Review. On the Fly of Pictures Books

       The exhibition IBBY at Hive, Worcester, UK, from 14^th September – 04^th October, 2015 featured a broad diversity of artists from a specific cultural context and visual codes from 50 countries they represent.

       The visit imparted a valuable extension of a perception academically about images makers, same as kindly educating addressed young people audience.

      There have been shown how communicated personal visual aspects of interpreters through the process, medias and signs of peculiar personal statements. Visual practitioners exposed variety of successful experimenting with different combined methods such drawings, watercolours, gouache, collages, printmaking, digital approach and et. cetera. The important point through is that these images are organic, narrative and professionally made giving an aspiration to trace the own several way for the visual communication.

       My attention was fixed by Lithuanian artists Lina Dudaite  ‘The Grimm Brothers Fairy Tales’ (‘Broliu Grimu pasakos’), who demonstrated classical drawings and techniques that helped expand fairy tales visual narrations and suddenness. Ornamentation of these particular displays come over tiny, decorative line, bright, balanced colours arrangement, precisely drawn details build up visual completeness. 

 

 

 

 

Lina Dudaite. ‘The Grim Brothers Fairy Tales (Broliu Grimu pasakos)’

 

     Next artist Marina Puzysenko from Ukraine with the book ‘The Nutcracker’ (‘Luskuncik’) can be same attributed to classical drawing style with eloquent faces, variety of gestures impart for characters mobility and emotionality.

 

Marina Puzysenko. ‘The Nutcracker (Luskuncik)’

 

      Observing the whole display, above mentioned visual interpreters  including also the illustrator  Vera Pavlova from Russia (the pictures display ‘Sleepy tramway’ (Sonnyje tramvaji)),  demonstrated the strong classical drawing school based on academic drawing that is nowadays  still thought in East Europe and anywhere else.

 

Vera Pavlova. ‘Sleepy tramway (Sonnyje tramvaji)’

 

        Taking of it originality of simplicity,  my eye moved to the Italian artists’ Silvia Borando  book ‘The Back The Cat Book’ (Il libro gatto), that unmasked neat, refusal of unnecessary details (as like trying make intellectual jokes clever ‘avoiding’  a deeper metaphorical code, a composition, design consciousness and etc.,) allowing  for  a viewer to flourish for visual surprise.  A character - the cat – thanks to the strong black line and the way of the pure colours, on pale white panels, was absolutely lively and enormous playful with tricky, primary circled eyes. The escorted texts become visual images themselves unfolding an individual leach of this illustrator.

 

Silvia Borando. ‘The Back The Cat Book (‘Il’ libro gatto)’

 

 

       Eventually, it should be added to my attention the artist’s Annastiina Makitalo from Finland ‘Kirsti of Old Raum’ (‘Vanha Raumian Kirsti’). This narrative personal statement differs from other books by using only the computer graphic programme Adobe Photoshop collage with drawings. 

 

Annastiina Makitalo. 'Kirsti of Old Raum (Vanha Raumian Kirsti)'.

 

       It seems that trying to find the own voice  in the tough illustration’s market might be excellent to adopt the minimalism - ‘Less is more’-  that would be  the aim for a book ‘on the fly’ standing out from a crowd.