Wild Sendak Show at the Jewish
Museum
By Jan Aaron
"We call it Max's Room," said Claudia Nahson, associate curator
at the Jewish Museum, as she put the finishing touches on an enchanting alcove
at "Wild Things: The Art of Maurice Sendak," at the museum until
August 24. The little room inspired by the imaginary bedroom in " Where
The Wild Things Are," is decked out with a forest, stars and moon, pillows
a shaggy rug and many Sendak books to look through. It's one stop on the museum's
fascinating family friendly show which aims to capture the artist's vibrant
and varied career.
Indeed, it's the largest exhibit of Sendak's work in over a decade and one
of the largest ever mounted. An astonishing 12-foot-high figure of Max in his
wolf suit is first to greet the visitor's eye in this exploration of Sendak's
art created over 50 years, as well his inspirations: psychological, historic,
cultural, cinematic and operatic.
Original drawings, happy, sad and introspective
are on display as are preliminary sketches, artwork for posters, theater
and opera sets, and costumes created from Sendak designs. Excellent wall
texts and videos show more of his art and explain his widely diverse influences,
which include Blake, Mozart, Mickey Mouse, Laurel and Hardy, Herman Melville,
Emily Dickinson, Art Spiegelman's "Maus," and
the Holocaust.
Interpreting Sendak's art through his
Jewish identity, the show is divided into three sections. "The Old Country, Looking at America from a Brooklyn
Window," pays tribute to his Eastern European roots. Here, you find the
intricate drawings for Isaac Bashevis Singer's "Zlateh the Goat" and
for "In Grandpa's House" a memoir by Sendak's father. Elsewhere drawings
describe the 77-year old Sendak's childhood fears. He was even frightened of
his family whom he turned into fantastic monsters in "Wild Things." Another
section "Into the Woods of Connecticut, Into the Land of Grimm" deals
with Sendak's rural move when his work grows darker and he deals with the Holocaust.
The final section is devoted to his
stage settings for "Brundibar",
the 1938 opera by Hans Krasa, a Czech-Jewish composer, which is renowned as
a work performed by children at the Terezin concentration camp. The museum
plans "Family Day: A Sendak Spectacular" on May 22. (1109 Fifth Avenue,
212-423-3200).#
