An industry on the rise
Besides expanding subject matter for illustrated works, another area in which Taiwan cannot afford to lag behind is that of professional editorial teams.
Page Tsou points to his own experience of cooperation with international publishers. Overseas, there are editors separately responsible for the text and the illustrations, staying in contact with the writer and illustrator respectively. Specialized illustration editors are like guides, and can provide extremely insightful ideas and opinions to illustrators, while direct conversations between the two can often lead to exciting new inspirations.
In order to upgrade the international competitiveness of Taiwan’s children’s books, it is obviously very important to learn from the experience of foreign publishing specialists with editorial skills and experience. This is the reason why the Museum of the Fantastic organized a special session in which international consultants were asked to make suggestions to the creators and editors of three books currently in preparation. This not only helped raise the quality of the books themselves, but was an invaluable opportunity for Taiwanese editors to observe and learn.
Sarah Ko suggests that any book likely to sell well internationally has to meet one or more of three criteria: it reflects the special features of its culture of origin, but not to the extent these become barriers to understanding; it is original and creative in artistic terms; or it can take an old topic and shed new light on it, or examine it from a fresh angle.
For instance, says Ko, look at the work Granny’s Favourite Toy, written and illustrated by Bei Lynn. A young girl asks her grandmother, who has a sewing machine, to make a costume for a performance. The day before the performance the sewing machine breaks down, leaving the girl in tears, so the grandmother stays up all night sewing the costume by hand, allowing the girl to give her performance as scheduled. Most stories would end right there, but Lynn extended the plot. She had the girl and her father hatch a secret plan to transform the sewing machine into a table. The book ends with an image of the girl and her grandmother happily having tea at the newly made table.
Lynn adopts a first-person point of view, so the writing and the drawings are done the way a child would do them, evoking the naïve energy of a young girl. Especially interesting is the way that Lynn, through text and pictures, expresses the sound—the voice, one might say—of the sewing machine. The book encourages children to treasure old artifacts and to use their imaginations, things that an international audience can readily identify with.
Although the stories in picture books are simple, they can have hidden depth and be informed by a profound idea or philosophy of life. The background for Page Tsou’s The Gift was the influential book Ways of Seeing (1972) by John Berger. Tsou adapted the form of an illustrated book to express the limitless possibilities for art appreciation. By focusing on subject matter that transcends borders, Tsou has already attracted attention from numerous overseas publishers anxious to negotiate for the rights.
Based on his own experience, Tsou warns young illustrators that making a career in the field is not easy, even if you win a celebrated prize. He encourages them to enter as many international competitions as possible, such as those sponsored by illustrators’ associations in the US and the UK or by arts publications. Young people must, he says, expand their horizons to a global level, and continually search for and refine their strengths—that’s the only way to get noticed.
Since the first Taiwanese illustrator to participate in the Bologna Children’s Book Fair did so 28 years ago, illustrators have come a long way in Taiwan and have done great things. What will the future hold? So long as creative new minds keep entering the field, the dynamism of this art form in Taiwan promises to be inexhaustible.
Rex How recruited the private sector to lead the charge to Bologna in 2017. All the works exhibited at the Taiwan booth were later donated to a local library with a rich cultural heritage of its own. (courtesy of Rex How)
Rex How recruited the private sector to lead the charge to Bologna in 2017. All the works exhibited at the Taiwan booth were later donated to a local library with a rich cultural heritage of its own. (photo by Chuang Kung-ju)
A Child of Books, by Sam Winston and Oliver Jeffers, has illustrations assembled out of letters; the technique is an astonishingly effective new departure.
A Child of Books, by Sam Winston and Oliver Jeffers, has illustrations assembled out of letters; the technique is an astonishingly effective new departure.
Sarah Ko has high hopes that Taiwan’s illustrated book sector will continue to upgrade and produce even more original works with worldwide appeal.
Page Tsou has carved out a career as an illustrator, winning numerous international accolades along the way and finding many opportunities to work with overseas partners.
Highest Mountain, Deepest Ocean illustrated by Page Tsou.
If everyone continues working diligently, there is no reason why the creative force with which Taiwan’s illustration world is currently suffused should not be able to continue to shine at the global level. (courtesy of Rex How)