月の満ち欠け

"Each time is the first time". This is how writer Stefano Salis describes reading the books by Katsumi Komagata. For me, the statement is a perfect description of the sense of wonder and magic I get when opening one of his works. Every time you reread one, you discover something new, so it is true: each time truly is the first time.

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月の満ち欠け, which translates to "Moon phases", is one of Komagata´s latest books. As all of Komagata´s works, it manages to honor tradition and bring something totally new at the same time.  Komagata was a student of Bruno Munari, and it is easy to spot Munari´s influence in this book: The geometric shapes, making full use of the format of the book, the interesting cut-outs... We see a moon in ebb and flow, on one page in one of it´s natural phases, on the next page the same shape is turned into an apple, a planet, an egg, a sunset...

 

The fluid transformations give associations to the famous "Il pallocino rosso" by Iela Mari, but this book is first and foremost a play of colors: Colors combined in unusual way, giving a very special effect, it feels very tactile, like the pages come to life. I have read this book with children from 2-16, and they all do the same thing: They stroke the pages with their hands. After observing that, I noticed that I do this too whenever I open this book - the colors and patterns are irresistable, it feels like they are alive.

 

There is a very interesting story behind the untraditional color combinations:
It is said that one out of 20 men in Japan are color blind. Komagata was not, but as a child, a teacher believed him to be due to his untraditional choice of color for a painting. A test showed that he did not have impaired color vision, but it is said that this experience is one of the reasons he chose to become a designer. The colors in this book are intentionally hard to distinguish from each other, allowing teachers to gain a better understanding of children with color vision challenges. At the back flap, there is an overview of all colors used, so you can make a game out of identifying the different shades.

 

I have no doubt this approach can be very helpful in many cases, but the book should in no way be reduced to this - it is a book of very high artistic value, a playful object of beauty and magic.  Althought there are many stories to be told from the images and transformations, I find this book especially suited for silent mediation, just sitting together with one or two children, quietly, and taking in all the impressions it gives you. You can read it again and again and experience that "each time" truly is "the first time".