Amy McIntosh    ST. MARY'S PROJECT, 2007

 

 

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Artist Statement

Many things haven changed since the days when I attended elementary school, but the carpet in Pinewood Elementary’s library isn’t one of them.  The brown, scratchy carpet still covers the floor by the Caldecott medal books where students gather for story circles.  Once a week, Pinewood students had their library special—one hour to spend in the midst of more books than you could count.  I remember how exciting I found library days.  Most of the time, teachers or other grown-ups assigned books to read, but in the library, things were different.  As long as I had brought back the books I checked out the week before, I was free to pick out and read whatever book I wanted.  Recently, I returned to my old elementary school to visit a first grade class and share my book with them.  Now, several years later, I’m nearly ready to add my own book to the library’s collection.  When I visited my first grade audience, I brought to them a book-in-progress.  I’d spend much time working out issues regarding color choice, composition, and integration of words and images, but I was still unsure if kids would like my bare-bones story. 

Developing my initial ideas for a more narrative-based book into a more sparse and focused book dealing with triplets of rhyming words was not the hard part.  Trios of words, like please, sneeze, and breeze, materialized easily and developing these words into logical and amusing ‘stories’ was an enjoyable process.  But translating these language-based ideas into an effective visual medium required a good deal of revision.  When I made my initial sketches and drawings, I worked in black ink and shades of light gray wash.  But even a cursory look at children’s literature today reveals that nearly all books are printed in full color.  Some illustrations are more splashy and neon than others, but almost all illustrators use a color palate when developing their illustrations.  Color is an eye-catching way to add interest to illustrations, emphasize important aspects of a picture, and connect with a young audience who learns in a visual way.  All ways to use color are not created equally, however, and I tried several combinations of color before I settled on a limited, earthy palate of greens, purples, browns, and a vanilla yellow that lent itself to the more sophisticated look I wanted to my illustrations to possess. 

Finding the right combination of colorful pictures and page layout was critical to providing the best vessel for my story.  Trying to cram too much information on a page would make the story lose some of its flow.  Losing important parts of images in the crease of the book’s binding would be like losing the remote control in the couch cushions—a beginning of a great image is visible, but the viewer is stranded without a way to progress to the next portion.  By dividing each three word ‘story’ between four consecutive pages of the book, I found a layout style that would give each word its own spotlight and my readers chance to guess at the next word in the sequence.  Turning the page in the middle of the word trio provides a moment that adds a little suspense to the process of reading and simultaneously slows down the pace of reading.  Each word becomes unique and valuable because of their scarcity and the pace at which they are revealed. 

Unlike many storybooks, words are something of a scarce commodity in my book.   Because there are so few words to make up the larger story, I chose them carefully and paid a great deal of attention to how the words meshed with the images they describe. Sculptor Luis Jimenez provided inspiration into the myriad ways text and image can be woven together.  Jimenez uses fiberglass to make enormous, sensuous, gaudy sculptures of Mexican mythic characters and scenes from Chicano life in the Southwest, but I find his preparatory drawings even more interesting than the sculptures themselves (Flores-Turney & Hickey 4). I’m particularly drawn to the way Jimenez uses text in the scenes he depicts.  Text is almost always present and sometimes acts like a title, giving a name to the scene or providing important information.  The words are always integrated with the piece and complement the expressive style of the drawings.  Words take part in the action of the scene, sometimes as background fixtures like neon lighting, sometimes as actors as they bend and curve like a cowboy’s lariat.  In sequences like ‘hose grows rose’, I’ve taken the queue from Jimenez and constructed ‘rose’ out of the prickly, sinuous branches of a rose bush.  In these instances, words and text are at their most harmonic and the text takes on a performative aspect. On other pages, words appear in a more straightforward manner.  Words like ‘small’ or ‘where?’ might appear in speech bubbles and here they act more as labels than pictorial elements.  In either usage, words become the center of attention and are free to teach their audience about the fundamentals of reading.

