirschnerian and, of course, .

Immolation is pure Kirschner in my opinion. Writhing figures sending the viewer's thoughts in the direction of backlit dancers on stage, performing a dance of death – which perfectly fits the name of the card if not its effect. (Since it only targets a single creature, the illustration has three targets being immolated.) The media and color live up to his style as described earlier, though perhaps a bit more saturated than his later works. The same goes for the very typical textured background.

Wheel the Wyverns In

Besides Hymn to Tourach, his contributions to Fallen Empires is another of those factors that makes me wish the expansion had had a higher power level, so that his artwork for this set would not have to stay packed away in the binders and boxes of Magic players around the world. and did actually make it into some of my early tribal decks from those days, but the ridiculously overpriced and underpowered proto-equipment cards and never got the exposure on the kitchen table that they would have merited if we were to judge them solely by their artwork.

If there were copies available on Cardmarket, the most expensive Scott Kirschner-illustrated Magic cards would probably be the misprinted Fallen Empires with backs from the competing CCG Wyvern – an error that left even very weak cards much sought after by collectors.

Heart of Darkness

Kirschner's style perfectly fits the setting of Mirage, where his love for masked and dancing characters, as well as an uneasiness overlaying looming madness, transports the viewer straight to the heart of darkness. Readers of Joseph Conrad must have felt allured and scared by the exotic danger in a time when some parts of the world were still incomprehensible with perilous uncharted white spots on the map. and illustrates the "otherness" well, as does . But above them all stands , which transcends all borders of culture and time with its strong allegorical imagery.

I cannot wrap this article up without pointing the reader to other great works from the artist's hands, such as , , and (the one with the hummingbird). Then I have still left out some really good stuff for you to discover on your own. Of course, there's also the option to find prints of his work for sale online for example here and here. Feel free to share your appreciation of the artist in the Comments section below or enlighten me and your fellow readers with other insights and thoughts on the subject at hand.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily Cardmarket.