{"id":14255,"date":"2019-11-14T08:21:59","date_gmt":"2019-11-14T13:21:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/?p=14255"},"modified":"2019-11-15T10:17:34","modified_gmt":"2019-11-15T15:17:34","slug":"maira-kalman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/2019\/11\/14\/maira-kalman\/","title":{"rendered":"Maira Kalman: \u2018If You Don\u2019t Digress And Go Off The Point, I Think You Miss The Point\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThere\u2019s absolutely nothing you can\u2019t talk to children about. They want to know the truth,\u201d author and illustrator Maira Kalman<\/a> says during a tour of her new exhibition \u201cThe Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman’s Books for Children,\u201d on view at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art<\/a> in Amherst from November 10, 2019, to April 5, 2020. \u201cYou can say anything to kids if you like them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kalman is the creator of 18 children’s books plus a dozen books for adults (including collaborations with Daniel Handler aka Lemony Snicket), covers for The New Yorker magazine (\u201cNew Yorkistan\u201d), and pictorial essays for The New York Times. Her illustrated writings often feel like the sketchbook-diaries of some character out of a Wes Anderson film\u2014debonair, full of witty asides, the epitome of a New Yorker. Inspirations range from things she picks up on her wanderings to Cecil Beaton\u2019s photos of English mansions. Kalman revels in wandering and observation: \u201cYou don\u2019t have to make anything up ever. Well, once in a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman speaks at \u201cThe Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman’s Books for Children” at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Nov. 10, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kalman resides in New York\u2019s Greenwich Village. Her day, she says, begins: \u201cFirst there\u2019s the obituary reading from The New York Times with a cup of coffee. That really puts a spin on the day. \u2026 Then a walk in Central Park.\u201d She works on her projects all day, she says. She reads. She watches British murder mysteries. \u201cI go to bed very early. I hate the night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kalman says she was shaped by \u201ccoming from Israel. Being an immigrant. Not becoming a citizen until I was in my 30s.\u201d She was born in Israel in 1949, moved with her family to the United States as toddler, and grew up in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. She married the graphic designer Tibor Kalman in 1981 (he died in 1999 at age 49) and together they operated the advertising firm M&Co. (as in Maira).<\/p>\n

Kalman\u2019s daughter, Lulu, was born in 1983, followed by son, Alex, in 1985. Her first children\u2019s book was published in 1985\u2014\u201cStay Up Late,\u201d working from David Byrne\u2019s lyrics to the Talking Heads tune. This was followed by tales about an imaginary dog. \u201cMax the dog is really my alter ego obviously. He is a poet dog who wanders around,\u201d Kalman says. (Jane Bayard Curley, the curator of the exhibition, notes, \u201cHer mother is terrified of dogs and trained Maira to be afraid of dogs.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted my work to be about wandering, journalism, being able to travel,\u201d Kalman says. \u201cIt comes from a humanistic point of view. I\u2019m not bitter. I\u2019m sad.\u201d<\/p>\n

While many illustrators have opted to create digitally, Kalman continues to prefer working by hand, with gouache (opaque watercolors). \u201cFor me the relationship of the hand and the eye and the paper, the mistakes \u2026 that\u2019s invaluable. I can\u2019t imagine giving them up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman, notebooks from 1989 to 2013, in \u201cThe Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman’s Books for Children” at Atlanta\u2019s High Museum of Art, June 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Below are more things Kalman said during a public tour of her exhibition on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cThe most wonderful projects come from wandering and finding your way and one thing leads to another.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cGive me an assignment and let me tell you what I\u2019ve seen. That\u2019s my favorite thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman, “Misery Day Parade” cover for the Feb. 5, 2001 New Yorker magazine, in \u201cThe Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman’s Books for Children” at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Nov. 10, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2022 About her \u201cMisery Day Parade\u201d cover for The New Yorker: \u201cWhy don\u2019t we have parades that show how people really feel?\u201d (Related: Pity Party<\/a> and Saddest Parade on Earth<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cYou can\u2019t have humor without pathos.”<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cYou can\u2019t talk to kids about the world and make it [just] this ridiculous, funny place because that\u2019s not the whole story.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 About writing about Thomas Jefferson, slavery and his sexual relationship with the woman he enslaved, Sally Hemings, in her 2014 book \u201cThomas Jefferson, Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Everything\u201d: \u201cYou can\u2019t tell that story and have that thing be left out of it. \u2026 But you can talk to kids about that very plainly. \u2026 We said the monumental man had monumental flaws.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cYou can digress into a world of imagination and hopefulness and humor as you tell the story and that\u2019s allowed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 While Max was an invention of her imagination, Kalman\u2019s Pete stories were based on her real, actual dog. \u201cI went from being entirely terrified to finding the love of my life,\u201d Kalman says. \u201cHe started eating everything in site. \u2026 I started keeping lists. I thought I could make some money from this dog.\u201d The result: \u201cWhat Pete Ate from A-Z (Really!)\u201d from 2001.<\/p>\n

