Philly Exhibition Review: Sendak on Sendak - Peeking Beyond Where The Wild Things Are
I recently had the great honor and pleasure of attending a Maurice Sendak retrospective show at the historic Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia's Fitler Square neighborhood.
Previous to my visit, I was only really aware of Sendak via Where The Wild Things Are, his most famous children's story. Please excuse my tacky diction, but Sendak on Sendak: There's A Mystery There was really an "experience." Each of the four gallery spaces covered a different aspect of Sendak's life and who he was as an artist and concerned citizen of the world: Kids - Innocence and Experience, Beasts of Burden, Influences, and Into The Forest (settings).
Final drawing for Dear Mili, by Wilhelm Grimm. Pen and ink, watercolor. Ridgefield, Connecticut, ca. 1988
Through close examination of Sendak's sketches and listening to him speak about his own work (video kiosks in each gallery!), I found that if one peeks behind the pop-culture veil of Sendak as a whimsical children's book illustrator, a very concerned, cultured, and thoughtful man exists with some very serious, sometimes dark ideas on politics and socioeconomic issues. For example, Dear Milli (Sendak illustrated) is really a Holocaust narrative, and Brundibar, an opera for children, is largely a Napoleonic political satire.
from the pop-up book "Mommy?" by Maurice Sendak, Arthur Yorinks and Matthew Reinhart; Sept 2006
The ability to peruse at your own speed through countless drawings, manuscripts, and dummy copies of books reveals an entire Sendak world, far larger than the physical structure of the thin-spined children's classic.
Original manuscript for "Where The Wild Things Are"
Preliminary drawing for cover "Where The Wild Things Are"
One of Sendak's many Mozart homage projects
Each gallery of the museum, stunningly bedecked in period trappings, also hosts larger-than-life Sendak illustrations, figurines, and personal quotes in large type on the walls.
The Quotable Sendak wall
Take-away exhibition program and children's cut-outs
Overall, a very impressive, cohesive, and educational visit to great Philadelphia treasure right under my nose!
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The Rosenbach Museum & Library is open to the public Tuesday - Sunday, 10 am - 5 pm, with extended hours Wednesday evening until 8 pm.
The Gallery Talk: "Out and About Sendak" given by Bill Adair, Family Education Coordinator, will take place on Wednesday, June 25 at 6 pm.
Sendak on Sendak will be on display in the galleries until May 03, 2009, so you have plenty of time to get there!
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