The Singing Bones
Inspired By Grimms' Fairy Tales
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- USD 12.99
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- USD 12.99
Descripción editorial
In this beautifully presented volume, the essence of seventy-five fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm is wonderfully evoked by Shaun Tan's extraordinary sculptures.
Nameless princes, wicked stepsisters, greedy kings, honourable peasants and ruthless witches, tales of love, betrayal, adventure and magical transformation: all inspiration for this stunning gallery of sculptural works. Introduced by Grimm Tales author Philip Pullman and leading fairy tale scholar Jack Zipes, The Singing Bones breathes new life into some of the world's most beloved fairy tales.
'These little figures of clay, with their simplified features, their single attributes, are perfect realisations of the strangeness of the characters they represent.' - Philip Pullman
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Tan (Rules of Summer) fashions 75 haunting sculptures, each meant to capture the spirit of one of Grimms' fairy tales. A short excerpt from the tale that inspired the artwork appears on the left of each spread, accompanied by a photograph of its sculpture on the right. Tan acknowledges Inuit and pre-Colombian influences in an afterword, but each figure carries its own creaturely spark. For Rumpelstiltskin ("The door suddenly opened, and a little man entered"), Tan creates a scarlet imp with dancing limbs and a toothy grin. For the Brementown musicians, the heads of the four animals are stacked as on a totem pole, mouths agape as they sing and shriek. In a foreword, Neil Gaiman writes, "I want to hold these sculptures, to pick them up. I want to squeeze them in my hands," capturing the book's mix of charm and frustration. Although readers can only see Tan's remarkable artistry in two dimensions, the figures exert an almost primal force. Rather than simply represent what happens in these stories, these pieces embody their power. Ages 12 up.
