Beyond Books: The Art of Eric Carle

Beyond Books: The Art of Eric Carle at the Tacoma Art Museum

This summer, an exhibit entitled Beyond Books: The Independent Art of Eric Carle, came to my home town at the Tacoma Art Museum.  Eric Carle is best known for his children's book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar but the exhibit not only showcased his illustrations, but his photography, abstract painting, costume design, and glass sculpture, and wood carving as well.

While the exhibit did not have the most astounding pieces of art, I thought exhibit did a great job of presenting Eric Carle and getting a feel for the personality behind the art.  A description on one wall explained his concept of "ArtArt" what Eric Carle calls his art, which from what I remember is somewhat of a political statement but in presented with simplicity and light-heartedness.  The descriptions also focused a lot on the process that Carle went through in creating each piece. A rectangular room held his work, and it was divided by medium. In the back center was a large hanging tapestry, brightly colored, and next to it was a video that showed Eric Carle painting the piece and also talking about how he became an artist, his process, and his belief in "ArtArt".  This was my favorite part of the exhibit, because I felt like I really got to know the artist, which seemed to be the goal of the exhibit.

It might have been useful to have arranged the works in a way that was more chronological because the video talked about his life in a linear way while the art was divided by medium. Since the exhibit was so personal and tied to his life story, it may have been nice for the art to reflect that story as well.