The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art has announced the opening of the exhibition Richard Yarde: Stompin' at the Savoy. The exhibit will run through April 29, 2007.
"I had the pleasure of hosting Richard's installation piece of the Savoy Ballroom in 1984,"Â states Museum Director Nick Clark, "and it is wonderful to see how he has adapted his love for this venerable institution into an eminently accessible yet visually rich vehicle for a young audience."Â
Richard Yarde is one of the foremost watercolor painters working in America today. A passionate lover of music and dance, he has found inspiration many times in the irrepressible energy of the Savoy Ballroom, which from 1926 to 1958 was home to some of the greatest dances and musicians of the swing era.
In creating his first book for children, Yarde teamed up with equally accomplished author, Bebe Moore Campbell, to tell a story deeply rooted in the themes and symbols of the African American experience
of a little girl, Mindy, whose reluctance to perform evaporates when she is spirited away to the Savoy Ballroom. The exhibit is dedicated to Ms. Moore Campbell, who passed away November 27, 2006.
Mr. Yarde is a professor of art at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. -- www.picturebookart.org
Posted January 9th, 2007 by ruzik_tuzik
