Cynthia von Buhler

American artist and writer

Cynthia von Buhler ('/b//j//uː//l//ər/; born Cynthia Carrozza,

Cynthia von Buhler was born Cynthia Carrozza and raised in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, the middle child in an artistic family with six children. Of her childhood, she says "As soon as we could hold a scissor, we learned every kind of craft imaginable, and worked in three dimensions, not just two." Creative from the start, she created large scale papier mâché floats for her hometown Halloween parades, and won her first art award while she was still in grammar school. Her high school graduation was held at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts. Von Buhler studied art and children's books at The Art Institute of Boston. After graduating she continued her studies at Richmond, The American International University in London.

Von Buhler claims her family is rumored to descend from the royal Italian Sforza family through an illegitimate child. This Sforza line was given the title of "Count" by the Pope to give them legitimacy. An Italian diplomat and anti Fascist politician of this line is Count Carlo Sforza. In a manifesto von Buhler wrote in 2001 she explains why she has a title. "My grandmother's maiden name is Sforza, and the rumor in the family is that we are related to the infamous Francesco Sforza of Milan, known for treachery, hiring Leonardo da Vinci as his plumber, beautiful mistresses, and a delicious Italian nougat candy called Torrone." by von Buhler is a true tale of New York City Prohibition era bootlegging, mafia, infidelity, and murder. Von Buhler had been haunted by a shocking family mystery for years. Her grandparents Frank and Mary Spano owned two speakeasies in the Bronx during Prohibition: one that masqueraded as a bakery, the other a secret nightclub. Shortly after Prohibition ended, her grandfather was shot and killed on the street in Manhattan. Her grandmother was pregnant with her mother at the time, and upon hearing the news of the murder she went into labor. Von Buhler's grandfather's body was laid out in one room of their small Bronx apartment while her mother was born in the room next to it. "Nobody still living in my family knows why my grandfather was shot. Nothing was known about the killer, his motive, or a trial. My grandmother took these secrets to her grave. And so, over the past two years, I have been dusting off a complicated, historically significant story," explains von Buhler. Taking it one step further, the artist created an immersive theatrical experience to go along with the sets and her own investigation. Speakeasy Dollhouse stages these events in a historic Lower East Side speakeasy elaborately set up to mirror the dollhouse sets. The actors aren't visually distinguished from the audience, making the audience as key to the show as the performers. The play's tagline is "The speakeasy is my dollhouse and you are my dolls." a crowdfunding site. The play will continue into 2015 with tickets available to the general public. Of Dolls and Murder, directed by Susan Marks and narrated by John Waters, is a documentary about Francis Glessner Lee's crime scene investigation dollhouse dioramas. Marks created an Of Dolls and Murder sequel based on Speakeasy Dollhouse. Speakeasy Dollhouse became the brand name for all of Cynthia von Buhler's immersive theater productions. The original show was renamed The Bloody Beginning.

The Girl Who Handcuffed Houdini follows private investigator Minky Woodcock as she uncovers secrets surrounding the final days of the world famous escape artist, Harry Houdini. Woodcock's investigation leads her to cross paths with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who believes Houdini is not merely a magician but has supernatural powers, and Bess Houdini, who suspects her husband is cheating on her. Von Buhler investigated the death of Houdini and based her story on true crime evidence. Evelyn Evelyn are a musical duo formed by Amanda Palmer (of The Dresden Dolls) and Jason Webley. According to the fictional backstory described by Palmer and Webley, the duo consists of conjoined twin sisters (aka "Eva" and "Lyn"), Evelyn and Evelyn Neville, who were discovered in 2007 by Palmer and Webley. The twins are actually portrayed by Palmer and Webley,[5] dressed in connected garments. Dark Horse Comics published a two book graphic novel encased in a hardcover sleeve, written by Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley and illustrated by von Buhler. The book had an afterword written by Neil Gaiman.

