At the Brooklyn Public Library, some of the best material isn’t on the shelves — it’s on the walls.
“Drawn in Brooklyn,” a new exhibit at the library’s central branch pulls from the pages of some of the best children’s books of the past decade (and some not even published yet) to highlight 34 illustrators who live and work in the borough.
“When you hear something like a Brooklyn-only show, you think it’s provincial or boosterism,” said John Bemelmans Marciano, a Red Hook-based illustrator who curated the exhibit. “But Brooklyn really is the epicenter of the children’s publishing world.”
Marciano’s own works are among the over 100 featured, including his pieces for the Madeline series (his grandfather, Ludwig Bemelmans, is its creator). Other contributions come from children’s book award winners such as Leo and Diane Dillon (“Mother Goose — Numbers on the Loose”), Brian Selznick (“The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins”), Paul O. Zelinsky (“Awful Ogre Running Wild”), and Bryan Collier (“Dave the Potter”).
In addition to the stand-alone pieces, found hanging in the lobby, the exhibit features a “behind the scenes” component in its Youth Wing and site-specific installations in the upstairs balcony, where Aileen Leijten, Yunmee Kyong and Sophie Blackall have turned to their inspirations for inspiration, presenting dolls, papier mâché animals and an antique scrapbook for a 3-D component to the show.
Tuesdays and Thursdays at the library will also feature talks with the artists, so you can meet the faces behind the pictures.
“Drawn in Brooklyn” at the Brooklyn Public Library’s central branch [Flatbush Avenue at Eastern Parkway in Grand Army Plaza in Park Slope, (718) 230-2100], now through Jan. 23, 2011. Artist talks on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 am. For info, visit www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org.
