Folk paintings and Mykola Hohol

Every year the international jury of Hans Christian Andersen Award, which is also called “Nobel Prize for children’s literature,” presents the list of masterfully written, illustrated, and translated books for children. This year’s list includes the book by the Ukrainian Hrani-T Publishing House, a gift edition of Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka by Mykola Hohol with illustrations by Volodymyr Shtanko, reportedly by the website LitAktsent. Remarkably, the book has already won several awards in Ukraine, specifically for the design – a first-degree diploma of the 7th International Competition of the CIS Countries “Art of Book” in the category “Book for Children and Youth” and a diploma for the Best Design of the Book, according to the Children’s Jury of the Publishers’ Forum for Children. The artist has worked on this book for nearly a year, while taking a postgraduate course at the National Academy of Visual Arts and Architecture. Today Ukrainian readers know well other children’s books illustrated by the artist, specifically The Green Flower of Silence (Hrani-T) and Hurra foer Ludvig Lurifax (Hooray to Ludwig the Cunning) by Jan-Olof Ekholm (Staroho Leva Publishing House).

Volodymyr Shtanko told The Day how the present-day books for children in Ukraine are overcoming conservatism, why he loves the methods of the Ukrainian folk paintings of the 19th century and the high bar in work.

“It is a pleasant surprise and great honor for me that Mykola Hohol’s short story Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka, which I have illustrated, was included in this list. This is not only my success as an illustrator, but also the success of the publishing house and Ukraine on the whole. Unfortunately, very few Ukrainian publications enter this list and win international awards. And without doubt, success gives one wings and encourages to create, inspires for further work, gives an impetus to bring the bar higher.”

In your opinion, why the members of the jury liked the book you illustrated and on what could the accent be made in the future?

“I aimed to create a number of visual images, which would be interesting for children, above all. Though Mykola Hohol’s works are part of school curriculum since the primary school, he still remains an ‘adult’ writer. And this influences the design. Previously, especially in Soviet time, the editions of the writer’s works were quite modest. Even when the illustrations for Hohol’s works were created by outstanding masters, they did so in a very reserved manner, both for adults, and children. Therefore I decided to make a children’s edition of Mykola Hohol’s works.”

Mykola Hohol is not a simple author. What was your work on the design of Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka like, what did you pay attention to, how did you place the accents to go beyond the “reserved frameworks” of your predecessors?

“Since my childhood years I have taken interest in Hohol’s mystery, so I eagerly took up this work. Of course, I have looked through numerous materials, I have visited several museums, specifically the Museum of People’s Architecture and Folkways in Pyrohiv and Kyiv’s Museum of Ukrainian Visual Arts, I had also examined a number of replicas of folk paintings in the library of our National Academy of Visual Arts and Architecture, I also looked through what I found on the Internet, and gradually I came to the opinion that namely the principles of the Ukrainian folk painting of the 19th century will reveal and show the content of Hohol’s work in the fullest manner. So, I chose namely this language of visual art.

“Previously art was taken up by very talented artists without any special schooling. This technique envisages not quite correct proportions of human body, not ideally arranged compositions, the grotesque images and genuine Ukrainian features are typical of it. Besides, there is sincerity. So, as a result the images are maximum rich and expressive. I think that to some extent the jury was attracted by this Ukrainian element, because very few contemporary book illustrators use these folklore means, though some do.”

What does the fact that Ukrainian book becomes known in the world prove? What is your vision of modern book illustration in the Ukrainian segment of children’s literature?

“It proves that there are new masters and that Ukraine’s relations in various spheres of activity are strengthening. To some extent, Ukrainian book publishing remains conservative. Maybe, the readers also play some role in this. However, lately we have been witness to inspiration and creative experiments in this sphere, above all owing to the talent and broad worldview of the young authors.”