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.

Whether one is homeschooling or not, when looking for books that will encourage art appreciation in young children, I have found that most, if not all, will encourage active looking.  Many are inquiry-based, meaning they ask questions of the reader rather than simply giving information. Some series, like "Come Look With Me," will present a work of art on one page, and a set of questions on the other, followed on that same page by a short description with facts about the work. Depending on the work selected and the audience level of the questions, one can find a huge range in the presentation in this series, appealing to the very young to the upper grade child. These are short books and each covers no more than twelve works.

Other series, like Gillian Wolfe's "Look!," are specifically designed for younger children, in the six-to-ten-year range, with art work selections that appeal both visually and thematically, and which are shown in large, clear reproductions. One entry in this series, Body Language in Art, breaks down its subject into faces, hands, body pose and message. Wolfe presents a work, describes it in one or two sentences, asks questions and explains (very briefly) what the artist has done. Each work comes with a suggestion for further study or an activity. I was impressed with the way the first three chapters led naturally into the message chapter, encouraging readers to apply what they had just learned. The works selected vary from Georges Le Tour's "The Fortune Teller," the work selected for the cover, to Norman Rockwell's "Going and Coming," and include an excellent introduction to Grant Wood's "American Gothic" in the message chapter. A concluding section gives more information about the seventeen works and where they can be found.

Alive to gentle influence

I believe many parents wish they could do more for their child's education, much more than simply helping them with homework, but there is never enough time. It takes time to devise any sort of additional plan for art appreciation, history, languages, literature and music, all of which adds to a sophisticated knowledge of the world.  What books does one use for children who have been at school all day, who have sports and other activities lined up all week and most of the weekend? When someone doesn't want to homeschool, or afterschool, or school at all, where can a concerned parent fit in the culture? And when you are not an expert and do not have the time to become one?

Having faced this problem myself, I have found that it is nearly impossible, unless you are willing to sacrifice a comfortable and easy home with your family for one of driving intent. I am not that person. There are times when I like nothing better than to sit on the couch with my kids and watch TV. I like to listen to them play while I make dinner. However, I believe that they will be deprived of something intangible if I do nothing more than drive them to a play date or take them to a museum on a rainy day.When adults do seek knowledge, we turn to books written for adults, we become bogged down in the details, we overwhelm ourselves and ultimately feel as if we have failed before we have begun.

This is where Kay Vandergrift comes in. I was fortunate enough to take a children's literature course with Professor Vandergrift when I was at Rutgers University for my master's degree in Library Science. Professor Vandergrift did something simple and yet wonderful: she read picture books to us. As adults, as parents, we sit with our children at certain events and see other people read to them. We read to them. But we do not stop to listen to the book as they might, we do not set aside our adult selves and listen to the story. How often have you been somewhere and someone is reading to children and you find yourself having a whispered conversation with another adult? We don't pay attention! Professor Vandergrift read to us and we listened and I still can't think about that time without feeling as if it changed my life. Her class showed me that books written for children can and do make an impact on adults. We remember the books of our childhood with emotion, with love. But they can be even more than this, and they can make a difference in your life as well as your child's. 

Children's books will not only give your child those important country facts that will get him a good grade, but it will enlarge his world, and yours. It is not easy to sift through all of the books out there for the right ones, the ones that will give you more than the realization that Van Gogh and Matisse used bright colors to paint, or the knowledge that Paul Revere was at the Boston Tea Party. One book about the American Revolution will not make a child love history, one game of Go Fish using Famous Artist playing cards will not make her appreciate art, but an easy, simple plan to incorporate books, games, activities, and outings will go a long way toward the cultivated person you hope your child will become.

As I am working on a plan for developing interest in art, I include in my manifesto this, my opening shot.

While there are numerous picture books that are about creativity, my own children have always loved Tomie dePaola and his book, The Art Lesson. Young Tomie knows he wants to be an artist, but faces difficulties to overcome while he awaits his first real art lesson. A book to follow this with is Micawber by John Lithgow, about a squirrel who follows an artist home and finds his own vocation. Both of these books are best read to children who are at least four or who have the patience to sit through something somewhat longer than a board book.  There is little need, when beginning to introduce your children to art, to engage them in a discussion about art, artists or creativity.  Both of these books make art personal and essential.  What better way to begin?