Maira Kalman
The Principles of Uncertainty, Penguin, 2007
(un)FASHION, Henry N. Abrams, 2000 Authors: Tibor and Maira Kalman
Finding Life Beneath the Surface orn in 1949 in Israel, Maira Kalman has been absorbed in the dreamlike state of her mind ever since. She describes that she was “very fortunate” to be ignored as a child, which allowed her to become engulfed in her own fantastical imagination. While her parents may not have particularly ignored her, Maira jokes, they were however,
exposing her to the various areas of art, from operas and art museums, to the literature and writing she has come to love in her role as an Illustrator and Journalist. Although she doesn’t consider herself a “blogger,” or a historian, Maira observes the world for the magnificence it possesses, the vibrancy it resonates, the joy apparent beneath something otherwise perceived as fruitless. She has a striking ability to perceive life within the smallest and most inanimate of objects. This ability to depict an excitement and vibrancy in her work has allowed Maira to illustrate and design books from children to adults.
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Ooh-la-la, Max in Love, Viking Penguin, 1994
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What Pete Ate, Penguin Putnam, 2001
“It’s almost impossible to reconcile the realities of how one feels during the day, hour by hour. But I approach things not cynically.” - Maira Kalman
Seeing Joy in the World
W The Elements of Style Illustrated, Viking, 2005 Authors: William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White
hile Maira notes that she doesn’t like plots and can’t stand the idea of anything that starts in the beginning, middle, and end, because life is “too random and too confused,” she is, however, always very consistent in presenting her viewers with something they can laugh about. Whether Maira is playfully giving names with common middle eastern suffixes to boroughs and communities in New York city, painting dogs with accusatory glares, or describing her explorations around the world to stimulate her own curious mind, she has a way of instilling excitement and humor through her writing and illustrations.
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“Having a sense of humor and a sense of optimism implies a certain joy in the world.� Beloved Dog, Penguin, 2015
- Maira Kalman
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n her column and book, The Principles of Uncertainty, Maira discusses her mind’s obsession with how one goes about living and how one consequently goes about dying. Much of her work is vibrantly painted with gouache, expressive with her use of line and application of color, but Maira also considers there to be a softer emotional presence behind what she paints. While she grew up as a dreamer and brought many of her dreams to life in her pieces, her work has since shifted to represent the moments, people, and items she encounters everyday. Many of these encounters transition into beautiful, lush and colorful paintings, but others may
take the form of the emotional interaction she shares which a man who would rather not have his picture taken. It’s in these instances, the “random” and “confused” moments of her life, which Maira has the ability to capture a love for the good and a love for the tragic.
How to Live and How to Die
The Principles of Uncertainty, Penguin, 2009
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Ooh-la-la, Max in Love, Viking Penguin, 1994
Looking at Lincoln, Nancy Paulson Books. An Imprint of Penguin, 2009
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Allowing Life to Lead the Way
The Elements of Style Illustrated, Viking, 2005 The Principles of Uncertainty, Penguin, 2009
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Authors: William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White
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Beloved Dog, Penguin, 2015
aira met her husband Tibor at nya where she jokes about how she would spend her days writing bad poetry and making scarves for him. It was after their graduation and after a job as an editorial illustrator, where Maira joined Tibor in founding the design firm, M & Co. After Tibor’s death in 1999 from Cancer, and her mother’s passing following five years later, Maira was critical of the way we deal with grief and how we overcome sadness; how one learns how to die. For Maira, she explains how, “You think you’re incapable of doing anything, that grief is going to overwhelm you, but you can find your way into being productive and life affirming.” It’s this very instance of realization that life will move on, and there are things to see and moments to share with others which gives a breath of content and warmth beneath even the most harrowing experiences of sadness. It’s the instance in which you follow a complete stranger along their path, unknowingly, where you tell them to “lead the way.”
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Maira Kalman: Various Illuminations (of a Crazy World), Prestel, 2010 Author: Ingrid Schaffner
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“What protects you in this world from sadness and from the loss of an ability to do something? ... Work and love.” -Maira Kalman
Designed and written by Tyler Eldridge Composed in PT Serif and Nanum Pen Script, typefaces designed by ParaType in 2009, and Sandoll Communication in 2013 Printed on a Toshiba printer on Hammerhill 80# cover. Copyright © 2016 Tyler Eldridge, Portland, Maine, Maine College of Art Maira Kalman. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2016, from http://www.mairakalman.com/ Kalman, Maira, And the Pursuit of Happiness. New York: The Penguin Press, 2010. Kalman, Maira, The Principles of Uncertainty. New York: The Penguin Press, 2007.