SchoolArts - August/September 2009

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Children’s Book Briefs York, NY: Penguin Group, 2008.

wrenching difficulties. Through the

Illus., hardcover, 32 pp., $16.99.

Ken Marantz

lens of this emotional upheaval, the

author reveals the arc of Wright’s

Clementine Hunter first picked up a

career to international fame and rec-

paintbrush in her midlife and used

ognition for his artistic works and the

whatever surfaces she could find to

struggles faced by the couple in the

create pictures from memories and

eye of a political storm of controversy.

her surroundings. Bottles, old pots,

Mamah and Frank sparked condemna-

bits of boards, etc. were covered with

tion and fascination in the people who

artwork based on her experiences as

tormented and gossiped about them

a servant. Like many folk artists, she

while seeking commission after com-

was discovered by the commercial art mission from the famous architect.

Sandy’s Circus: A Story About Alex-

world and achieved considerable noto-

This is definitely a book for the beach

ander Calder. Tanya Lee Stone, illus- riety. Illustrator Shane W. Evans uses

or a rainy day on the sofa.

trated by Boris Kulikov. New York,

fine lines and paint to create a sense

NY: Viking, 2008. Illus., hardcover,

spirit inherent in Hunter’s work while creating his own effective narrative of Hunter’s need to produce “a window to her life on the plantation.” —Ken Marantz is professor emeritus of art

of innocence, while offering a bold

32 pp., $16.99.

characterization of Hunter and her

world. Evans manages to express the

This brief, accessible text rings

with the excitement of a real fan of

Calder’s work. A biography of sorts,

the story begins with Calder’s child-

hood, showing him converting junk

into attractive moving objects. Boris

Spiral Jetta: A Road Trip through the

Kulikov’s double-page paintings

education at Ohio State University.

Land Art of the American West. Erin

depict Calder’s joy in making things

Hogan. Chicago, IL: The University

that were unique in the art world of

Paris and New York. A scene show-

ing Calder riding a bicycle in Paris

Bookmarks
Sharon Warwick
of Chicago Press, 2008. Hardcover,
180 pp., $20.00.

with the cityscape as backdrop and

Erin Hogan, public affairs director of

inclusion of a classical figure floating over the scene holding a palette. She appears in a few other settings playing the role of Calder’s muse. This, coupled with stunning sequences depicting Calder’s various circus contraptions, allows us to experience the