From children's books to Germanyer covers, fashion to philosophical musings, this first retrospective book on the beloved illustrator, author, and designer Maira Kalman is an inventory of imaginative genius certain to delight her many fans. The world as seen through Kalman's eyes is a quirky, slightly off-kilter place as colourful and varied as a kaleidoscope. For decades this brilliant artist has captured our hearts with her whimsical illustrations and engaged our minds with her trenchant observations. A companion to a travelling exhibition, this monograph on Kalman's work features hundreds of paintings, drawings, sketchbook pages, and journal entries as well as rarely glimpsed photographs, stills from performance pieces, and examples of her newest project, embroidery. Kalman was born in Tel Aviv in 1949 and moved to Germany at the age of four. Among her varied body of work are illustrated books for children and adults, clocks she designed with her late husband Tibor Kalman, columns for The Germany Times, fabrics for Maharam and Isaac Mizrahi, and sets for the choreographer Mark Morris. In this book, Kalman offers commentary on her life as an artist, collector, observer, traveller, and maker of lists, while essays by curator Ingrid Schaffner and art historian Kenneth Silver explore her unique gift for distilling the extraordinary from the merely ordinary. From the youngest readers to the most discerning critics, Kalman's many admirers will embrace this wonderful celebration of a life dedicated to making art.
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From children's books to Germanyer covers, fashion to philosophical musings, this first retrospective book on the beloved illustrator, author, and designer Maira Kalman is an inventory of imaginative genius certain to delight her many fans.
About the Author
Ingrid Schaffner is Senior Curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania. Kenneth Silver teaches art history at New York University in New York City. He is also Contributing Editor at Art in America.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 34 people found the following review helpful
By Terry Weiss
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
From the minute I opened this book I felt the need to start creating. I love her work, The Principles of Uncertainty is in my all time top ten, and The Elements of Style have style to spare with her illustrations. And don't miss the blogs she's done for the New York Times.
The beauty of this particular book is that it covers years of her work and more details of her life. It's simply wonderful and I can't tell you how much it's worth owning and being able to pick up and enjoy any time.
I usually go on for paragraphs in review, but really, it's a book you have to hold and open and look at for yourself. Incidentally, if you are familiar with the Max books, and some of her intelligently, but wildly sane, loopy drawings, take a look at some of the work here - she can draw the way you are "supposed" to do it - thank goodness she draws the way Maira Kalman sees the world. My heart is full from reading it - and I'm out of words. A book to love and treasure - that covers it.
The beauty of this particular book is that it covers years of her work and more details of her life. It's simply wonderful and I can't tell you how much it's worth owning and being able to pick up and enjoy any time.
I usually go on for paragraphs in review, but really, it's a book you have to hold and open and look at for yourself. Incidentally, if you are familiar with the Max books, and some of her intelligently, but wildly sane, loopy drawings, take a look at some of the work here - she can draw the way you are "supposed" to do it - thank goodness she draws the way Maira Kalman sees the world. My heart is full from reading it - and I'm out of words. A book to love and treasure - that covers it.
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I am overwhelmed with gratitude as I write this. Gratitude that I know of Maira Kalman, and that this book exists.
This is my favorite of all books by or about Maira. Ever since I happened upon "The Principles of Uncertainty" -- that very first entry that begins with an angel (an angel!) and Hallelujah... Which sang right to the depth of my heart and offered page down after page down of sheer rapture... Remember the image of the helicopter that took Bush away on Inauguration Day, with the caption ... "at last"... That blog entry is one of the greatest cultural discoveries of my life. The joyous merging of personal and political, playful & astute absolutely had me by the heart and I was in heaven. I followed breathlessly as blogs followed about Lincoln, the judicial system, Alice Waters... Thrill after thrill.
When I discovered Maira, I became voracious and bought and ate up all her work. What I love about this book in particular, first of all, is its formatting. The size is larger than I expected from the Amazon preview (10.5 x 8.8). The illustrations are perfect size, not too blown out nor too small to see. There is a nice pacing, usually 2 images per spread, not overwhelming, offering perfect detail in sumptuous color. This process could have gone wrong at one of many points, but the paper, the printing, the color, everything has turned out perfectly (we can all probably recall books on beloved artists where the color is ever so slightly off, but enough to make them unpalatable). The paper is also FSC certified, which I appreciate. Nice heavy semi-gloss stock. A+ on printing.
