Illustrations help us to remember our childhood<\/p>\n
Tania Budihardjo, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Many people fondly remember their childhood as a wonderful time
\nin their lives. We had it all: Guilt-free chocolate chip cookies
\nafter school, afternoon naps and books with pictures.<\/p>\n
The first two may seem impossible these days, but lucky you;
\nDutch Oranges, an exhibition of illustrations from Dutch
\nchildren's books, gives you an excuse to remember the good old
\ndays and seems highly cultured.<\/p>\n
Put a bunch of these \"drawings\" in one room, and the diversity
\nis so great that it's difficult to even categorize the differing
\nstyles. In fact, the only quality these illustrators have may be
\ntheir lack of conformity with each other.<\/p>\n
As Han Janken, a featured illustrator, puts it, \"I'm totally
\nfree to be myself in my drawings.\"<\/p>\n
Jan Jappie en de Veeburaat illustrates a sleeping boy by
\nputting him in a pea pod, floating in space. His use of solid
\ncolors and little shadowing is reminiscent of a mural.<\/p>\n
Berry van Gurwen's work is even more abstract as he integrates
\nwords and art. Gurwen forms sentences into curves and designs and
\nvaries the color and size of words.<\/p>\n
Gurwen's style will probably turn off The Tjong-Khing, who
\nopenly declares that he doesn't like abstract drawings because he
\nthinks children don't like them.<\/p>\n
Fiel van der Veen, who illustrated De Zwerftochter van Aeneas,
\na retelling of parts of the Aeneid by Paul Beigel, leans
\nclassically toward realism, but without too much detail and
\nshadowing.<\/p>\n
Anything goes with children's illustrations but the best will
\nimpress adults as well.<\/p>\n
Graphic designer Dick Bruna takes the idea to a new level in
\nhis book, Lieve Oma Pluis. The story centers around a young
\nrabbit's struggle to accept her grandmother's death. The word
\n\"minimalist\" takes on a new meaning after seeing his drawings.<\/p>\n
The rabbits' circle faces, dot eyes and raindrop tears look
\nlike the work of a computer-savvy seven-year-old. And yet,
\nBruna's illustrations are amazingly effective.<\/p>\n
Looking at the picture, I wondered if Bruna was saying that
\nhumans are all from the same mold, despite our touting of
\ndiversity: more alike than different, a truth that is most
\napparent in difficult times. I concluded that Bruna's
\nillustrations are simple because they portray the soul of the
\ncharacters instead of the outward appearance.<\/p>\n
Indeed, Bruna's professed hope is that a \"child's imagination
\nis stimulated to see things in their simplest form, so that life,
\nwith all its complications, becomes a little clearer.\"<\/p>\n
Another artist, Harmen van Straaten, takes on a completely
\ndifferent, but still powerful approach.<\/p>\n
Een Opa Om Nooit te Vergeten, by Bette Westera, is about a
\nchild coping with the loss of his grandfather. The child is
\ndeeply attached to his grandfather's red handkerchief, as it
\nsymbolizes all the good times he experienced with him.<\/p>\n
Due to the grim tone, the illustrator paints all of the scenes
\nin drab beige, brown and gray, with one exception: the
\nhandkerchief, which shines joyfully in all the scenes.<\/p>\n
These types of people seem to naturally drift toward
\nchildren's illustrations, making abstract concepts simple, or
\neven just arousing a child's fascination.<\/p>\n
Or perhaps it is the other way round.<\/p>\n
\"For me it wasn't -- and isn't -- a choice, but something
\nnatural,\" confessed featured illustrator Anne Marie van
\nHaeringen. \"Did children's books choose me?\"<\/p>\n
Whatever the answer, it's obvious that some children's
\nillustrations capture the simplicity, fantasy and mentality of
\nchildhood in a way no other medium could.<\/p>\n
As illustrator Geerten Ten Bosch mused, \"When your imagination
\ncomes to life and the text and drawings gel, something special
\nhappens. Something magical.\"<\/p>\n
Dutch Oranges runs at Erasmus Huis Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said, Kav S-3,
\nKuningan, South Jakarta, until Sept. 4.<\/p>",
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