My Favorite Things
Description
From Maira Kalman, the author of the bestsellers The Principles of Uncertainty and The Elements of Style, comes this beautiful pictorial and narrative exploration of the significance of objects in our lives, drawn from her personal artifacts, recollections, and selections from the collection of the Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
With more than fifty original paintings and featuring bestselling author and illustrator Maira Kalman's signature handwritten prose, My Favorite Things is a poignant and witty meditation on the importance of both quotidian and unusual objects in our culture and private worlds.
Created in the same colorful, engaging, and insightful style as her previous works, which have won her fans around the world, My Favorite Things features more than fifty objects from both the Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and Kalman's personal collections: the pocket watch Abraham Lincoln was carrying when he was shot, original editions of Winnie-the-Pooh and Alice in Wonderland, a handkerchief in memoriam of Queen Victoria, an Ingo Maurer lamp, Rietveld's Z chair, a pair of Toscanini's pants, and photographs Kalman has taken of people walking towards and away from her. A pictorial index provides photographs of the actual objects and a short description of them, enhancing the reading experience.
As it speaks to the universal experience and importance of beloved objects in our lives--big and small, famous and private--this unique work is a fresh way of examining and understanding our society, history, culture, and ourselves.
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About the Author
Maira Kalman illustrated William Strunk Jr's classic The Elements of Style and is the author of My Favorite Things, Principles of Uncertainty, and And the Pursuit of Happiness. She is also the author/illustrator of numerous children's books, and her artwork has graced a dozen covers of The New Yorker. Her watches, clocks, accessories, and paperweights have been featured at the Museum of Modern Art store. She lives in New York City.
Alex Kalman is a designer, curator, writer, and creative director. The founder of What Studio?, he is the founder, director, and a chief curator of Mmuseumm, a new type of museum described as "curatorial genius" by The Atlantic and "one of the top twelve hidden art gems in the world" by the New York Times T magazine. The writer Rob Walker coined his unique curatorial style "Object Journalism." Alex also published the very first ever Op-Object column published in the New York Times. His artwork, films, installations, and exhibitions have been shown at the Museum of Modern Art, the Venice Architecture Biennale, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His most recent project, Future Aleppo, was exhibited at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. He lives in New York City.
Reviews
"So friendly, so classic, so delightful . . . Kalman has taken 'the little book' [The Elements of Style] and made it even more elegant and uplifting." -- Los Angeles Times
"While The Elements of Style has never lacked fans or dutiful adherents, appreciation for this slim volume has taken a turn toward the whimsical and even surreal." -- New York Times
"The pictures are playful and subtle, which suits the spirit of the beloved bestseller [The Elements of Style]." -- USA Today
"My absolute favorite book of recent memory: an exquisite and delightful and peculiarly illustrated memoir about . . . well, the search for the meaning of life. I will be giving this book [The Principles of Uncertainty] to everyone I love." -- Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love
