I’m a sucker for cat stories, particularly ones that contain
black and white cats. Tuxedo cats have a habit of finding their way into my
life. First of all there was Tim, who aged 10 came into our lives and stayed
for eleven years. We now have Mimi who moved in with us when her owner went
into a care home.
Mildred, who inspired
this story, was the much loved resident cat at Tate Modern.
So, naturally, I was instantly attracted to this story when
I encountered a shiny black and white cat with the twinkling eyes and enigmatic
grin on the bright cover of Jono Ganz’s debut picture book.
By day, Mildred is to be found happily napping in her cosy
bed and everyone thinks she is so lazy. At night time Mildred is free to
explore the gallery when there is no-one else around.
‘She thought some of
the art was a bit confusing, but she liked finding the pictures that had
animals in them.’
Mildred encounters many
different kinds of art and each experience makes her feel something different:
happiness, introspection, hunger.
Mildred ponders what it would be like if she too could create
a work of art, something that would make other people feel the kinds of things
that she had felt in the gallery. Her adult introspection, ‘And is being an artist doomed to be the
privilege of the special few…?’ is undercut by her realisation that there
is also a mouse in the gallery enjoying the art.
A classic cat and mouse chase ensues with all the inevitable
slapstick humour culminating in a double page SPLAT. Mildred does not catch the
mouse but, in the midst of all the chaos, she has created a fantastical
sculpture, a self-portrait that astounds the visitors. She has found a way to
become an artist.
Mildred is a delightful character who demonstrates how looking
at art can be confusing at first but, once you start looking and finding points of interest, it can make you make you feel so many different things. It can also
inspire you to create.
As befits a work commissioned by the Tate, the book itself
is a well-crafted physical object. The font is clear and appealing with a beautiful
colour palate.
Jono’s illustrations flow and dance across the pages and
have a delightful cut out and collage feel. Mildred’s (and the mouse’s)
character shines through on every page and the text has warmth, humour and a
gentle poetic flow. It is no surprise that this picture book has been
shortlisted for the 2023 Klaus Flugge prize.
I would have liked a list of the art works that Mildred
encountered in the gallery (e.g. Dali,
Matisse, Lichtenstein, Kusama, Calder, Kenoujak, and the aptly named Elizabeth
Catlett) so that I could retrace Mildred’s paw prints and seek the artworks out
in the gallery or look at them online. Although the picture book has a more general
appeal by not being site specific, ’In a
big building in a big city there was an art gallery.’
ISBN 978-1-84976-871-9
www.tate.org.uk
1 comment:
That sounds such a delight of a picture book, Lynda - and so neatly described.
The titles in the Tate Modern bookshop are almost always very interesting, and make it hard to leave without a book that I suddenly 'really need'.
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