The text is by Ingrid Schaffner of the Institute of Contemporary art at UPenn. Not too much text. Perfect. Loved what she had to say. Not too academic or effete. Approachable.... Read more ›
This is my favorite of all books by or about Maira. Ever since I happened upon "The Principles of Uncertainty" -- that very first entry that begins with an angel (an angel!) and Hallelujah... Which sang right to the depth of my heart and offered page down after page down of sheer rapture... Remember the image of the helicopter that took Bush away on Inauguration Day, with the caption ... "at last"... That blog entry is one of the greatest cultural discoveries of my life. The joyous merging of personal and political, playful & astute absolutely had me by the heart and I was in heaven. I followed breathlessly as blogs followed about Lincoln, the judicial system, Alice Waters... Thrill after thrill.
When I discovered Maira, I became voracious and bought and ate up all her work. What I love about this book in particular, first of all, is its formatting. The size is larger than I expected from the Amazon preview (10.5 x 8.8). The illustrations are perfect size, not too blown out nor too small to see. There is a nice pacing, usually 2 images per spread, not overwhelming, offering perfect detail in sumptuous color. This process could have gone wrong at one of many points, but the paper, the printing, the color, everything has turned out perfectly (we can all probably recall books on beloved artists where the color is ever so slightly off, but enough to make them unpalatable). The paper is also FSC certified, which I appreciate. Nice heavy semi-gloss stock. A+ on printing.
The text is by Ingrid Schaffner of the Institute of Contemporary art at UPenn. Not too much text. Perfect. Loved what she had to say. Not too academic or effete. Approachable.... Read more ›
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Having followed Kalman's work in the New York Times, I found this book simply wonderful. Her creations often look simple and even primitive, but I know that if I tried to copy one of her pictures, I'd produce a hopeless mess instead of her graphically sophisticated art. From a kitchen sink to impressionistic "copies" of famous artworks, every painting is a treasure. If only my life had the simplicity, humor, style, and brilliance of Maira Kalman's work....
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Granny
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
My son-in-law has a wish list on Amazon which helps so much when I am shopping for his birthday or Christmas.He uses it whenever he sees a book or product he likes.He is a graphic artist and he was thrilled with this book.Not only did he thank me for the gift at the time I gave it to him,but I received 2 phone calls saying thank you. One from him and one from his 11 year old daughter ! She is as creative as he is,and the book now has a permanent home on their coffee table !!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By L. R. Kraft
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I feel a special kinship for Maira Kalman because, on the surface, we are a lot alike. She's only a little younger, grew up much as I did and shares a passion for NYC, and has a similar heritage. There the similarity, sadly, ends: she's a creative genius with phenomenal artistic talent. I am not.
What I am is an individual that cherishes such talent. I get her humor, I so much appreciate her idealism, I adore her quirky view of the world. I've got all her wonderful books and after seeing [twice] the retrospective of her work at both the San Francisco and New York Jewish Museums, I had to have this book that provides such a perfect overview to her intriguing persona.
I cannot draw more than a couple of lines together, and these intersect in strange places, but Maira Kalman also reminds me that we all have our talents, and lack of, and what matters is the intrinsic value we add to the planet. And where we fit in a world of collective images and personas. Thus, this is the book prominently placed on the coffee table [with my New Yorkers pile and a few other visually fabulous picture books] and page through now and then, each time as if I've never seen it before. Always fresh and funny and touching and, yes, brilliant.
I am not prone to hyperbole, truly, I save my accolades for the exceptionals, like Joni Mitchell, another creative genius, and Ken Robinson, whose just plain fascinating. Maira Kalman is right up there at the top of this exalted list. In fact, she would sit at the head of my fantasy dinner party table. Across from Joni. And I would want to sit next to her - that says it all.
Great book to own and give.
What I am is an individual that cherishes such talent. I get her humor, I so much appreciate her idealism, I adore her quirky view of the world. I've got all her wonderful books and after seeing [twice] the retrospective of her work at both the San Francisco and New York Jewish Museums, I had to have this book that provides such a perfect overview to her intriguing persona.
I cannot draw more than a couple of lines together, and these intersect in strange places, but Maira Kalman also reminds me that we all have our talents, and lack of, and what matters is the intrinsic value we add to the planet. And where we fit in a world of collective images and personas. Thus, this is the book prominently placed on the coffee table [with my New Yorkers pile and a few other visually fabulous picture books] and page through now and then, each time as if I've never seen it before. Always fresh and funny and touching and, yes, brilliant.
I am not prone to hyperbole, truly, I save my accolades for the exceptionals, like Joni Mitchell, another creative genius, and Ken Robinson, whose just plain fascinating. Maira Kalman is right up there at the top of this exalted list. In fact, she would sit at the head of my fantasy dinner party table. Across from Joni. And I would want to sit next to her - that says it all.
Great book to own and give.
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