Coppernickel Goes Mondrian

By Wouter van Reek (Created by)
(Enchanted Lion Books, Hardcover, 9781592701193, 40pp.)

Publication Date: April 2012

Categories: Art (painting sculpture artists architecture etc.)

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Wouter van Reek went to art school, which was way too easy, so he changed to mathematics, but that was way too hard, so he changed back to art. After art school, he created an animated cartoon series for TV, introducing Keepvogel (Coppernickel in English) and Tungsten, a super bird plus dog team. So far Wouter has created about six books based on these characters.

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"Mondrian's geometric canvasses are part of our visual landscape now, but Dutch artist van Reek attempts to imagine the process by which they came to be. He doesn't tell the story of the artist's move toward modernism with words; instead, he portrays the transformation of Mondrian's sight and perceptions entirely through the artwork. [...] Van Reek's gentle progression toward abstraction is a striking visual record of a new way of seeing." -- Publishers Weekly

"Gorgeous tiny rectangles tile the subway as Mondrian’s famous primary colors and grid patterns begin to dominate. Composition varies dynamically; the scene moves from city blocks to Mondrian’s spare 1940s apartment. Music emerges from a turntable in lively primary-colored rectangles, becoming Mondrian’s famous painting Victory Boogie Woogie, and even the four characters end up geometrically stylized." -- Kirkus Reviews

"...as a visual experience it works brilliantly. It is a quest, an immigration story, and an exploration of artistic vision." -- The Horn Book Magazine, July/August 2012

"Some sophisticated themes and concepts, conveyed in text and pictures simple enough to draw fledgling readers." -- Booklist Review Online