Strange and scary illustrations for Mexican children's book

Blok's Lampyro publishing initiative links back to the studio's unique 'value legacy' philosophy. The studio is working on a range of illustrated children's books with contemporary artists. The approach is quite different to that of other publishers of children's books.

The first example is entitled Caca Grande, which features the strange and scary work of contemporary Mexican artist Carlos Amorales. There is no text in this first book. Children are simply presented with the artwork and allowed to imagine the meaning for themselves.

"This project started with the observation that the books on artists available for children at art galleries and museums are for the most part very simplistic, educational pieces," explains Marta Cutler. "Lampyro's vision is to create a love of art at an early age by having the leading contemporary artist of our time create books especially for children, allowing them to see the world through the artist's eyes."

Blok is collaborating on the project with Patrick Charpenel, who curates the Jumex art collection in Mexico City. He looks around for artists that can depict the world the way children might see it. "We don't give briefs to the artists. The curator we work with has identified the areas that children respond to and are interested in, such as colour, space, death - yes, they are fascinated with it! - then matches this to the artist, who is free to interpret it in their own way."

According to Blok, Caca Grande has been selling well. Further artists for the series haven't been named yet, but watch this space.

This article originally appeared in Computer Arts magazine, issue 218.

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