{"id":24456,"date":"2024-01-30T07:18:37","date_gmt":"2024-01-30T12:18:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/?p=24456"},"modified":"2024-03-19T20:18:19","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T00:18:19","slug":"seymour-chwast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/2024\/01\/30\/seymour-chwast\/","title":{"rendered":"The Children’s Books Of Celebrated Designer Seymour Chwast"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 1954, Seymour Chwast, along with a handful of friends he\u2019d made while studying art and design at Cooper Union, founded the New York design shop Push Pin Studios. Along with the Beatles and the San Francisco rock concert poster designers, they were at the forefront of creating the psychedelic style of the 1960s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But over the years he’s also published more than 40 kids books. \u201cKid in a Candy Store: The Picture Book Art of Seymour Chwast\u201d<\/a> at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst from Nov. 18, 2023, to April 14, 2024, is billed as \u201cthe first museum exhibition to focus on Chwast\u2019s books for children.\u201d Curated by the prominent children\u2019s book historian Leonard S. Marcus, the exhibition features more than 30 illustrations by the New York and Connecticut artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChildren respond to the kind of artwork I do,\u201d Chwast said in his 1985 monograph \u201cThe Left-Handed Designer.\u201d \u201cWhat\u2019s odd is that my children\u2019s illustrations are sometimes considered too sophisticated. I don\u2019t understand that at all unless my work is not cute enough for children. Ironically, those reactions go against my innocent, head-on style. You see, there\u2019s nothing beyond what I\u2019m doing. It\u2019s all laid out. There\u2019s no symbolism, no mystery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seymour
Seymour Chwast, Illustration for Find a Friend (Astra). (Seymour Chwast Collection, Washington University Libraries, Department of Special Collections. \u00a9 2023 Seymour Chwast.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With Push Pin, Chwast helped create a signature style drawing on vintage Victorian and art deco design plus hand-drawn illustration and bright, flat colors. In 1976, Chwast\u2019s Push Pin partner Milton Glaser designed the \u201cI (heart) NY\u201d graphic to help New York City tourism recover from the city\u2019s financial struggles of the 1970s. Chwast\u2019s early partner Edward Sorel became known for fine-lined caricatures he penned of celebrities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chawst\u2019s art could feel ubiquitous, with his ads, illustrations and comics for The New York Times, Forbes, Time, Atlantic, album covers, television, McDonald\u2019s Happy Meals, but he\u2019s less identified for a singular project. Museum collections and books of poster art include his 1967 anti-Vietnam War woodcut and offset printed poster<\/a> of a rough-hewn Uncle Sam with his mouth open to reveal military warplanes bombing houses. Underneath it reads:\u201cEnd Bad Breath.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s odd that Seymour Chwast is not readily considered on the top tier of children’s book artists despite having publishing over 40 of them, and creating many more,\u201d Chwast\u2019s frequent collaborator,  the designer, author and educator Steven Heller wrote in his online column for Print magazine in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the answer is that children\u2019s book artists tend to find recognition via iconic characters\u2014Alice, Pippi Longstocking, Winnie-the-Pooh, Peter Rabbit, the Cat in the Hat, Eloise, Max in \u201cWhere the Wild Things Are,\u201d Lowly Worm, Frog and Toad, Clifford, Shrek, Olivia, Arthur, Maisy, the Pigeon who shouldn\u2019t drive the bus. But Chwast hasn\u2019t birthed an iconic character, and doesn\u2019t fancy himself as much of a writer. Instead his books are often playful explorations of design\u2014with his signature bold colors, flat cartoony art, and dash of humor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\""Kid
“Kid in a Candy Store: The Picture Book Art of Seymour Chwast” at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, Nov. 18, 2023, to April 14, 2024. (Photo courtesy of the museum)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For example, his 1969 \u201cStill Another Alphabet Book\u201d with Martin Moskof, is \u201calso a puzzle and a game\u201d with an alphabet at the bottom of each page with letters highlighted that spell out a word in the illustration. \u201cTall City, Wide Country” is a vertical book for the city then requires to be turned horizontal halfway through for the country scenes. \u201cMr. Chwast\u2019s style is calculatedly naive, mixing childlike perspective and proportion with a sophisticated line and sense of design,\u201d Karla Kusin wrote in The New York Times when it was published in 1983.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chwast is fond of puns and a sort of absurdist literalism, like \u201cEnd Bad Breath.\u201d Or his 2021 book \u201cWhere\u2019s My Cat,\u201d in which he playfully imagines ordinary things transformed\u2014a saw and a pickle become a crocodile, a comb suggests a tiger, a table becomes a cow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heller told Forbes magazine in 2016: \u201cChwast\u2019s legacy is his wit, humor and compassion expressed through public art and graphic design. He lifted the weight of seriousness off the things that make us think and, sometimes fear. He is a commentator whose work both cautions, teaches and entertains.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\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, occasional newsletter<\/a> so that you don’t miss any of our reporting. (All content \u00a9Greg Cook 2024 or the respective creato<\/em>rs.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seymour
