Everybody’s a critic, but not every critic is an adorable little rug rat with razor sharp wit and a keen artistic eye. Cue the Tiny Art Director, an ongoing collaboration between Brooklyn artist Bill Zeman and his daughter Rosie. The idea is simple, Rosie commissions Bill to paint a picture to her specifications, and Bill gives it his best shot. But like any client/artist relationship, things get messy fast. The hilarious blog that Bill started to document his Tiny Art Director’s exacting standards and high-concept commissions (anyone ever want to see what a poo poo airplane looks like?) is now a book, collecting old favorites and never-before-seen pieces and chronicling this charming relationship that will ring true to any father.
I recently asked Bill a few questions about the process and experience behind Tiny Art Director…
Bill, I think one of the most endearing parts of reading Tiny Art Director (the blog and the book) is watching your daughter (and your relationship with her) grow over the years. Do think that the TAD experience has made you closer?
I do, but obviously it took some perseverance to get there – she was always such a Mommy’s girl that for a long time she viewed me as an interloper. She now actually loves my art and is very interested in “helping” me. That sense of her growing is one of my favorite parts of this project too, and I have to admit that I keep reading through the book myself just to experience that and hear her two-year-old voice again. It really makes me happy that she has hung onto her intensity and confidence as she has matured. I also think it means a lot to her to have me listen to her opinions. That knowledge, that what she says is important and worth listening to is one of the things I most hope she can hang onto in life from this experience.
What’s your favorite TAD moment?
Oh, I’ve really loved the whole project, even through the period of her terrible twos, but I think the more recent pieces where she has drawn her own versions of my paintings, like “Purple Gatorade” (her goldfish), and the Renaissance Snails are my favorites. I love the way she prefers her versions because they match her inner vision better.
Do you feel the TAD pieces have a different flavor when they’re in a book instead of online? Did anything surprising happen as you viewed the pieces in print? What does Rosie think of the book?
The book is such a lovely object; the design is great, the size is just right and I’m very happy with the color reproductions. I really think it’s the natural way this project should be experienced rather than on the blog and I know people will agree when they put the thing in their hands. Of course the biggest problem with the blog is that it goes in reverse chronological order. Reading through the book in the right order is so much funnier and makes her character come alive. TAD is very proud of the book too, especially the pink smiley-face daisy endpapers.
Does the Tiny Art Director’s acute critical eye crossover into other arenas? The dinner table? Film?
Funny you should mention film – we actually have a film review of a Barbie Movie coming soon for the blog. It’s pretty hilarious. And I plan to post some art criticism pieces based on museum visits as well. We recently took her to the Metropolitan Museum for a Vermeer show. She was instantly and literally bored to tears until she came across “The Allegory of Faith,” a big painting that features a snake being crushed in the bottom corner. She stood about two inches from it for 15 minutes while we all got to enjoy the rest of the exhibition. The museum guard stopped her from touching it a couple times. So I don’t know if I would credit her with a sophisticated taste yet, but she is certainly very engaged and interested in art and lets it affect her deeply.
Anything new for TAD?
Well, I thought she had out-grown this project, but lately we have gotten back into it with a bunch of new pieces and quite a bit of really fun collaboration. So who knows – there may be a TAD II. But whatever else happens I have a feeling this won’t be the last book anyone writes about her!
Find the Tiny Art Director on Facebook and Twitter. And buy the book!
Jason Sacher
Associate Editor
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Congratulations Bill, I can’t wait to buy the book. What a fantastic way to work with your child and make something that not only documents your relationship through time, but gives her such an outlet for her passions. Way to go Dad!
xo Diane
Yes, congratulations. I’m so happy to see such a witty, self-deprecating, my-child-as-less-than-holy, but loving approach to a writing a children’s book. Has all the virtues of the better children’s books (by illustrators with children) without any of the self-indulgence. And the red rejected stamp is hilariously irreverant.