Carll Cneut

Guest of the ilb 2005

»My illustrations continue into the invisible. My readers have the freedom to complete them in their heads. This often confuses adults, but never the children«, says Carll Cneut, a rising star amongst European illustrators, when talking about his much applauded pictorial creations. In his picture book »Willy« (1999) the first page only shows a little bit of a trunk and two elephant feet and it falls to the beholder to complete the picture. The Flemish picture book artist was born in 1969 on the Belgian-French border. After considering a career as a pastry cook or a circus artist, he decided to attend the St. Lukas Art Academy in Gent, where he studied Graphic Design and where he still lives today. He started out working in an advertising agency, before publishing his first picture book »Varkentjes van Marsepein« (t: Marzipan piglets) in 1996. Since then, Carll Cneut has illustrated close to fifteen books, which have been sold worldwide. In 2002, he made his debut as an author with »The Amazing Love Story of Mr. Morf«. Expertly staged, Cneut tells the tale of a very special dog – both circus dog and famous tightrope walker – who decides to leave the lonely fame of the circus ring behind and to go in search of love. His third picture book in German translation »Antonio auf der anderen Seite der Welt« (Eng. »Antonio on the Other Side of the World, 2003) was published in German in 2005 – a delightfully quirky story by Malachy Doyle about Antonio’s visit to his grandmother, about sea monsters, marmalade sandwiches and homesickness. The picture book »Monstre ne me mange pas« (2006; Engl: »Monster, Don’t Eat Me!«, 2007), with text by Carl Norac, appeared in 2006 and was published in the 2007 collection of the Austrian Children’s and Youth Literature Awards.

Carll Cneut makes great art out of picture books. His illustrations reveal a love of detail; they captivate the viewer through a distinct patina and conjure up connotations of priceless embroideries, textiles or wallpaper. They remind us of the works of old masters and are both modern and contemporary. For him it is important that his figures have a visible past, along with their clothes and their surroundings. Cneut lets his illustrations emerge from multiple layers of acrylic, pastels, leaf gold or coffee. Recently, Cneut's new interpretation of the painting »Dulle Griet« (2005; t: Mad Griet) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder caused a stir. Along with the author Geert De Kockere he tells the tale of raging Griet, who descends into hell and asks the Devil for his hand in marriage – a challenging picture book, that transcends the boundaries of the genre. Here too, he prefers pictorial compositions full of tension. »At times he creates accentuated empty spaces as places for association, at times he crams his figures so close together that no gaps remain. Thus illustrative and emotional elements permeate in a noticeable way«, the »Süddeutsche Zeitung« wrote.

Cneut has been teaching at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gent since 2005. His illustrations have received numerous international awards, including Special Mention at the Bologna Ragazzi Awards (2001), the Prix Octogones (2002) and the Golden Insignia in Bratislava (2003). »L’Express« has called Carll Cneut »a crazy talent«.

© international literature festival berlin

Carll Cneut online: http://users.telenet.be/carllcneut