Reimagined Fairy Tales: A Conversation with H. Nichols B. Clark and Steven Guarnaccia
Steven Guarnaccia (b. 1953), At last she chose one, and on her feet appeared a pair of crystal slippers, 2013, Ink and watercolor. Collection of the artist. Illustration for Cinderella, A Fashionable Tale by Steven Guarnaccia (Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2013)
Shake up what you know about fairy tales in this conversation with guest curator H. Nichols B. Clark and illustrator Steven Guarnaccia, whose creative interpretations of classic tales inspired the Brandywine's Cinderella & Co.—Three Fairy Tales Reimagined exhibition.
In Guarnaccia’s inventive versions, Cinderella’s apparel comes from some of the most famous fashion designers of the 20th and 21st centuries; the three bears are mid-20th-century hipsters living with high-end 20th-century furniture; and the three little pigs are noted architects Philip Johnson, Frank Gehry, and Frank Lloyd Wright.
Steven Guarnaccia is an illustrator and designer, and Associate Professor of Illustration at Parsons School of Design. He directed the Illustration Program from 2004-2011 and he was art director of the Op-Ed page of the New York Times from 2001-2004. During his four decade career as an internationally recognized illustrator, he has worked for major magazines and newspapers, including the New York Times, Abitare, Rolling Stone and Domus, and has created murals for Disney Cruise Lines and exhibition drawings for a show of Achille Castiglioni’s furniture design at the Museum of Modern Art.
Guarnaccia is the author of books on design and popular culture, including Black and White, a book about the absence of color, published by Chronicle Books. He is also the author and illustrator of numerous children’s books, including the design-themed books, The Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale and Cinderella: A Fashionable Tale, both published by Abrams. Guarnaccia has designed watches for Swatch and greeting cards for The Museum of Modern Art. His work has won awards from the AIGA, the Art Directors Club and the Bologna Book Fair, and has been exhibited in one-man shows in the USA and Europe.
The Museum will open at 5:30 p.m. with the conversation at 6 p.m. and a reception to follow. Guarnaccia will sign books during the reception; copies of his books will be available in the Museum shop.
Guest curator H. Nichols B. Clark is the Founding Director and Chief Curator of the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art Emeritus