Illustrated Books Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: A Conversation with Eight Russian Illustrators

Illustrated Books Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: A Conversation with Eight Russian Illustrators Olga Monina (bio), Määeots Olga (bio), and Anastasia Arkhipova (bio) Translated by Irina Mikhailovna Leyn The world around us is rapidly changing, but the universal interest in a children’s book is still the same—today it is the focus of public attention. This discussion addresses how the illustrated book lives, how it will live in the new competitive information environment, tradi -tions and innovations in illustration, and other various issues among those who create contemporary children’s books. Our questions for the special issue of the Bookbird magazine were answered by the following illustrators: Click for larger view View full resolution Igor Oleinikov—artist, winner of the H. C. Andersen Award, winner of the Book Image international contest Alexadr Koshkin— an artist, professor, winner of the Book Image international contest Anton Lomaev—artist, winner of the Strannik award, winner of the Book Image international contest, laureate of IBBY Honour List—2018 Lev Elin—director general of the Lev publishing house, winner of the Book Image international contest Victoria Fomina—artist, designer, winner of the International Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava (the Golden Apple—2003), winner of the Book Image international contest Anna Desnitskaya—artist, winner of the International Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava (the Golden Apple—2017), winner of the Book Image international contest Dmitry Fomin—art critic, book historian Ekaterina Kazeikina—artist, pop-up designer, winner of the Book Image international contest [End Page 44] What is a children’s book for you as a person and as a professional? Igor OLEINIKOV: A children’s book is my job, hobby, and leisure at the same time. It can influence the readers’ taste and imagination, both younger and adult. Personally, for me with my background in animated movies, it is a way to fulfill my ambitions as a director and actor. It also makes it possible to show that even the most famous stories can be interpreted in a new way. Alexadr KOSHKIN: Since a young age, I was surrounded by books; there was an entire children’s library at home. I was fond of studying illustrations, and sometimes I colored the black and white ones. Later on, I chose book illustration as a profession with a focus on graphics and painting. Anton LOMAEV: I am fond of books both as a professional and as a person. Being a student of the academy, I chose books as my future artistic field. I have never regretted this choice. On the contrary, with time, I can see more opportunities in books. I formerly practiced various mediums— painting, sculpture, easel graphics, monumental art—but books are clearly my chosen form of art. Books have at least two more dimensions as compared to traditional painting and graphics. These are the text space and the space of the structure, which are in turn associated with the time dimension. It would be quite coquettish if I say that I feel myself a beginner in the art of book illustration after twenty years of work in the field, but my self-understanding is not far from this. I am still willing to try lots of things, and I think about upcoming work with a novice’s excitement. A children’s book is also important for me personally as a father. Books are important in our home. Anna DESNITSKAYA: For me, a children’s book is first of all the way to tell about myself and my childhood, express a child’s view of the world. Besides, for me it is an opportunity to learn about myself, as well as transform and share this knowledge. Click for larger view View full resolution Viktoriya FOMINA: A children’s book and my work with a children’s book mean a lot to me—the possibility of leaving everyday life and entering a new magical world of books. Each order from publishing houses is a present, a surprise, and even a challenge! I never know which story I am going to work with. At this point, I try to keep distance from everyday life and build some sort of a Great Chinese Wall of my favorite art albums, postcards...