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.