RUN, DON'T WALK, TO SEE MAIRA KALMAN EXHIBIT AT THE JEWISH MUSEUM (ENDS JULY 31)

I've been a Maira fan for more than 20 years, ever since I read Max Makes a Million.

A few years ago, I had the honor of interviewing her for my blog. (HERE is the post about the interview.)

So imagine my delight when I found out that the Jewish Museum was featuring a WHOLE FLOOR of Maira's work! Yippee!

Last weekend, Mike and I went up to the museum and had a great time looking at her paintings, objects she has collected, and videos of/about her, including her TED talk.

There was such a light, happy feeling on that floor. And I was so pleased that a whole floor was dedicated to a Jewish woman artist.

The museum display board beckoned us down to the cafe for some lox, but lo and behold, they were out of lox. So we bused over to the top of Fairway to have lox sammies.

Then made our way down to Crate and Barrell to use a gift certificate to buy simple shiny white new dishes.

What a great day!

Here's text from the Jewish Museum website about the Maira exhibit:

Welcome to the first museum survey of Maira Kalman’s narrative art. Working as an illustrator, author, and designer, Kalman illuminates contemporary life with a profound sense of joy and a unique sense of humor. This exhibition features a selection of original works on paper that span thirty years of illustration for publication. Also on view are less widely seen works in photography, embroidery, textiles, and performance. As a context for this survey, Kalman has created a special installation by furnishing the gallery with chairs, ladders, and “many tables of many things”—drawn from her collections.

Kalman speaks of her work as a form of journalism. She uses writing and drawing to render an ongoing account of the world as she sees it. Hers is a daily discipline of creativity based on photography, travel, research, walking, talking, and open observation. A serious love of distraction pervades. Abundant depictions of fashion, food, art, and architecture represent life’s great pleasures. At the same time rubber bands, pieces of moss, bobby pins, and snacks stake a claim for smaller forms of satisfaction. All of this might seem pretty trivial were it not for the counterweight of history, memory, and loss that is also ever-present. Chaos is another constant, be it crazy and madcap or simply devastating. Indeed, it is her work’s gift to illuminate those things that affirm our own capacity for joy, sadness, humor, charm. In short, Kalman’s art inspires our humanity in light of life’s overwhelming events and details.

—Ingrid Schaffner, Senior Curator, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania

About Maira Kalman

Maira Kalman (b. 1949 Tel Aviv, lives New York) is the author of twelve children’s books including Ooh-la-la (Max in Love). Among her adult classics are The Elements of Style, an illustrated edition of Strunk and White’s timeless grammar, and The Principles of Uncertainty, a picture book of essays based on a yearlong online column for The New York Times. She has just completed a second online epic for The Times titled And the Pursuit of Happiness. Kalman’s best known work, created with fellow illustrator Rick Meyerowitz, is New Yorkistan: a cartoon map of the city designated by tribes, such as Pashmina, Irant, and Irate. When it ran on the cover of The New Yorker in December 2001, it sanctioned a first burst of laughter in the aftermath of 9/11. A relatively more secret aspect of her identity is as the “M” in M&Co, the revolutionary design firm founded by her late husband, Tibor Kalman, with whom she was a constant collaborator. The firm’s famous 10-One-4 watch is based on one of her doodles. She has collaborated on projects with the fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi, the choreographer Mark Morris, and the composer Nico Muhly.

MAIRA KALMAN, CREATIVE HEROINE

Call me Max.
Max the dreamer.
Max the poet.
Max the dog.

My dream is to live in Paris.
To live in Paris and be a Poet.

These are the first words I came across fifteen years ago, when I opened the front cover of Max Makes a Million. That moment marked the beginning of my ongoing love affair with the work of author/illustrator/designer Maira Kalman.

I read and re-read and re-re-read and re-re-re read that book, soaking up the way the words were arranged and the way they played off the illustrations. I was amazed by the way that earth tones appeared alongside of sorbet colors to create images that were both whimsical and sophisticated. I was delighted by references - in words and in paintings – to aspects of life in New York City. There, for example, in the painting of “The Museum of Incredibly Modern Art” were the very same black grid chairs in MOMA’s sculpture garden that always left tiny squares in my legs and backside!

I gave the book as gifts to adults and read it aloud to children. I distinctly remember sitting in Barnes and Nobles ten years ago, reading Max Makes a Million to twin six-year-old boys. I came to this passage, and they made me read it over and over again and laughed harder each time that I did:

Bruno and I left the studio. Walking to lunch
we passed the door of the mysterious twins
Otto and Otto
and their two dogs
Otto and Otto.

