Chuck Close for Children

     It is somewhat difficult to find children's books about contemporary artists, and the reasons can be varied, although appeal and appropriate subject matter for children can certainly add to the difficulty. Most books for the younger age group are about picture book illustrators. Last year's publication of Face Book by Chuck Close has certainly made a difference in this category, and I hope more artists will follow his lead. I was able to find three books that can be used at home or in classrooms, and that includes Face Book. I've noted them below in order of succeeding complexity.
     Bob Raczka's Here's Looking at Me: How Artists See Themselves has an entry for Close, and I found it to be a very useful introduction.  A two-page spread, one side gives concise information about Close's work and mentions his illness. The other side reproduces Close's "Self-Portrait, 2000." The text could be used (with some explanation of certain words) for children in all grades at the elementary school level. In addition, the rest of this book is excellent, the selection of works is wide-ranging and has excellent appeal for children as well as adults.
     Chuck Close's Face Book deserves every accolade it received: it contains all the elements that make a successful art book for children, including the question-and-answer format, handled here with a light touch that is never pedantic or condescending. This book has something more: one section of the heavy card-stock pages reproduces some of Close's work. Each page is split into three, enabling the reader to move the pages back and forth and experiment with the images of Close's self-portraits over time and in different mediums. While Close's work is daunting for anyone thinking of attempting to work in his manner, my children could not resist the book itself, moving the pages back and forth, amazed at how Close makes his art. This is a wonderful, honest book, and I highly recommend it for readers of any age.
     Chuck Close, Up Close by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan was published in 1998. This is a biography for older children and while the explanatory text is clearly written, and it contains numerous anecdotes from interviews with Close, it does not have the appeal of Close's own book. It would be most useful for older children looking for information for a report, or for adults seeking a more conventional format for instruction. Many of the illustrations are also in Face Book, but I did appreciate the end matter which includes a three-page essay for children explaining what a portrait is, a glossary, a detailed list of figures, a bibliography, and a list of some of the museums in which Close's work can be viewed, although the last two would need to be checked given the age of this text.