WINNER Tomi Ungerer

We are awarding the Lifetime Achievement Award to Tomi Ungerer to coincide with the Taschen publication of a huge tome of his life's work, Erotoscope. The book is the fruit of nearly forty years of his artistic genius, and demonstrates his exceptional scope, from fornicating frogs to kinky passion, hilarious human sex situations and elaborate masturbation gadgets in action.

Tomi was born Strasbourg in 1931 and raised by a Protestant preacher after the early death of his father. One of his school teachers called him 'a wilfully perverse and subversive individualist'.

In 1956, he moved to NYC with sixty dollars and a trunk full of drawings and manuscripts. He quickly became one of America's most sought-after advertising and publishing illustrators. Most famous for his prize-winning children's books, he also produced adult books and political posters. He moved to Canada and then back to Europe, and currently lives in Ireland with his family.

Tomi has profound views on sex and eroticism. He says,

'Eroticism is a mother of invention, a jack of all trades, inspiring rites and games. The human body is the finest toy that ever was. When tickled, it can laugh, tweaked it kicks, whipped, it can whinny and whine. For my pen, my brush or my pencil, it is a source of inspiration as beautiful as nature itself.'

and

'You have to grow up to learn that sex is a need with an appetite and that eroticism is what gastronomy is to food.'

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•