Then there is my personal favorite passage, spoken by Max himself:

There is an old Chinese proverb that says parents must give their children two things, roots and wings. I have the roots. Now I want wings.

The book, at its heart, is about going after ones dreams ,which is why it has appeal and relevance for people of all ages.

Kalman went on to write and illustrate other picture books, and I relished all of those, too. There was Max in Hollywood, Baby; Chicken Soup, Boots; Ooh-la-la, Max in Love; Swami on Rye; Next Stop, Grand Central; and What Pete Ate. I went on several occasions to see her artwork at the Julie Saul gallery in Chelsea and also visited the Children’s Museum of Manhattan when they featured an exhibit based on Maira's picture books.

I saw Ms. Kalman's artwork appear in many other places - on the cover of The New Yorker, in The Sunday New York Times Magazine and in the newest edition of The Elements of Style. I saw her designs appear on Kate Spade merchandise and was overjoyed to find a mural of hers at Wave Hill Cultural Center depicting its lush and glorious landscape. Most recently, I enjoyed receiving as a gift The Principles of Uncertainty, the content of which came from her New York Times blog of the same name.

Every time I see Ms. Kalman’s work out in the world, there is the joy of recognition same as when I see someone I love unexpectedly on the street or when I see a dachshund dashing by on the sidewalk. Ah! Something I love – there it is again! Hooray!

So you can imagine my surprise and delight when Ms. Kalman granted an interview in her Manhattan abode.

At the door, I was greeted by her dog Pete (as seen in What Pete Ate) . He was dressed in crème color fur and Ms. Kalman in a crisp white outfit.

We all sat down for some conversation.

What has Ms. Kalman been up to these days?

As of late, Maira has been working under the auspices of the Robinhood Foundation and Pentagram Design Studio to create a three dimensional installation for a public elementary school in the Bronx. The central concept of this 3-D collage is that of a wall poem about the alphabet. It will be made of found objects, made objects, drawings, photographs, letters, words, and bits of text from books.

Maira likes the fact that the children will see mundane objects used as art, thus learning that they can create art from the stuff that is right around them.

For the Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia, Maira is working on a project based on Lincoln ephemera – letters, photos, etc. - in commemoration of the bicentennial of his birthday.

She’s also creating fabric based on maps for Maharam, a New York based textile design company.

Ms. Kalman was once a student at The High School of Music and Art right here in New York. What was that experience like for her?

Ms. Kalman originally went to HSMA for music. Her entrance was based on her skills as a pianist and, once admitted, she also found her way into the choir.
An important part of being at the school was getting the message that an artist is a real thing to be.

Maira went on to attend college at NYU. Her original focus on writing and she added drawing to her repertoire.

Her literary inspirations include Cummings, Austin and Nabokov. She’s currently reading Ulysses which she describes as “a full time job” that is both stupendous and sleep-inducing.

Does Maira collaborate with other artists?

Maira’s collaborations have been with her late husband, her current beau, and well as with a longtime friend and composer Nico Muhly. Her joint projects tend to evolve out and extend from already existing relationships.

Mostly, Ms. Kalman is a solitary worker who is “looking and absorbing in a daydream world.”

What does Maira like to do when she is not working?

She likes to clean things, travel, and walk. “I’d be happy to walk around the world, just not through wars or up steep mountains,” she shared.

Maira’s ideal is one where work and life are integrated in a seamless way where one can “be pragmatic and in another world at the same time.”

Are there other artists whom Maira considers to be kindred spirits?

Yes, and here’s a list of some of them:

Charlotte Solomon, a woman who made hundreds of gouache paintings of her life and who created books which were exhibited. Ms. Solomon was killed by Nazis in the 1940s.

Louise Bourgeois and Kiki Smith, who are both “trying to inhabit a few different worlds at once.” They both tell a narrative story and use imagery made up of dreams, memory, and childhood.

Eva Hess and Matisse.

From the world of children’s books: Lewis Carol, who wrote Alice in Wonderland and, by using humor on different levels, engaged both young people and adults. William Steig. Ludwig Bemelmans, author of the Madeleine books.

What is Maira’s daily schedule?

First, she does early morning exercise with a friend. Then, she spends time in her studio which is also in the building where she lives. Next, she gathers inspiration and ideas by wandering around New York.

Maira also spends a great deal of time traveling.

What’s the story of Maira and dogs? They appear a lot in her books.

When Maira was a child, she was terrified of pets. As an adult, she liked them conceptually. When her children were young, she got Pete – the dog she’s had for the past eleven years.

How does Maira like to spend her birthday?

In a quiet celebration with her family.