What Maurice Sendak Continues to Teach Us

• By Jenny Parker
• September 15, 2008

Maurice Sendak celebrates his 80th year tonight at the 92nd Street Y in New York, so there’s been lots of reflections lately on his life and work - here’s ours:

Sendak’s classic, In the Night Kitchen, gave Night Kitchen Interactive more than just our name. Sendak’s artistry shows how every element of a story – picture, words, light — dramatically changes the look, emotion, and the message of a story, adds wonder and mystery, and offers a different way to connect to the individuals in an audience: some will be moved by the story itself; others by the illustrations, and many, of course, will find connections in both.

This sense of the individual experience is something we always keep in mind when uncovering how organizations can use storytelling to connect with their audience. Of course, people want to hear a great story - but today’s audiences also expect to be in control of their experience, participating in the unfolding of the story and interacting with the outcome, sometimes even telling and sharing their individual stories, experiences, and reflections; our case studies on interactive exhibits are a great resource for exploring how we do this.

It’s worth pointing out that Sendak’s work doesn’t only include children’s literature. He has also designed costumes and sets for operas, ballets, and theatre. That’s also an inspiration to us: while the idea of two-way storytelling might seem a natural fit for art museums (and it is), organizations of all kinds are finding ways to put it to work – history, culture, science … just to name a few.

Here’s two links to recent Sendak profiles: the New York Times profile from last week and the re-broadcast of WHYY’s interview with him from 2003.

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