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2013年11月30 日 ─ 12月8日
主辦單位：文 化 部 承辦單位：台北書展基金會 |
Jimmy Liao wows Mexican audience, meets Astrid Lindgren laureate Isol 2013-12-05
Recommended illustrator from Taiwan Jimmy Liao meets Astrid Lindgren laureate Isol
"I do not have a story in place when I start creating, nor do I have words in mind and then build upon them. Often it all starts with a simple image, an image that touches something in me. From this image I will find clues that lead eventually to a story." With more than forty books under his belt, the Taiwanese illustrator Jimmy Liao was invited by the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) to give a keynote speech on his creative career as an illustrator and share how different paths in life led him down this road.
In October Jimmy Liao was nominated for the 2014 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, one of the top honors for illustrators and children's book authors. His keynote speech at the FIL attracted a crowd of over 150, with many having come all the way from faraway cities. Isol, the Argentine illustrator who received the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2012, also attended the speech. The two illustrators exchanged their books; Isol presented Jimmy Liao with a copy of her Nocturne: Dream Recipes, and Jimmy Liao gave Isol his Hug in return. Touched by the speech, the audience stayed on long after it was over, and they returned to the Taiwan Pavilion for book signing. During the speech Jimmy Liao showed the audience the illustrations he made for newspapers and magazines over twenty years ago. Back then he still worked at an advertising agency and drew illustrations simply out of personal interest. Eventually, the part-time job as an illustrator outweighed his day job, so he left the advertising agency to pursue a creative career. However, he fell sick just a year later. He had never thought of writing when he first turned to illustration. The fear of death and not knowing how many years he still had left in life prompted him to voice his loneliness and melancholy in Secrets in the Woods and A Fish That Smiled at Me. Although he created these books for adult readers, he was awarded Best Children's Book in 1999. Back then the category of illustrations for grown-up readers did not exist in Taiwan, but he created a market for this and is still creating books in this genre. The 1998 A Fish That Smiled at Me was adapted into a ten-minute short animated film, which went on to win the Special Prize at the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk for best short film at the 56th Berlin International Film Festival. The fact that the film is not technically sophisticated but has received global accolades goes to show that a beautiful story outweighs advanced techniques in the world of illustration, according to Jimmy Liao. He also mentioned that many people tend to get angry when they are frustrated at work. In his case, however, he experiences peace and happiness in his job, as he really enjoys drawing and painting. Barbara Fiore Editora of Spain bought the copyright to sixteen of Jimmy Liao's books and has already published El sonido de los colores (The Sound of Colors) and Desencuentros (Turn Left;Turn Right). Meanwhile, La Piedra Azul (The Blue Stone) was published by Mexico's most important publishing house Fondo de Cultura Económica. As part of his closing remarks, Jimmy Liao invited everyone in the audience to visit Taiwan. It took him roughly 24 hours to fly from Taiwan to Guadalajara. He beckoned humorously to his readers in the Spanish-speaking world, "Taiwan is not that far, only 24 hours away!" |
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