\"Max<\/a>
Max the dog\u2019s hat, a wool felt hat that she found in a thrift store in Ashtabula, Ohio, exhibited in \u201cThe Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman’s Books for Children” at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Nov. 10, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2022 About Max the dog\u2019s hat, a wool felt hat that she found in a thrift store in Ashtabula, Ohio, and admired for its resemblance to the hat worn by Chico Marx: \u201cIt does look like a Marx Brothers hat and a lot of this is inspired by them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cThere\u2019s a good reason to love dogs more than people because they don\u2019t talk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 About Her 2002 book \u201cFireboat\u201d: \u201cIt\u2019s a book about a New York City fire boat that was built in 1932 and had been deaccessioned,\u201d Kalman says. \u201cThey used to just tool around on the river and when 9\/11 happened and all the water mains were buried \u2026 the John J. Harvey pumped water for four days and four nights.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cWe live in the village and we saw the buildings come down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman, Illustration for “Fireboat: The Heroic Adventure of the John J. Harvey,” (G.P. Putnam’s Sons) 2002.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2022 \u201cI like to wander around. I like to photograph and sketch and think about the vulnerability of people and the courage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cIf you don\u2019t digress and go off the point, I think you miss the point.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Kalman was invited to write and draw for the website of The New York Times around 2007. \u201cI was able to do a years worth of meandering. They said, \u2018What do you want to do?\u2019 I said, \u2018I\u2019m not sure.\u2019 They said, \u2018That sounds like a good idea.\u2019\u201d The first year of pieces was collected as her 2007 book \u201cThe Principles of Uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cThe thing I hate about any museum is when you\u2019re obliged to learn something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cI don\u2019t know where that comes from,\u201d Kalman says of the colors she favors. \u201cMaybe the Mediterranean light.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cThe way I deal with people is not from a cynical or sarcastic point of view,\u201d Kalman says. \u201cWhat I really want to say is we\u2019re all in this together and I find you fantastically beautiful and interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 About her 2018 book \u201cCake,\u201d with recipes by Barbara Scott-Goodman: \u201cI said I\u2019ll show them. I\u2019ll give them the saddest stories ever written about a cake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 About her 2018 book \u201cBold & Brave,\u201d written by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York: \u201cIt was an incredible education about the women who fought for the vote in this country.\u201d It gave her, Kalman says, \u201crenewed faith in the power of people and the power of women.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cThings change and not always for the worse.”<\/p>\n

