The exhibition "Maira Kalman: Various Illuminations (of a Crazy World)" opened at LA's Skirball Center this week. Having admired the show from afar, I was excited to go to a public "conversation" Tuesday night between Kalman and the curator Ingrid Schaffner (from the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia where the show originated). Kalman was funny and articulate as she discussed her her recent appearance on the Colbert Report, her process and work, including her latest book And the Pursuit of Happiness, which is based on an illustrated blog she did for the New York Times in 2009. After being asked whether she read the blog's comment section, she said she's "not at all interested in audience response" because it "sends you into a place that doesn't do anything for you." Her work does do things for her fans, though, which is why, according to an editor at the Times, the paper's servers shut down whenever she posted due to the sudden uptick in visitors.
Kalman's upcoming projects include children's books on Lincoln and Jefferson, an illustrated version of Michael Pollen's Food Rules (THAT I look forward to seeing!) and an illustrated biography of Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas. At the event someone eloquently described Kalman's illustrations as capturing "the elusive vulnerability of things" but local readers can judge for themselves; the exhibit runs through February 13th and then travels to The Jewish Museum in New York. For everyone else, the catalog for the exhibit is beautifully designed and well worth the purchase.