In 2001 von Buhler was asked by Steven Spielberg to illustrate Martha Stewart's story for Once Upon A Fairy Tale (Viking), a book produced to benefit The Starbright Foundation for seriously ill children. In 2002, New York Public Library selected the "handsomely illustrated" (The New York Times) They Called Her Molly Pitcher, written by Anne Rockwell and illustrated by von Buhler, as one of One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing. In 2004, von Buhler went on to illustrate Nicolaus Copernicus: The Earth is a Planet. Reviews called her "dramatic oil on gesso artwork" (School Library Journal) "handsome and effective" (Booklist). Publishers Weekly offered high praise for her work on the book: "Von Buhler's paintings exert a gravitational pull of their own." In 2006 von Buhler wrote and illustrated The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside with dual credits as author and illustrator. The book, based on a true story, featured painted clay characters in detailed architectural sets. Book Sense named the book as a Children's Pick for Winter/Spring 2006/2007 for its "beautiful story" and "extremely detailed sets." Kirkus Reviews called the illustrations "unique" and "eye popping," providing "a glimpse of a world beyond the frame" and pronounced the book "a sheer delight." Publishers Weekly thought "readers may well be entranced" by the "considerable magic" of von Buhler's illustrations, while Time Out New York called the book "beautifully ornate," and "the cat's meow." The book was also chosen as Teacher's Picks: Best of 2006 by Parent & Child magazine. In 2009, von Buhler took a second turn as author and illustrator with But Who Will Bell The Cats?. The book's illustrations feature handmade architectural sets, cinematic lighting, and paper doll oil paintings of the characters in action. Kirkus Reviews stated that "young readers will pore over this one again and again," and School Library Journal agreed that "children will find a lot to discover in the details, even after repeated readings." The Nassau County Museum of Art in New York exhibited the book's elaborate miniature sets in a solo exhibition between September 20, 2009 and January 3, 2010. During the summer of 2010 Von Buhler exhibited the miniature sets in an animatronic window display that she created for Books of Wonder in Manhattan. Time Out Kid's did a feature article on the window along with a slideshow showing von Buhler creating it. Elizabeth Bird, a New York Public Librarian, posted a lengthy review of the book on her School Library Journal blog, "Is it wrong that I sometimes want to blow a four year old's mind? I've come to the decision that Cynthia von Buhler's But Who Will Bell the Cats? is going to be my library's secret weapon from here on in." Von Buhler has also illustrated dozens of young adult book covers including Queen's Own Fool by Jane Yolen, The Road to Damietta by Scott O'Dell, and two Newbery medal winners, The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare and The Perilous Guard by Elizabeth Marie Pope.

In the mid nineties, she and Adam Buhler a. k. a. Adam von Buhler bought a large purple Victorian house in the Allston neighborhood of Boston. She painted the walls in jewel tones with patterns of climbing vines. "It was a creative turning point for me. When I moved into my house, I needed art for the walls. So, I started making these paintings that were much different than the style I had been working in. That is when I decided not to make any artwork that I did not want to put on my wall." Von Buhler's three dimensional paintings have been reproduced and featured in a diverse variety of books, magazines, and newspapers from Rolling Stone to The New Yorker. Her work has appeared in more than a thousand magazines, books, publications, billboards, and CDs. In 1995 she was interviewed about her art in Mary Magdalen: An Intimate Portrait on the Lifetime Network. The expose was narrated by Penelope Ann Miller and also featured interviews with Martin Scorsese and Arch Bishop Rembert Weakland. In addition, a von Buhler portrait of Mary Magdalen which had been commissioned by The New Yorker was featured in the show's introductory graphics. In 1998, she was hired by Viking Publishing to illustrate a children's book, Nicholas Nicholson's Little Girl in Red Dress With Cat and Dog. This book garnered von Buhler a starred review in Publishers Weekly, which praised the "imaginative debut" and her "distinct sense of time and place." A tarot deck based upon the writings of William Shakespeare, "The Shakespeare Oracle: Let the Bard Predict Your Future," written by A. Bronwyn Llewellyn, was illustrated by von Buhler and released in 2003. In 2004 von Buhler's portraits of Madonna and Jimi Hendrix accompanied essays by Britney Spears and John Mayer in the "50th Anniversary of Rock and Roll" issue of Rolling Stone. The painting of Jimi Hendrix was built with a Stratocaster guitar as the singer's spine and the piece was set on fire. Both paintings are now in the collection of Jann Wenner.

Von Buhler is renowned for throwing lavish, circus themed parties. These parties started in Boston and have continued in Connecticut and New York City. about conjoined twins. The book was a collaboration with musicians Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley, and the foreword was written by Neil Gaiman. To celebrate the completion of the artwork for the two set book, Palmer and Gaiman's marriage engagement, and her own birthday, von Buhler's held a lavish, 'Freaks' themed birthday party at a Manhattan penthouse loft. Von Buhler was dressed in a custom made latex mermaid tail and greeted her guests from a claw foot bathtub filled with water. In homage to the BP Oil Spill victims von Buhler created an oil slick mermaid installation featuring live models. The party was attended by many literary luminaries: Lemony Snicket, Neil Gaiman, Jonathan Ames, Michael Chabon, Adele Griffin and others. Scenes from the rooftop merry go round, von Buhler's art, and Empire Snafu Restoration Project art were used in Salman Rushdie's book trailer for Luka and the Fire of Life. A few of the party guests were also chosen as actors for the trailer.