Monday Matticchio - Bull at work

Sunday Safari - The Bull Charge

Poster by Ota Janacek from Graphis Annual 1961-62, 

thanks again to sandiv999's MCM advertisements flickr set

The Sun is in Taurus, and today's safari is a bloodless bullring. 

Whether raging or quiet, I am in awe of this powerful presence!

Stylized black bull, thanks to Aqua-Velvet's finds flickr set

Poster by Andrew Lewis

Józef Wilkon

Bull's head litograph by Walter Spitzer, 1963, thanks to A Journey Round my Skull

and Adventures in the Print Trade

Sweet bull by Sebastiano Ranchetti

Paper bull by origamikuenstler on deviantart, thanks to livingcrafts' tumblr

Bull illustration by Michael Robertson at Samba for Rats

Summer (Bull) limited edition serigraph by Eleanor Grosch

Concert poster by Methane Studios

Sculpture by Alexandra de Lazareff

Illustration from Carmen by Gabriel Pacheco

Illustration by Martina Merlini, aka pOna

Illustration by Jean-Manuel Duvivier

Painting Mice from Italy

Illustration from Anselmo va a scuola by Simona Mulazzani

It's been a month since my visit to Bologna, and though there are many more artists 

and books I'd like to share, it's time for the blog to move on. But I will try to feature 

a different children's book, illustrator or small publisher every week, in addition to 

my usual postings. To conclude the fair reports, I want to talk a bit about one of 

our precious Italian small publishers. In a period when most news related to my country

 fall into the sad and embarassing cathegories, it's uplifting to witness the growing

 creative vitality of our independent book publishers, away from the noise and nonsense

 of the political arena, and unfortunately mostly ignored by our media and institutions. 

A nice aspect to point out is that despite the general crisis, the sales of many of 

these small companies are actually increasing, a sign that the reading public 

is curious and selective, and rewards quality in its choices.

Topipittori is one of the children's publishers I like the best.

And how could it be otherwise? Their outstanding catalogue  of 53 volumes features
 beautiful stories and some of my favorite contemporary illustrators. In fact, many 

of them have already appeared on Animalarium, like Beatrice Alemagna, Violeta Lopiz,
 Valerio Vidali, Gwénola Carrère, Kitty Crowther, Madalena Matoso, Simone Rea and 
Camilla Engman. The company was founded six years ago in Milan by Paolo Canton 

and Giovanna Zoboli, who is also an author and wrote quite a few of Topipittori's books. 

If you can read Italian, check the recent interview with Canton on Le figure dei libri.

This year, graphics by the Portuguese Planeta Tangerina were featured prominently 

at Topipittori's fair booth, since they have recently published the Italian edition of

  Madalena Matoso's Quando eu nascì. Apart from this and Kitty Crowther's Dentro di me, 

all their other titles are original productions which, in turn, are increasingly finding

 coeditors around the world, from Asia to Latin America. 

One of the new animal-themed titles this year is Vorrei avere... (I wish I had...), 

written by Giovanna Zoboli and beautifully illustrated by Simona Mulazzani. In the words

 of its publisher, Vorrei avere... is "a tribute to the perfection of animals through the 

loving care of a child who passionately desires to possess their extraordinary abilities". 

I haven't bought the book yet, but I do own and love Al supermercato degli animali 

(In the animals' supermarket) by the same creative duo, which introduces children 

to natural foods and the eating habits of animals through its fun concept, 

simple rhymes and colorful artworks.

I personally discovered Topipittori through another book by Zoboli, Due scimmie in cucina,

 a story about a little boy who loves monkeys (like most of us!) and his very busy sister. 

I love the playful text but honestly, as usual, the bright and modern illustrations by 

Guido Scarabottolo were the deciding factor in me buying it. Scarabottolo is a famous

 Milanese graphic designer, illustrator and art director, whose distinctive artworks 

define the house style of book publisher Guanda.

The illustration above is from one of Topipittori's new productions, the gorgeous 

and dreamy Una storia Guaraní by Alicia Badalan, inspired by traditional beliefs of 

the Guaraní indians. Also just published, Adele's journey features four animal tales

 narrated by Perrine Ledan and illustrated by Lotte Brauning.

Lion and mice by Simone Rea

And next fall, I'll be waiting for Aesop's fables illustrated by Simone Rea 

and new titles from Valerio Vidali and Camilla Engman!

Adventures of a Teddy Bear

A big thank you to Jim Le Fevre for sharing this delightful preview of the upcoming Czech movie Kooky's return. Can't wait to see the whole thing! This combined puppet and live action feature was directed by Academy Award winner Jan Svěrák with production design by Jakub Dvorsky from Amanita Design, an animation and game development studio doing beautiful work, for example this videogame and this music video.

Tyger Tyger, Burning Bright

2010 is the Year of the Tiger, and I like to celebrate these fierce and incredibly 

beautiful creatures through the painted scrolls of Itō Jakuchū (1716-1800), a masterful 

and innovative Japanese artist of the Edo period. His tigers strike me for their 

wonderful combination of elegance, expressiveness and power. Jakuchū usually 

painted animals from life, but since there were no tigers in Japan at the time, 

these portraits were copied from or inspired by Chinese artworks.

All of the artworks in this post belong to Etsuko and Joe Price, who were responsilbe 

for rediscovering Jakuchū and other Edo painters in the 1950s, a time when they were

 very little known or valued in Japan and abroad. In 2007 part of their impressive

 collection of screens and hanging scrolls toured major Japanese museums, and was 

later exhibited at the Smithsonian and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Jakuchū was a practicing Zen Buddhist, and many of his major works were created 

for Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines across Japan. In his old age he became a lay monk

 at the temple of Sekiho-ji in the outskirts of Kyoto. "In Zen thinking, the tiger represents

 a natural power that can be controlled through enlightenment seeking discipline. 

In the act of grooming, the tiger suggests a self-intention to move beyond a conflicted

 mental state and toward a focus of energy" (from the Smithsonian's exhibition website).