A new 456-page book documenting the ‘creative genius’ of Austrian eyewear designer, businessman and convicted murderer Udo Proksch has been released.
Entitled Udotopia, the hardback book has drawn from the personal and professional archive of Proksch. The archive of 1,000 frames, 6,000 drawings and 100 artworks was acquired from the Westlicht Museum in Vienna by vintage eyewear collector Michael Jardine, who then commissioned the book.
Previous books and films have examined the personal life of Proksch in detail, including his insurance fraud and murder convictions for the plot to sink the cargo ship Lucona. Udotopia focuses on Proksch’s creative career, leaving his personal life to these other works.
Author Luisa Jean Cooper was tasked with investigating the archive and producing the volume. She commented: ‘Udo Proksch was anything but predictable. He had ideas that were ground-breaking in concept and potential, but between the perfectibility of his creations and the darkness of his lust for power, he came unstuck.
‘He was consigned to history more as a criminal, and much less as a creative genius. Here we celebrate Udo Proksch – creative genius.’