In a certain sense, the exhibition "Which is more yellow or an elephant?", by Orit Bergman and Anat Varshavski, is a cultural correction.
After years in which the classic children's books were considered the almost exclusive work of their authors, Varshavsky and Bergman direct the spotlight also (and mainly) to the visual dimension.
In other words, in their exhibition the illustrations play a significant, even equal, role in importance to that of the words.
And it makes sense, given the fact that Shorschevsky is an illustrator, and Bergman is an illustrator, head of illustration at Bezalel and a children's author herself.
In their exhibition, familiar drawings from children's books are given a 3D existence.
Beside them, a yellow monster and a group of colorful creatures float between the spaces of the gallery.
The idea, according to them, is to provide an opportunity to look at an illustration outside of the chronology of a book and "unravel the connection between the written word and the illustration that accompanies it."
"It's actually an exhibition, half of which consists of works we've done - Orit wrote and illustrated books, and I illustrated books by other writers," explains Varshavski, "the other half of which is the new work, which is the monster, with many more 3D surprises next to it."
What is the role of the monster among the existing works?
"The monster is a result of our desire to mess with imaginary creatures and things, which is something we both love. But we also wanted something that would activate the space, which consists of a room that leads to another room. The adults and children enter, and there is a feeling that something is happening."
Bergman says that "I also make theater for children, and one of the things that interests me is how an audience behaves in a space and over time. This monster allows an experience of discovery for children. Little by little they discover the stories that are hidden inside it. There is also a text here, written by the families who come and inventing the stories for themselves. There is also a reading room, with our books in it. There are not many illustration exhibitions for children that treat this audience so seriously."
Do you think that the visual element is even more important than the textual element?
"In my opinion, he has always been important, but in the last 15 years there has been a huge jump in children's book illustration in Israel. In my opinion, it is thanks to Bezalel and Shankar's illustration courses, the graduates in the field have completely changed the world of children's book illustration in Israel. The first thing that attracts children is the visuals. Adults too, the truth; the second step is reading; the third is the connection between the illustration and the text, and if everyone works together then the book is good. In my opinion, even adults know that illustrations are a very important thing in a book. I remember Itamar Levy (who locates old books by request; p "P) once said that people who look for childhood books never remember the name of the book, but they say 'I remember there was a yellow dog on it.'
It is a joint work of a writer and an illustrator."
The exhibition "Which is more yellow or an elephant?"
Will be on display until September 7 at Beit Hansen, a center for design, media and technology in Jerusalem.
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