January - February 2003

EVENTS of INTEREST
Connie C. Epstein

The Original Art 2002 exhibit opened on October 30 at the Manhattan gallery of the Society of Illustrators with its annual evening reception and awards presentation. Apopular event in the publishing community, it was attended by an overflow crowd of editors, art directors, and illustrators, there to see the unveiling of the new show. This year founder Dilys Evans reported that out of 642 submissions received 157 pieces, or almost 25%, were selected by the seven-person jury. The jury also named three medal winners: the gold going to Peter McCarty for Hondo and Fabian; and the silvers to Kadir Nelson for Under the Christmas Tree by Nikki Grimes, and Stephen Huneck for Sally Goes to the Farm respectively.

Speaking shortly before the formalities began, Jury Chair Chris Soenpiet said that his goal was to make the exhibit as diverse as possible, a showcase for all styles and an equal opportunity for all artists. In his view, the three medal winners are good examples of this diversity: the subtle luminous quality of McCarty, the strongly colored graphics of Huneck, and the representational work of Nelson. As for trends, Soenpiet noted that computer-generated art continues to rise, but that it is looking more hand drawn and less mechanical all the time.

As the exhibit is on view for a full month, this year ending on November 27, many guests return for a later visit to look at the selections more carefully. Some of the one-of-a-kind highlights included Simms Taback’s version of This Is the House That Jack Built, playing cleverly with both words and pictures, and the piece from “Slowly, Slowly,” Said the Sloth by that master of collage Eric Carle. An ever-growing trend is the emphasis on design, some striking examples being the acrylic by R. Gregory Christie for Love to Langston, written by Tony Medina, and the watercolor in cartoon style by Jim McMullan for I Stink!, created with his wife, Kate McMullan. And perhaps the book demonstrating the most diversity of all was Let There Be Light: Poems and Prayers for Repairing the World, compiled and illustrated by Jane Breskin Zalben, using a wide array of styles and media to fit the many cultures represented.

The 2002 Anne Carroll Moore Lecture, presented annually since 1956, by the Children’s Services Office of the New York Public Library, took place at the Donnell Library Center on November 12. Jerry Pinkney, winner of four Caldecott Honors among other awards, was the speaker, drawing a capacity audience of over 200 librarians, illustrators, writers, and publishers. The title of his talk was “The Pictorial Storyline,” and his theme was the role of nature in his work, “informing and enlarging it.” Using slides to illustrate his points, Pinkney began with photographs of his childhood home in Philadelphia and then went on to show examples of the animals and landscapes that have figured in his books. His .rst, published in 1964, was The Adventures of Spider, and another early favorite was Turtle in July, a collection of poems by Marilyn Singer; to date there are 100 titles to his credit. Collaborating frequently with Julius Lester on books such as The Last Tales of Uncle Remus, Pinkney paid special tribute to him, saying that “his language created room for me to make my own pictures and allowed me space.” In recent years, Pinkney said, he has been trying to become “more inventive with people to balance his work with animals.” And he feels that his new retelling of The Nightingale, in which the king is healed by nature, succeeds in .nding that balance.

Again the Children’s Services listing of 100 recommended titles from the year was made available to the audience before the lecture. Copies cost $3 plus $1 for postage (for 1 to 5 copies), and they may be ordered by mail from the Office of Branch Libraries, 455 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016.