Art VanDal is the product of the rumored union of an itinerant juggler known as “Cosmo the Quick” and jaded highway-heiress Lucette VanDal, of the Gresham VanDals. Abandoned as a babe on Ross Island, VanDal was suckled through infancy by a kindly she-otter, and later discovered by a crew of Dragon Boat Racers.

His unusual beginnings have lent a particular 4th dimensional “je ne sais n'importe quoi” to his writings, as well as fostered a facility in marine mammal languages. He is currently the at-large Jean-Baptiste Sans Souci Professor of Cameotics, of which is he is the sole living (or dead) practitioner.

VanDal has also written several pioneering books and articles, including the underground best-seller, "To Beat or Not To Beat: Bards, Buskers, and Buccaneers," co-authored with pop-geologist Inga Schonberg.