The picture book is innovative

Switzerland is in 2019 the host country to the International children's book fair in Bologna, the world's most important trade fair. You focused at one of the exhibitions always on the Illustration. A role model for Switzerland?
In fact! The hits perfectly with the Swiss reality: The picture book is much more innovative than the literary area for children and young people. This reflects the fact that the local publishers with the biggest picture-book programs – the North-South and Atlantis, but also of the Geneva-based company Joie de lire are strong, as licensor, stronger even than most of the Swiss fiction publishers.

license sales, however, refer to books by non-Swiss artists.
Correctly. But we have just now in Switzerland grandiose Illustrators, devoted to children's literature – and our publishing points. So Mon tout petit was texting "" the Geneva artist Albertine Zullo, Germano Zullo, 2016 with the Bologna Ragazzi Award for fiction, honored, and furthermore, at the Biennale of illustrations Bratislava award-winning. "The great flood" of the Illustrator Duo It's Raining Elephants – at the Lucerne University – trained artists Evelyne Laube and Nina Wehrle-received 2012 in Bologna, the International Award for Illustration and the Grand Prix in Bratislava. And the choice-from Zurich, Francesca Sanna, a Lucerne-a graduate, has submitted to in a few years, a number of unusual books.

Is it for the picture-book easier, across language barriers, engage readers?
Yes and no. At least in Switzerland, there is a connection between the Aesthetic and the linguistic and cultural Background can be observed. The two years young Ticino children's book publisher Marameo, for example, must consider what works in Italy; the Western Swiss publishers based in turn on the French market, the German-Swiss German-speaking. A wealth of visual languages, dares the most different experiments. But over the Röstigraben across a lot of understanding is not necessarily there.

Really?
An example: The Zurich-based Illustrator Claudia de Weck created with Georg Kohler, a picture book that is based on a true story and non-fiction book has elements of: "of Jacob, the crocodile" (2013). The visual language is characterized by Comic elements, as de Weck used; known about your illustrations for the Songbook "De Stadtmuus Blues". However, while the Comic elements in "Jacob's" encounter in the Swiss German public on skepticism, Claudia de Weck in French children's magazines for decades present.

But whether West - or German-speaking Switzerland, the pictures of the book of acts as purely a women's domain.
unfortunately, This is true and should not be so. But the picture-book art is not a special case: In areas with less Prestige and more women are usually at work in children's theater and nursery. As in the post-war years, picture book and poster together even more, were the men present: Alois Carigiet, Hans Fischer, Felix Hoffmann. Their lesser-known colleagues experiment were joyful.

"Switzerland has a Tradition in high-quality picture book."

where does the relative weakness of Switzerland to the children's and youth novel?
The last structural causes: The narrative of children's literature had in Switzerland with Sauerland and Nagel & Kimche, two dedicated publishers. But Sauerland was sold to Germany in 2001; Nagel & Kimche in 1998. Within a short period of time, a lot of broke there. Only in the last few years, Orell Füssli children's run book and Baeschlin in this work. A Hotspot of Innovation was – in stark contrast to the previous appearance, the Swiss youth writing work SJW, of course, also here, more in the image than in the texts.

So the Illustrator have better platforms?
This is one of the reasons. Switzerland has, however, generally speaking, a Tradition in high-quality picture book. Also the newer houses, such as Notari in Geneva, and Helvetiq in Basel have a focus. Important for this accent, the relevant institutions such as the Lucerne are: As a theory, a lecturer there, I am always amazed at how much I Talent, discover among the students! That It's Raining Elephants founded with a view of the host country is in Bologna, the Bolo club, gave the scene an extra boost. The two illustrators messengers Participating in a year long Coaching for picture book projects. In the short term, Ticino and Geneva group formed yet: This is indicative of the local culture of federalism.

How's the children's book market in Switzerland?
It grows, and it is better than the fiction market for adults. But the high production quality lead to prices, which have made it abroad difficult. The Problem is exacerbated when images book, because an optimum four-colour printing, children's culture, but, a priori, should be cheap. The book retail chains in favour of also main stream works. It is true that Switzerland has more medium-sized and smaller bookstores than Germany; it is also new. But the balance of forces makes it difficult Experimental. In addition, the print media are under pressure and less on the supposed niche topics, such as the children's book. Well, the foreign presence in Italy, also to the inside exudes!

your very own personal tip?
He is really personally: mad countries, and since 2004 also in the case of Atlantis, a collaboration with Kathrin Schärer and Lorenz Pauli connects me. For me, always again fascinating, with a book project to tackle. Pauli thinks dramaturgically, ideas flash, is out on his texts and responded but will be open on the first sketches of Schärer. And she discovers unexpected aspects of his sentences, questions, but also the Text. This ping-pong is for me an experience of trust and friendship – and, what concerns the books, the personified Ideal of the coming together of Text and image.

(editing Tamedia)

Created: 28.03.2019, 17:31 PM