Blexbolex is a French comics artist and illustrator. Born Bernard Granger in Aurillac, he studied screen printing at the School of Fine Arts in Angoul me.
Gr 4 Up-With its 208 pages, this is not your average picture book. Instead, it's a unique reflection on the similarities and differences among people from all walks of life. Blexbolex uses his trademark silkscreen illustrations to provide contrasting images on each spread. Although the text is spare and the book does not contain a true narrative (each page contains one word and one picture), the author conveys an abundance of meaning in the coupled pages. With parings such as "diva/teenager," "woodcutter/executioner," and "harvester/seller," readers are encouraged to contemplate the relationships between the people being represented and how they interact and influence one another and the world around them. The book also underscores the subtlety of language and shows how a slight change of phrasing can make the difference between a negative or a positive connotation, e.g., "painter/tagger." The nature of the relationships between the people in the illustrations is not explicit, or consistent, which keeps readers engaged and sharply tuned in to the text. Both younger and older children will be drawn to the colorful cartoon drawings, but there are several mature images scattered throughout the book ("nudist," "corpse," "slave," "amputee"), so if you are planning to show this to younger children, be ready to have a conversation about what these terms mean in context.-Rita Meade, Brooklyn Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
In this stellar companion to the acclaimed Seasons, German artist Blexbolex's captivating silk-screens explore human archetypes using a 1960s-era design aesthetic. Powder-blue type identifies each figure. As with its predecessor, the book's brilliance lies in the intriguing ways in which the images mimic, challenge, and inform one another. For example, a "homeless person" sleeping in a box appears opposite a "camper"; a "contortionist" and a "plumber" exert themselves equally; and a pink "nudist" is paired with an "invisible man" in a business suit. Readers will form new associations and make new discoveries upon each revisiting. All ages. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
