The Laura and Alvin Siegal Lifelong Learning Program at Case Western Reserve University is expanding its programming to offer on-site classes at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland. The program will launch Aug. 25 with a free lecture and continental breakfast featuring Case Western Reserve’s former associate provost and university librarian Arnold Hirshon.
Hirshon’s free, public talk, “Wonderlands and Looking-Glasses: Exploring the Mind of Book Illustrators,” will be held Thursday, Aug. 25, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Lakeland Community College’s Holden University Center (7700 Clocktower Dr., Kirtland).
About the talk
Illustration is the art of translating text into visual images. When illustrating a book, the illustrator faces numerous choices, and when illustrating a classic text there is an additional challenge: how to bring something new of interest to the reader.
Lewis Carroll’s two Alice books—Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass—are the most illustrated works of literature in the world, with over 1,800 illustrators internationally having had a hand in illustrating one or both books. Thus, Alice provides a perfect opportunity to explore what goes on in the mind of illustrators as they consider the potential audience (such as children versus adults), the possible artistic choices (such as style, media, and techniques), and the textual influences (such as which characters or scenes to illustrate, and how to reflect changes in culture and fashion).
This fast-moving trip down the artistic rabbit hole will be a delight to the eye, and you will see all illustrated books in a fascinating new light.