\n

If this is the kind of coverage of arts, cultures and activisms you appreciate, please support Wonderland by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And sign up for our free, weekly newsletter<\/a> so that you don’t miss any of our reporting.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman and Pete in 2005. (\u00a9 Rick Meyerowitz)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\u201cThe<\/a>
\u201cThe Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman’s Books for Children” at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Nov. 10, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman, Illustration for “Bold and Brave: Ten Heroes Who Won Women the Right to Vote” by Kirsten Gillibrand (Alfred A. Knopf). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the artist and Julie Saul Gallery, New York. \u00a9 2018 Maira Kalman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman, Illustration for “Beloved Dog” (Penguin Press). Courtesy of Julie Saul Projects, New York. \u00a9 2015 Maira Kalman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman, notebook in \u201cThe Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman’s Books for Children” at Eric Carle Museum, Amherst, Nov. 10, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman, notebook in \u201cThe Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman’s Books for Children” at Eric Carle Museum, Amherst, Nov. 10, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\u201cThe<\/a>
\u201cThe Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman’s Books for Children” at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Nov. 10, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman, Illustration for “Looking at Lincoln” (Nancy Paulson Books). Courtesy of Julie Saul Projects, New York. \u00a9 2012 Maira Kalman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman, Illustration for “And the Pursuit of Happiness” (The Penguin Press). Courtesy of Julie Saul Projects, New York. \u00a9 2010 Maira Kalman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman, Book dummy for “Ooh-la-la (Max in Love),” Viking, 1991, pencil with pen and ink and pasted text on paper., in \u201cThe Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman’s Books for Children” at Atlanta\u2019s High Museum of Art, June 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman, notebooks from 1989 to 2013, in \u201cThe Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman’s Books for Children” at Atlanta\u2019s High Museum of Art, June 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\u201cThe<\/a>
\u201cThe Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman’s Books for Children” at Atlanta\u2019s High Museum of Art, June 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman speaks at \u201cThe Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman’s Books for Children” at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Nov. 10, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman, Illustration for “Smartypants (Pete in School)” (G. P. Putnam\u2019s Sons). Courtesy of Julie Saul Projects, New York. \u00a9 2003 Maira Kalman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman, Illustration for “What Pete Ate From A-Z (Really!) (G. P. Putnam\u2019s Sons). Courtesy o”f Julie Saul Projects, New York. \u00a9 2001 Maira Kalman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman speaks at \u201cThe Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman’s Books for Children” at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Nov. 10, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\u201cThe<\/a>
\u201cThe Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman’s Books for Children” at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Nov. 10, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman, Illustrated letters that she sends every other week to her granddaughter Olive, now age 3, in \u201cThe Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman’s Books for Children” at Eric Carle Museum, Amherst, Nov. 10, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman, Illustrated letters that she sends every other week to her granddaughter Olive, now age 3, in \u201cThe Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman’s Books for Children” at Eric Carle Museum, Amherst, Nov. 10, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman, Illustrated letters that she sends every other week to her granddaughter Olive, now age 3, in \u201cThe Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman’s Books for Children” at Eric Carle Museum, Amherst, Nov. 10, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman, Illustration for “What Pete Ate From A-Z (Really!)” (G. P. Putnam\u2019s Sons). Courtesy of Julie Saul Projects, New York. \u00a9 2001 Maira Kalman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman, Illustration for “Next Stop, Grand Central” (G. P. Putnam\u2019s Sons). Courtesy of Julie Saul Projects, New York. \u00a9 1999 Maira Kalman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman, Illustration for “Swami on Rye: Max in India” (Viking). Courtesy of Julie Saul Projects, New York. \u00a9 1995 Maira Kalman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman, Illustration for “Chicken Soup, Boots” (Viking Penguin). Courtesy of Julie Saul Projects, New York. \u00a9 1993 Maira Kalman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Maira<\/a>
Maira Kalman, Illustration for “Max Makes a Million” (Viking). Courtesy of Julie Saul Projects, New York. \u00a9 1990 Maira Kalman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

If this is the kind of coverage of arts, cultures and activisms you appreciate, please support Wonderland by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And sign up for our free, weekly newsletter<\/a> so that you don’t miss any of our reporting.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\u201cThere\u2019s absolutely nothing you can\u2019t talk to children about. They want to know the truth,\u201d author and illustrator Maira Kalman says during a tour of her new exhibition \u201cThe Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman’s Books for Children,\u201d on view at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst from November 10, 2019, to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14279,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100,107],"tags":[284,211,635,294],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14255"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14255"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14255\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14306,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14255\/revisions\/14306"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}