This past weekend we went to the NYC Transit Museum. Housed in a decommissioned subway station, it has old subway cars that you can go on, complete with ads from the era when the car was in use, as well as exhibits on the building of the New York City subway. If you haven't been, you must go! My husband and I found it so fascinating that we want to go without the kids one day.
Of course, my girls wanted to buy something at the gift shop. My 3-year-old got a placemat to match the one her sister received as a party favor. My 6-year-old kept suggesting items I had to turn down (no more stuffed animals!). And then I found a small book, Art en Route, showing the art at different subway stations with a marked price of 50 cents. She was sold, and I was thrilled with both the book (more of a brochure, really) and the price. I later found you can request it for free or even download it! (I was shocked, however, at the paucity of non-fiction books about the subway system for kids her age.)
This morning she perused it over breakfast and came to me with several subway stations she wants to visit. Now we just have to find something to do at each stop when we get there!
Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Nonfiction About Artists
We have the usual gender divide in our family: the girls and I read mostly fiction and my husband reads mostly nonfiction. My girls have gone through phases where they are interested in certain nonfiction topics, particularly the human body and New York City, both of which I hope to write about eventually. But generally, we stick to the fiction side of things.
Lately, however, a few nonfiction works have caught my older daughter's attention. She's always been very interested in art so when I came across An Eye for Color: The Story of Josef Albers by Natasha Wing, I immediately reserved it at the library for her. Josef Albers, an artist whom I'd never heard of before, made the study of color his life's work. My daughter was intrigued to learn that he spent years painting different colored squares to see how the various colors play off each other. Just days later she received her issue of Click Magazine and found that this entire book had been reprinted in the magazine, along with colored squares of different sizes for the reader to cut out and experiment with. Of course, you can try this yourself with colored construction paper.
On another note (pun intended), the self-described mockumentary, The 39 Apartments of Ludwig van Beethoven by Jonah Winter is a wacky exploration of why Beethoven lived in thirty-nine different apartments during his adult life. Although the parody aspect of it was a bit over my five-year-old's head, she understood it once I explained it. The book also describes the artistic process and how Beethoven dealt with its inherent frustrations, including by pouring water over his own head!
In Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan's Ballet for Martha: Making of Appalachian Spring, Martha Graham appears to be Beethoven's spiritual heir, as she throws her own tantrums (and shoes!) while choreographing Appalachian Spring, leading me to believe that the stereotype of the temperamental artist has a kernel (or more) of truth. This book shows not just the inspiration but the effort, the editing, the back-and-forth which go into making a work of art, whether it's a musical composition, a sculpture, or a ballet. The illustrations by Brian Floca show how dancing requires not just physical prowess but acting skills as well. The authors end by explaining how, every time the ballet is performed, there is a new interaction between the dancers, the music, the set - and the audience - and that it is never the same twice.
Lately, however, a few nonfiction works have caught my older daughter's attention. She's always been very interested in art so when I came across An Eye for Color: The Story of Josef Albers by Natasha Wing, I immediately reserved it at the library for her. Josef Albers, an artist whom I'd never heard of before, made the study of color his life's work. My daughter was intrigued to learn that he spent years painting different colored squares to see how the various colors play off each other. Just days later she received her issue of Click Magazine and found that this entire book had been reprinted in the magazine, along with colored squares of different sizes for the reader to cut out and experiment with. Of course, you can try this yourself with colored construction paper.
On another note (pun intended), the self-described mockumentary, The 39 Apartments of Ludwig van Beethoven by Jonah Winter is a wacky exploration of why Beethoven lived in thirty-nine different apartments during his adult life. Although the parody aspect of it was a bit over my five-year-old's head, she understood it once I explained it. The book also describes the artistic process and how Beethoven dealt with its inherent frustrations, including by pouring water over his own head!
In Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan's Ballet for Martha: Making of Appalachian Spring, Martha Graham appears to be Beethoven's spiritual heir, as she throws her own tantrums (and shoes!) while choreographing Appalachian Spring, leading me to believe that the stereotype of the temperamental artist has a kernel (or more) of truth. This book shows not just the inspiration but the effort, the editing, the back-and-forth which go into making a work of art, whether it's a musical composition, a sculpture, or a ballet. The illustrations by Brian Floca show how dancing requires not just physical prowess but acting skills as well. The authors end by explaining how, every time the ballet is performed, there is a new interaction between the dancers, the music, the set - and the audience - and that it is never the same twice.This book was crammed wtih facts that were new to me. I had no idea that Martha Graham asked Aaaron Copland to write the music for the ballet; I always thought the music came first. Nor did I know that Isamu Noguchi, whose work I've admired and enjoyed (I highly recommend the The Noguchi Museum in Queens), was the set designer for the ballet.
What are your favorite nonfiction children's books about artists?
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