Phonemic awareness is a crucial step in the process of learning how language works and by extension, learning to read (Cunningham 6). As a child listens to spoken language, her ear develops and begins to differentiate between the discrete sounds that make up the words of a language.  Rhyme is a particularly effective tool in developing this awareness (Cunningham 6). When several rhyming words like yell, fell, and smell are pronounced, we can hear the similarities between the ending chunks of the words—all three words end in an “-ellll” sound.  Three different words are produced by taking the same “-ell” chunk and attaching a different beginning sound.  Older readers, who already have a strong sense of phonemic awareness also benefit from rhyming words because sequences of such words point out similarities and differences in spellings.  For example, rose and grows both have the same ending sound, but they are spelled in different ways.  My book addresses these issues in a very direct way—the only words are rhyming words.  However, I wanted to balance to overt educational aspect of the book with a more sophisticated sense of humor and looked to Dr. Seuss’ books for guidance.  On some levels, “Seuss books were often opinionated, outspoken and even controversial. Some even started rampaging arguments, which probably would have delighted Geisel” (Nevius 2). Yet throughout, humor is a key element.  The good doctor realizes that kids bring a lot of knowledge to every situation, including educational ones.  They are constantly observing and picking up on things that adults don’t always give them credit for.  With this in mind, I tried to add humor to my story in a way that respects a child’s capacity and knowledge.  In my storybook, humor doesn’t necessarily appear in the form of a joke.  Most of the time, the light-hearted tone that pervades the pictures is due to the way seemingly unrelated words come together to produce a sequence of events. It’s surprising and funny to see how the words please, sneeze, and breeze narrate a scene that illustrates a fancy restaurant faux-pas.  A request for the passing of the pepper touches off a gale-force sneeze.  Breezes made by this powerful sneeze blow through the restaurant and reveal a surprise guest to attentive readers.  Fitting unlike words together creates a written collage which is well-suited to carrying a humorous story along.  Looking at the work of British graffiti artist Banksy helped me appreciate the power that can come from the surprising combination of visual elements.  If I am creating interest by juxtaposing text with the visually communicated story, Banksy works his humorously cheeky magic by juxtaposing image and environment.  Although he is best known for his stencil graffiti, Banksy also engages in guerilla art-making and shop-dropping.  These techniques take full advantage of the different expectations associated with place and graffiti art. Banksy’s series of super-glued art is a prime example.  Within the walls of art museums, a certain environment prevails and rules are followed.  Visitors walk around in a respectful hush, focus their attention on the works, and keep their distance from the art.  Banksy disregards these norms and uses the tension between art museum etiquette and his own art to play up the element of humor.  Often disguised in a ridiculous overcoat and fake beard, Banksy uses superglue to attach works of his own creation to the walls of art museums (Kennedy 1). In the Metropolitan Museum of Art, he added a doctored oil painting (Kennedy 1). At the British Museum, he snuck in a fabricated ‘artifact’ from the Stone Age (CBC News 1). If Banksy’s work stood alone, we might be amused by his irreverent humor.  But when he surreptitiously places his work in the hallowed halls of great art museums, Banksy takes full advantage of the added meaning that comes from art cleverly situated in an environment.  

Illustration has oftentimes been a stranger to the environment of the art gallery.  Does an illustrated children’s book belong in an art gallery?  Are the pictures worthy of the esteemed title of ‘art’?  Not long ago, Britain acknowledged the importance and contributions of children’s book illustrations with the creation of the “Magic Pencil- Children’s Book Illustration Today” exhibition.  Noted British illustrator and author, Quentin Blake became the first Children’s Laureate and chose a selection of British illustrators whose original illustrations toured the world.  This show set illustrations apart as art objects that have value outside of the binding and covers of a published book.  Blake himself commented that launching a show of this kind is a new development and “no doubt reflects an increased awareness of the art of illustration” (Blake 11).

For a long time, illustration has lived a rather sequestered life, separate from the larger world of art and the esteem that comes along with the title of “art.”  Two reasons help explain why illustration has been art’s red headed stepchild for so many years.  By definition, illustration rarely stands alone as it serves as an illumination or explanation of a written story or narrative.  In addition, illustrated children’s books are a comparatively new development in history (Blake 11). It was not until the Enlightenment that society began to view children less as miniature adults and more as young people who had unique needs dictated by their age.  More attention was paid to children’s development and playtime and age-appropriate reading material became essential to childhood.  Children’s books slowly gained popularity over time.  Looking at the variety of literature shows a general widening and expanding of the definition of what belongs in children’s literature.   Illustration styles have progressed from the first woodcuts and intaglio prints, thanks to improvements in printing technology, and become more varied in style. 

Today, children of all ages have a wide library of illustrated books to choose from, with illustrations ranging in styles from collage to lifelike drawings to computer-generated art to expressionistic painting.  Illustrators like Blake have developed a trademark style that makes them easy to recognize and love.  Using scratchy and expressive lines, Blake creates oddball characters and situations that appeal to the active imaginations of children.  Balancing the words and images is one of Blake’s strong points— he can let readers in on a joke, give them more information than the main characters, or simply create a scene that is full of texture and excitement. Recognizing important illustrators, such as Blake, with a dedicated exhibition goes a long way to bringing illustration into art’s fold. 

Illustration still differs from the majority of fine art because of its relationship with the dollar.  Because illustration is frequently produced to go along with an already existing story or other text, illustration participates more readily and fully in the commercial realm than other forms of art do (or are willing to admit.)   This is a point that gets many illustrators a little hot under the collar.  In writing about the “Magic Pencil” exhibition, Blake comments that “illustrators have also sometimes experienced the disadvantage of what they do being called ‘illustration’ and the implied diminishing contrast between art that is ‘commercial’ and art that is ‘fine’” (Blake 11). In his defense of illustration, Blake points out that illustration does what so many of the commissioned masterpieces by the Old Masters accomplish—caters to a certain type of client, is completed on a deadline, and tells a story in a clear, legible way (Blake 13).  

Illustration’s gradual acceptance into the realm of fine art proves how wonderfully elastic the definition of art has come to be.   Because I work with both the fields of art and English in mind, it’s exciting the see children’s books receive greater recognition.  The answers to the questions of whether illustrations belong in an art gallery seem to be a resounding ‘yes’. 

 

     
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