Greenberg, Jan. Chuck Close, Up Close. Ill by Sandra Jordan. New York, NY: DK Ink, 1998.
ISBN: 078942486X
Summary: This biography picture book is a story of a boy struggling with learning disabilities in a time when they were not recognized. Then later a physical disability and how he worked around that and continue to do what he loves. Chuck Close became a very successful innovative artist, one who could not see in the third-dimension but only things that were 2D. To combat this disability he began drawing "heads" by taking a photograph similar to a mugshot then letting that be his map. His style was a "concept of self-imposed rules that would form the basis of future work" and his "painting becomes a topographical map of a face" a window into the true self.
Analysis: This is a great biography picture book about Chuck Close and his struggles through life, and how he dealt with them through his creation of art. This would be an excellent read to all classes as there are students struggling with learning disabilities at every turn. What a great way to show them they too can be successful, they might just have to work at it a bit differently. "When every kid on the block wanted to become a policeman or fireman, I wanted to be an artist. It was the first thing that I was good at, the first thing that really made me feel special. I had skills the other kids didn't have. Art saved my life."
The text is chalk full of Close's own words and reads like he is telling the story of his own life. His interesting life and the struggles he faced along the way keep the reader interested. "I don't tend to recognize people on the street. But I do have a photographic memory for things that are flat. So by painting these large portraits and making them flat, I commit to my memory people who are important to me."
While the text sequences Close's life and his struggles, each page provides photographs of his portraits in the different styles and techniques he applies throughout. Starting with his studio, progressing through his styles of portraits, using different tools from an airbrush to his own fingers. Starting with a Table of Contents in the beginning and then ending with reference aids such as a glossary of art terms, a bibliography that will lead the reader/researcher to additional resources, and a list of the museums that hold some of his art pieces, this is an extensive look into the subject's life.
This read has shown me that picture books are a visually stimulating way to read a biography while not loading the reader down with too much information on the subject, leaving the reader learning just the important highlights and turning points in the subject's life.
The text is chalk full of Close's own words and reads like he is telling the story of his own life. His interesting life and the struggles he faced along the way keep the reader interested. "I don't tend to recognize people on the street. But I do have a photographic memory for things that are flat. So by painting these large portraits and making them flat, I commit to my memory people who are important to me."
While the text sequences Close's life and his struggles, each page provides photographs of his portraits in the different styles and techniques he applies throughout. Starting with his studio, progressing through his styles of portraits, using different tools from an airbrush to his own fingers. Starting with a Table of Contents in the beginning and then ending with reference aids such as a glossary of art terms, a bibliography that will lead the reader/researcher to additional resources, and a list of the museums that hold some of his art pieces, this is an extensive look into the subject's life.
This read has shown me that picture books are a visually stimulating way to read a biography while not loading the reader down with too much information on the subject, leaving the reader learning just the important highlights and turning points in the subject's life.
Accolades/Scholarly Reviews: Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee 2000; Best Books For Children 6th Ed (1998); Best Books For Children 7th Ed (2002); Best Books For Young Teen Readers, Grades 7-10; and much more.
From Kirkus Review 02/09/1998: "Close's feelings for his friends are conveyed through his gargantuan portraits of them and his multiple interpretations of their photographs. Full-color illustrations show both finished works, and the processes through which they are made, including scenes of Close on the forklift he uses to move around the canvas."
From School Library Journal 03/01/1998: "This is an inspiring look at the contemporary artist who struggled with learning disabilities as a youngster, became a celebrated painter in the late 1960s, and later overcame paralysis to continue creating huge portraits in which the image is created by a multitude of small abstract units. Sometimes Close makes the abstract units by inking his finger and pressing it on the canvas over and over. His way of working, as it developed from photorealism to his current unique style, with its relationship to computer art and photomechanical reproduction, is inherently interesting, while the way his portraits almost magically seem to emerge as one gets far enough away from the canvas is clearly shown in the excellent-quality full-color reproductions. "
From Kirkus Review 02/09/1998: "Close's feelings for his friends are conveyed through his gargantuan portraits of them and his multiple interpretations of their photographs. Full-color illustrations show both finished works, and the processes through which they are made, including scenes of Close on the forklift he uses to move around the canvas."
From School Library Journal 03/01/1998: "This is an inspiring look at the contemporary artist who struggled with learning disabilities as a youngster, became a celebrated painter in the late 1960s, and later overcame paralysis to continue creating huge portraits in which the image is created by a multitude of small abstract units. Sometimes Close makes the abstract units by inking his finger and pressing it on the canvas over and over. His way of working, as it developed from photorealism to his current unique style, with its relationship to computer art and photomechanical reproduction, is inherently interesting, while the way his portraits almost magically seem to emerge as one gets far enough away from the canvas is clearly shown in the excellent-quality full-color reproductions. "
Connections: A great visual book for art history research or an English class research/writing project. The students could view this video found on Youtube before reading the biography picture book (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbcP8zNrqsk&feature=related). After reading, there is another video of a letter that Chuck Close wrote to younger self on what he has learned through his struggles (https://vimeo.com/41638000). The students could then write letters to either their younger self or their older self.
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