Seymour Chwast. (Photo by Camille Murphy.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\""Kid
“Kid in a Candy Store: The Picture Book Art of Seymour Chwast” at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, Nov. 18, 2023, to April 14, 2024. (Photo courtesy of the museum)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Seymour
Seymour Chwast, Illustration for The Alphabet Parade. (Seymour Chwast Collection, Washington University Libraries, Department of Special Collections. \u00a9 1991 Seymour Chwast.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\""Kid
“Kid in a Candy Store: The Picture Book Art of Seymour Chwast” at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, Nov. 18, 2023, to April 14, 2024. (Photo courtesy of the museum)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Seymour
Seymour Chwast, Illustration for Moonride by Harriet Ziefert (Houghton Mi_in Harcourt). (Seymour Chwast Collection, Washington University Libraries, Department of Special Collections. \u00a9 2000 Seymour Chwast.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Seymour
Seymour Chwast, Illustration for Moonride by Harriet Ziefert (Houghton Mi_in Harcourt). (Seymour Chwast Collection, Washington University Libraries, Department of Special Collections. \u00a9 2000 Seymour Chwast.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\""Kid
“Kid in a Candy Store: The Picture Book Art of Seymour Chwast” at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, Nov. 18, 2023, to April 14, 2024. (Photo courtesy of the museum)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Seymour
Seymour Chwast, Illustration for The Flip-Flap Mother Goooooose: A Push Pin Book. (Seymour Chwast Collection, Washington University Libraries, Department of Special Collections. \u00a9 1972 Seymour Chwast.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\""Kid
“Kid in a Candy Store: The Picture Book Art of Seymour Chwast” at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, Nov. 18, 2023, to April 14, 2024. (Photo courtesy of the museum)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Seymour
Seymour Chwast, Illustration for Tall\nCity, Wide Country (Creative Editions). (Seymour Chwast Collection, Washington University Libraries, Department of Special Collections. \u00a9 2013 Seymour Chwast.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Seymour
Seymour Chwast, Illustration for Tall\nCity, Wide Country (Creative Editions). (Seymour Chwast Collection, Washington University Libraries, Department of Special Collections. \u00a9 2013 Seymour Chwast.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Seymour
Seymour Chwast, Illustration for Tall\nCity, Wide Country (Creative Editions). (Seymour Chwast Collection, Washington University Libraries, Department of Special Collections. \u00a9 2013 Seymour Chwast.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\""Kid
“Kid in a Candy Store: The Picture Book Art of Seymour Chwast” at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, Nov. 18, 2023, to April 14, 2024. (Photo courtesy of the museum)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Seymour
Seymour Chwast, Illustration for Where\u2019s My Cat? (minedition). (Seymour Chwast Collection, Washington University Libraries, Department of Special Collections. \u00a9 2022 Seymour Chwast.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Seymour
Seymour Chwast, Illustration for Where\u2019s My Cat? (minedition). (Seymour Chwast Collection, Washington University Libraries, Department of Special Collections. \u00a9 2022 Seymour Chwast.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Seymour
Seymour Chwast, Illustration for The 12 Circus Rings. (Seymour Chwast Collection, Washington University Libraries, Department of Special Collections. \u00a9 1993 Seymour Chwast.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 1954, Seymour Chwast, along with a handful of friends he\u2019d made while studying art and design at Cooper Union, founded the New York design shop Push Pin Studios. Along with the Beatles and the San Francisco rock concert poster designers, they were at the forefront of creating the psychedelic style of the 1960s. But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24467,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100,107],"tags":[211,635,774,723,1226,1225],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24456"}],"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=24456"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24545,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24456\/revisions\/24545"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}