world_pictures

4
Svetlana Makarovič • Kostja Gatnik, ill.
Pekarna Mišmaš [Mishmash Bakery]
Mladinska knjiga, 2011 • ISBN 9789610114956
In addition to the Kosovirs (the Cosies) and
Sapramiška (Sapramouse), Mishmash, the baker,
is the third of Svetlana Makarovič’s brainchildren
that ranks as one of the legendary characters
in Slovenian literature for children and adults
alike. The story which first appeared in 1974
has undergone several changes, and has been
adapted for stage and radio many times. In
1986 it was published with the writer’s own
illustrations. In terms of a picture book format,
three versions are available, illustrated by
Marlenka Stupica (1974), Gorazd Vahen (1997) and
Kostja Gatnik (2011) respectively. These include
three slightly different text versions which do not
vary much in terms of the story’s key messages,
its appearance and a plotline. What differs,
though, are the openings and the endings. The
identical beginnings in the 1997 and 2001 editions
differ from the 1974 edition; the identical endings
from the 1974 and 2011 editions differ from
the one published in 1997. It is fairly irrelevant
whether these changes were incited to provide a
critical analysis of the context of their publication,
or whether they were driven by more prosaic
pecuniary publishing business goals. Mishmash
Bakery remains a truly original and ingenious
critique of greed and envy, two main causes
of small-mindedness and impoverishment.
As far as the illustrations in different editions
are concerned, they bear a signature of their
publication time too. Marlenka Stupica focuses
on the aesthetic perfection of colour surfaces and
colour schemes to convey the message of the
baker’s generosity and the folly of the envious
village folk. Gorazd Vahen (his is the edition with
a different ending) upgrades his illustrations
with stage lighting that adds many stage-like
emphatic features to his characters. It is Kostja
Gatnik (b. 1945), however, who transposes the
aesthetics of a drawing to a big screen where
new perspectives are added to the characters.
Similarly, the story is given a new lease of life in
terms of satire, familiarity and universal human
condition. A picture book is thus turned into a
proper visual spectacle for all age groups and big
screens all over the world.
Poleg Kosovirjev in Sapramiške je pek Mišmaš tretji
literarni lik Svetlane Makarovič (roj. 1939), ki se je
vključil med legendarne like slovenske literature
nasploh. Sama pripoved je od svoje prve izdaje
leta 1974 doživela kar nekaj preobrazb; od izdaje z
avtoričinimi ilustracijami (1986), priredb za gledališče,
radio in zvočne posnetke (od leta 1975 dalje), do treh
pomembnih slikaniških izdaj z ilustracijami Marlenke
Stupica (1974), Gorazda Vahna (1997) in Kostje
Gatnika (2011). Omenjene tri slikaniške izdaje pomenijo
tudi tri besedilne različice zgodbe. Razlike sicer ne
spreminjajo bistvenih sporočil in podobe zgodbe,
spremenjeni so predvsem začetki in konci (enaka
začetka izdaj 1997 in 2011 se razlikujeta od izdaje
1974; enaka konca izdaj 1974 in 2011 se razlikujeta od
izdaje 1997). Naj so te spremembe nastale kot poskus
kritične aktualizacije trenutka, v katerem je besedilo
izhajalo, ali iz kakih bolj prozaičnih založniških potreb,
v celoti Pekarna Mišmaš ves čas ostaja izvirna kritika
pohlepa in nevoščljivosti, ki sta navadno glavna
generatorja omejenosti in revščine vseh vrst. Odtenek
časa, v katerem so izhajale izdaje, veje tudi iz ilustracij.
Marlenka Stupica se posveča zgolj estetski perfekciji
ploskev in barv, ki otrokom govorijo o dobroti peka in
neumnosti nevoščljivcev. Gorazd Vahen (v teh izdajah
je spremenjen zaključek besedila) ilustracijam doda
odrske luči in z njimi odrske poudarke karakterjev.
Ilustracije Kostje Gatnika (roj. 1945) pa estetiko risbe
razpnejo na veliko “kinematografsko” platno, na
katerem v novi perspektivi zaživita tako pravljičnost
kot satira, domačnost in občečloveškost – predstava
torej za vse starosti in vsa “platna” po svetu.
the world through picture books • books from slovenia • 174