Biennial of illustrations Bratislava - Exhibitions in Japan, 2018. (Editor Yukiko Hiromatsu, Japan)
Contribution to the catalog:
While discussing multiple book
illustrations, the jury members of BIB 2017 had to take into consideration
different poetic, thematic, geographical, stylistic and artistic approaches to
illustrating books for children. Upon reaching a very specific decision, i.e.
choosing the winners, the jury members agreed that the awarded illustrations
must be both authentic and original. The awarded illustrators who come from countries such as
The Netherlands, Denmark, Mexico and Japan, differ greatly from one another both
in their narrative and artistic expression. Upon reaching the final verdict,
jury members were open to express their sometimes contrasting expert opinions,
and to hear each other out even when their preferences differed. Therein lies,
in my opinion,the expert quality of the chosen jury members.
It was of utmost importance for
us to patiently and thoroughly review each illustrator’s work, and the jury
members were fully willing to exchange opinions, make compromise, change their
primary decisions, or - on the other hand, to firmly hold their ground. There
were no big, explosive arguments, even though you could tell that each member
had their own personal favorites and was willing to passionately defend these
artists’ work.
What I found to be very interesting
is how culturally diverse all of the jury members had been, and how their
cultural and artistic background reflected on their opinions and artistic
tastes.
Jurying is a process - a living
body of work which cannot be mathematically or logistically predicted.
Therefore I wonder – if the jury members were asked, only a week later, to go
through the nominated illustrators work one more time and revise the same
illustrations in the same manner – would they come to the exact same
conclusion? How susceptible to change are our opinions and conclusions? By
saying this I do not imply that the winners did not well deserve the awards
given to them, but am simply stating that every well-thought-out decision goes
hand in hand with a little bit of luck. Both artistic quality and luck at that
particular decision-making moment are the factors which play the role while
deciding upon the winner. This is exactly where the magic of jurying and
awarding lies! Jurying, discussing and loving illustrations is a process enjoyed
by all of us: the illustrators, the jury members and the audience who will see
it.
Senka Vlahović
(Serbia)
A BIB 2017 jury member
a theoretician of illustrations,
book designer and illustrator
book designer and illustrator
Translation: Sandra Trajlov
Izložbe Bijenala ilustracije u Bratisvalavi u Japanu 2018. (Urednica Jukiko Horomatsu, Japan)
Tekst za katalog:
Specifičnost odluke žirija BIB 2017 se ogleda u odmerenosti
žirija i njegovoj težnji da pri odabiru najboljih ilustracija knjiga za decu zastupi
različite poetičke, tematske, geografske, stilske i likovne pristupe ilustrovanju,
a da pri tom svi nagrađeni radovi odišu i potrebnom originalnošću i
autentičnošću. Veliki je raspon u likovnom i narativnom izrazu na pr.
nagrađenih ilustracja iz Holandije, Danske, Meksika ili Japana. Ta raznolikost
odluke žirija i njegova neisključivost prema određenom pristupu ilustrovanju
je, čini mi se, njegov kvalitet.
Žiri se trudio da svakom učesniku konkursa pristupi s punim uvažavanjem, ali su i članovi između sebe imali volju da saslušaju jedni druge, razmene mišljenja, prave kompromise, promene odluke ili čvrsto drže svoje stavove. Nije tu bilo velikih eksplozija, ali neke tihe vatre i strasti svakog od članova prema favoritima jeste.
Neverovatno je kako se ukusi i mišljenja razlikuju od člana
do člana žirija, od zemlje do zemlje iz koje dolaze. Žiriranje je proces, živo
telo. Ne da se logički i matematički predvideti. Pitam se: da li bi isti
žiri – da je samo nedelju dana
kasnije ponovio proces i ponovo žirirao apsolutno iste radove, na isti način
prezentovane – da li bi doneo istu odluku? Koliko su naši utisci i mišljenja
varljivi i promenljivi? Ovo ne znači da dobitnici nisu zaslužili nagrade, već
da su pored kvaliteta imali i ona malo “naklonosti zvezda” da njihov rad bude
pripoznat kao najbolji od najboljih i dospe na sam vrh. Ali u tome i jeste
čarolija žiriranja i nagrađivanja! To je jedan živi organizam čije mozaičko
lice sa radošću svi zajedno otkrivamo: ilustratori, žiri i publika.
Senka Vlahović (Srbija)
Član žirija BIB 2017
Teoretičar ilustracije,
dizajner i ilustrator knjiga
