life


Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Celebrated author Chris Van Allsburg speaks at Ann Arbor venue (with video)

By Steven Howard, Heritage Newspapers

Celebrated children's author Chris Van Allsburg spoke to a full house at the University of Michigan Museum of Art Thursday, discussing his life and career, and describing the compositional process that went into creating some of his most beloved literary achievements.

Perhaps best known as author of "The Polar Express" and "Jumanji," which both won the Caldecott Medal and were later turned into major motion pictures, Van Allsburg's writing career has spanned more than 30 years and includes 16 picture books, as well as several other collaborations.

Van Allsburg said he attended U of M as an undergraduate before moving back east to further his sculpting career.

"When I graduated from the University of Michigan, I went on to the Rhode Island School of Design," he said, indicating he then found studio space in an old and drafty building.

Van Allsburg said the industrial space was fine to sculpt in during the day because the heat was on for other tenants, but became far too cold on winter evenings when the thermostat was turned off at 5 p.m.

Looking for something to do at home in the warmth, Van Allsburg said he found a more portable artistic medium.

"I started drawing," he said.

Though initially he created images void of textual accompaniment, Van Allsburg said the nature of his illustrations begged viewers to ask questions of what was going on inside of them.

He described the phenomenon as "narrative hooks."

"I was fascinated how you can trigger those narrative impulses," he said. "So, this was my first step as a writer."

Van Allsburg said his wife then sent his illustrations to a prominent publishing house.

They liked them, so they sent back pre-written stories for him to illustrate.

He said the subject matter of the traditional juvenile plotlines were not to his liking.

"The little bunny stories didn't do it for me," he said, indicating his desire was to create narratives with a bit more edge.

That is when he decided to create his own textual content to accompany his often irreverent and fantasy-inspired images.

Van Allsburg said he asked himself a simple question: "What would I want to read when I was 8 or 9 years old?"

Now, more than a quarter of a century after his writing and illustrating career began, Van Allsburg has set to work on another children's book that chronicles the tale of Annie Taylor, purported to be the first woman to go over Niagara Falls.

Van Allsburg delighted audience members attending Thursday's lecture with a sneak peek of illustrations for the book, saying he decided to go with nonfiction this time because fabricating stories requires a lot of effort.

"I get tired of trying to make things up all the time," he joked.

Van Allsburg's daughter, Sophia, who is a freshman at U of M and attended the lecture, said she is finding as much inspiration in Ann Arbor as her father did.

"I'm welcome here. It's a nice place to be," she said. "I came here where he has his history, but where I can create my own history, too."

For more information on Van Allsburg and a list of his books, visit www.chrisvanallsburg.com.

Steven Howard can be reached at 429-7380 or showard@heritage.com. Read his blog at http://heritageweststaffblog.blogspot.com.