Duncan draws ‘pictures of love’

 

WHERE: Akron Art Museum in the Mary S. and David C. Corbin Foundation Gallery.

WHEN: Friday, March 15, 6:00-8:00 pm.

TITLE: Draw Me a Story

BRIEF ABOUT: Celebrating the legacy of Ezra Jack Keats , “Draw Me a Story” acknowledges the power of picture books to promote visual literacy and cultural awareness. The first art many children experience is in picture books. Youngsters can definitely identify an image of Peter, Keats’s protagonist in “The Snowy Day”, plodding through a fresh coating of snow in his bright red snow suit.

     Comprised of collaborative classroom picture books created by second, third and fourth grade students from Akron’s Leggett, King and Glover elementary schools, as well as the Lippmann School, this exhibition also features a large-scale mural created by award winning children’s picture book author and illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh, who was inspired by pen pal style discussions with the students.

     Tonatiuh was born in Mexico City and raised in San Miguel de Allende. He graduated from Parsons and Eugene Lang College in New York City in 2008.

      His first book, “Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin” received an honorable mention from the Pura Belpré committee in 2011 and was chosen as one of the best books of 2010 by Kirkus reviews and the Chicago Public Library. Also, “Diego Rivera: His World and Ours” won him the 2012 Pura Belpré illustration award and the 2012 Tomás Rivera Mexican American children’s book award.

      Tonatiuh’s work is inspired by ancient Mexican art, appropriating its flat, geometric style. He brings Keats’s collage style into the 21st century by using a computer to incorporate various textures and colors into his work. While Keats depicted African American children in picture books, Tonatiuh’s aim is to create images that address contemporary issues that affect people of Mexican origin on both sides of the border.

MORE DETAILS: Call 330.376.9185 or www.akronartmuseum.org.