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"we all like food, like to dance, like to
kvetch. And we are people with geno-
cides") began collecting children's
book illustrations in the 1980s; at the
time, she was among the very few
who bestowed them with the respect
they deserved, including the artists
themselves.
"Garth Williams, who illustrated
the cover of Charlotte's Web, kept the
drawing on his desk forever. He used
it as a rest for'his coffee cup,"
Sarkisian muses. "Here is the most
treasured book in children's literature,
a story that makes grownups weep,
and he put his coffee cup on it.
"No one treated these illustrations
as works of art, so the artists didn't
think of them that way either." She
adds, "When the gallery did a litho-
graph of Charlotte's Web, we left traces
•
of the ring from his cup."
Before her gallery, Sarkisian worked
as an interior designer for clients such
as Neil Simon and Chevy Chase, who
themselves had lots of whimsy — and
money.
"They wanted something different
on their walls," she explains. So she
came back to her lifelong love for
children's books, procured some illus-
trations for her clients and "realized it
was more exciting waiting for these
prints to arrive than waiting for the
couch," she says..She opened her
gallery in 1989.

in this show gave a talk at the muse-
um recently," says Rosen. "She said
that even though she was separated
from her parents, and they were
murdered, the love they gave her in
the first years of her life helped her
get through the rest of it.
"She said that love gives you
resources and can help you cope.
With that in mind, it's really won-
derful to watch parents going from
this exhibit to 'Every Picture,
which is there to help parents spend
time with their children and give
them that love and that base." ❑

'

—

Lynne Konstantin

For more information on
"Life in Shadows" or the
Spertus Institute of Jewish
Studies, call (312) 322-1747
or visit www.spertus.edu .

• Serving Lunch 8
Dinner
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Carry-out Catering
vailable

From "Tallchief" by Maria Tallchief
with Rosemary Wells

Over the years, Sarkisian kept a
tally of books she came across relating
to the topic of acceptance of cultural
and social diversity, but always in a
"subtle and entertaining way. I didn't
want the story to hit the reader over
the head with a moral," she says. And,
of course, "I wanted them to have
beautiful, high-quality art.
She began talking about her idea
with associates at the Simon
Wiesenthal Center's Museum of
Tolerance in Los Angeles and eventu-
ally mounted the exhibition there.
Culling from works by artists she rep-
resents in her gallery (many are for
sale) as well as loans from private col-
lectors, she has brought her socially
active, aesthetically rich and plain-old
fun musings to life.
Literally. Visitors to the exhibition
will come upon a room that will
transport them into the world of
Enemy Pie. Replete with original illus-
trations from the book, the room bus-
tles with the activity of children and
their parents scrambling in and out of
a real wooden "tree" house, where
they can sit inside to play checkers
and cards, just like the friends-in-
progress do in the story. Or, of course,
they can sit and read a book.

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❑

For more information on "Every
Picture Tells a Story," call (312)
322-1747 or visit
www.spertus.edu.
To contact the Every Picture
Tells a Story Gallery, call (310)
451-2700 or visit
www. everypicture. corn.
Locally, the Maniscalco
Gallery, 17728 Mack Ave., in
Grosse Pointe, with the College
for Creative Studies, presents its
sixth annual "Children's Book
Society" exhibition, a look at
what's new in children's
illustration, through April 30.
(313) 886-2993 or
www.maniscalcogallery.corn.

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