Coppernickel Goes Mondrian

Mondrian’s geometric canvasses are part of our visual landscape now, but Dutch artist van Reek attempts to imagine the process by which they came to be. He doesn’t tell the story of the artist’s move toward modernism with words; instead, he portrays the transformation of Mondrian’s sight and perceptions entirely through the artwork. Tall, yellow-beaked Mr. Quickstep (Mondrian’s stand-in) and his dog, Foxtrot, set out on a journey (“I’m looking for the new”), followed by their neighbor Coppernickel and his dog, Tungsten (last seen in 2008’s Coppernickel: The Invention). As they leave the flat Dutch countryside and venture into the city, the elements of city life grow squarer, and Mondrian’s signature palette of primary colors comes to the fore. Nothing is exempt from the squarification of the future: the curvy letters of city signs become angular, and subway map posters look like grids. Even the notes that come out of Mr. Quickstep’s record player are tiny red, blue, and yellow squares: “It’s the very latest, coolest, most swinging new sound around!” Van Reek’s gentle progression toward abstraction is a striking visual record of a new way of seeing. Ages 5–8. (May)