Maurice Sendak on what being an illustrator means

John Martz | October 14th, 2009

I’m not the only one ’round these parts with Where the Wild Things Are fever am I? I didn’t think so.

Here’s a priceless video of Maurice Sendak describing what being an illustrator of stories means to him, and what his role is as part of the story-telling process. The video was produced by the Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia – the sole repository of Sendak’s original artwork, manuscripts and ephemera.

In fact, the Rosenbach Museum’s YouTube page has several more clips and interviews with Sendak, all worth a look while you whet your appetite for the film.

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  • This was very insightful. I loved his quote about a story in a story at the end. Thank you! I have also featured this on my blog today (courtesy of Drawn! of course).
  • pencrush
    there is a documentary on Sendak tonight on HBO at 7pm EST called Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak by Spike Jonez and Lance Bangs.

    http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/tellthemanythi...
  • pencrush
    err, that should be "Tell Them Anything you Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak"
  • Jbizzle
    When I saw the previews for his book's upcoming movie I flipped! Since childhood I have loved his illustrations, the stories were always a bonus. Great vid. Thanx.
  • speartoons
    Nice post. I also linked to it from my blog.

    I found it interesting he didn't know how his illustrations work. He said the only thing he has control over is his graphics. It led me to realize when you think too hard about the arts, it can cripple you. The key isn't to spend so much studying that you never actually draw. The key is to do the dirty work day in and day out.

    If I'm not plugging away each day, I get rusty and cranky. If you love to draw and write, do it every day no matter how you find the time. Five minutes in a day is better than none at all.

    Thanks for the inspiration.
  • Great find! I am a newbie children's book illustrator, so this post particularly piqued my interest. It was fascinating to hear that Sendak considers his illustrations another story, told alongside, not "in echo" of the writing. I like that. I will definitely check out the other videos on the site. Great post!
  • real world
    This is all very twee and lovely 30 years ago but lets fast forward to the real world of illustration in 2009 where the client and his agent are taking it in turns to fist him for all he is worth, whilst being in bed together - agent is the gimp in this scenario btw. All you newbies take note this is not a way to make money - unless yr hubby is a banker and you do this for a few hrs between coffee mornings.

    No offence Maurice total respect to you :)
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