OPLA!

OPLA logo by Steve Guarnaccia

Fall has descended upon us, and suddenly everyone is cold or has a cold. After a very full 

work week, I am finally sitting quietly with my Mac and a hot cup of milk and cognac. 

I am thinking of all the lovely things I look forward to share with you in the near future, 

but first of all, Archer's comment on Alfazoo has reminded me to finally post a link to OPLA.

Kino Toriko, Here I am

This growing international archive of childrens' books by contemporary artists is a wonderful project

by the Public Library of Merano and Edizioni Corraini. I picked a copy of the OPLA cd-rom at the last 

Bologna Book Fair, and it is thanks to this great resource that I discovered Alfazoo and Andy Warhol's 

Coloring Book. The 2010 edition of the cd-rom contains over 9200 images from 356 books and projects, 

together with file-cards for each work and the 139 artists' biographies.

Bruno Munari, Buona notte a tutti

From the OPLA website: Why a project dedicated to children's books?

"Because children's books can be a decisive stimulus to curiosity and knowledge (of adults as well). 

Because children's books today are acquiring, as far as circulation and use is concerned, a specific identity.

Because we think that in this way attention is being paid to a sector where artists have attained, 

often unexpectedly, high quality results. Artists works dedicated to children, in fact, have frequently become 

examples of great creative freedom, and have given birth to some of the most significant and challenging

 productions in the field of publishing, opening up a path followed by children themselves and by the most

 attentive experts (professionals, specialists). Probably, the similar spirit ( artist/child ) creates a working 

closeness and hence an affinity which appears, upon a second reading as extremely interesting. 

The peculiar relationship between artists and children's books urged us to research, collect and supply 

with documentary evidence, what has been produced in this field, so that it can be studied, used, discussed. 

OPLA's choice is thus to simplify as much as possible access to the collected material, making it available 

to anyone who might be interested on an amateur or professional basis."

Fabio de Poli, Notte di luna

Artists featured include El Lissitzky, Art Spiegelman, Tana Hoban, Leo Lionni,

Edward Steichen, Hervé Tullet, Andrea Pazienza, Sergio Tofano, and many many more.

Gino Paoli, La gatta

I bid you goodnight for now, will be back soon with more art and books!

You can order the cd-rom by sending an e-mail to biblio.merano@provincia.bz.it