Illustrations help us to remember our childhood

Illustrations help us to remember our childhood

Tania Budihardjo, Contributor, Jakarta

Many people fondly remember their childhood as a wonderful time
in their lives. We had it all: Guilt-free chocolate chip cookies
after school, afternoon naps and books with pictures.

The first two may seem impossible these days, but lucky you;
Dutch Oranges, an exhibition of illustrations from Dutch
children's books, gives you an excuse to remember the good old
days and seems highly cultured.

Put a bunch of these "drawings" in one room, and the diversity
is so great that it's difficult to even categorize the differing
styles. In fact, the only quality these illustrators have may be
their lack of conformity with each other.

As Han Janken, a featured illustrator, puts it, "I'm totally
free to be myself in my drawings."

Jan Jappie en de Veeburaat illustrates a sleeping boy by
putting him in a pea pod, floating in space. His use of solid
colors and little shadowing is reminiscent of a mural.

Berry van Gurwen's work is even more abstract as he integrates
words and art. Gurwen forms sentences into curves and designs and
varies the color and size of words.

Gurwen's style will probably turn off The Tjong-Khing, who
openly declares that he doesn't like abstract drawings because he
thinks children don't like them.

Fiel van der Veen, who illustrated De Zwerftochter van Aeneas,
a retelling of parts of the Aeneid by Paul Beigel, leans
classically toward realism, but without too much detail and
shadowing.

Anything goes with children's illustrations but the best will
impress adults as well.

Graphic designer Dick Bruna takes the idea to a new level in
his book, Lieve Oma Pluis. The story centers around a young
rabbit's struggle to accept her grandmother's death. The word
"minimalist" takes on a new meaning after seeing his drawings.

The rabbits' circle faces, dot eyes and raindrop tears look
like the work of a computer-savvy seven-year-old. And yet,
Bruna's illustrations are amazingly effective.

Looking at the picture, I wondered if Bruna was saying that
humans are all from the same mold, despite our touting of
diversity: more alike than different, a truth that is most
apparent in difficult times. I concluded that Bruna's
illustrations are simple because they portray the soul of the
characters instead of the outward appearance.

Indeed, Bruna's professed hope is that a "child's imagination
is stimulated to see things in their simplest form, so that life,
with all its complications, becomes a little clearer."

Another artist, Harmen van Straaten, takes on a completely
different, but still powerful approach.

Een Opa Om Nooit te Vergeten, by Bette Westera, is about a
child coping with the loss of his grandfather. The child is
deeply attached to his grandfather's red handkerchief, as it
symbolizes all the good times he experienced with him.

Due to the grim tone, the illustrator paints all of the scenes
in drab beige, brown and gray, with one exception: the
handkerchief, which shines joyfully in all the scenes.

These types of people seem to naturally drift toward
children's illustrations, making abstract concepts simple, or
even just arousing a child's fascination.

Or perhaps it is the other way round.

"For me it wasn't -- and isn't -- a choice, but something
natural," confessed featured illustrator Anne Marie van
Haeringen. "Did children's books choose me?"

Whatever the answer, it's obvious that some children's
illustrations capture the simplicity, fantasy and mentality of
childhood in a way no other medium could.

As illustrator Geerten Ten Bosch mused, "When your imagination
comes to life and the text and drawings gel, something special
happens. Something magical."

Dutch Oranges runs at Erasmus Huis Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said, Kav S-3,
Kuningan, South Jakarta, until Sept. 4.