The Errant Æsthete

Maira Kalman discussed the “The Principles of Uncertainty,” her illustrated column, turned book, turned opera, at the New York Public Library. The result is a book that is part personal narrative, part documentary, part travelogue, part chapbook, and all Kalman. Her brilliant, whimsical paintings, ideas, and images-which initially appear random-ultimately form an intricately interconnected worldview, an idiosyncratic inner monologue. Kalman contends with some existential questions-What is identity? What is happiness? Why do we fight wars? And then, of course, death, love, and candy (not necessarily in that order). VIDEO LINK

For those of you not familiar with Kalman’s work, she is one of the country’s most beloved artists who illustrated the 2005 edition of Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style establishing her as an original, inspirational voice, and the quirky, hilarious, heartbreaking style of The Principles of Uncertainty reveals Maira Kalman for what she truly is: a national treasure. (design observer)