Dear Adult, the world won’t fall, improvise!

[110] Dear Adult, the world won’t fall, improvise!

A dot, a spot, shapes, followed by splashes of colour hit the walls of the University of Mantova. At least, figuratively, this is what happens when French illustrator and master of children's literature Hervé Tullet enters the Aula Magna, joined by librarian Vera Salton.

In contemporary society, adults teach their children to fear mistakes, even in creative moments – “Don’t worry, we can fix this stain!”. In Tullet's world, mistakes don't exist because beauty should not be the goal: in art there is nothing to be fixed. Stains are recharacterised as splashes of colour; an integral part of the creative process.

Tullet’s art language calls for adults to change their point of view, to allow their inner child to speak through them and live, not plan to live expecting everything to stay within the boundaries of the organised. For this, improvisation is key. Not only in front of the canvas, but in every aspect of life, and at any age. Tullet’s philosophy condemns perfectionism and advocates for more freedom, to take up space and embrace the unexpected. Erasing our expectations and allowing ourselves to be surprised may lead to unimaginable and incredible opportunities: even an off-key note can become a song by itself, as Tullet’s autobiography Child in color recounts.

Moreover, improvisation has a crucial role in his art process, because his works stem from the very act of improvising over and over again, from stratifications of paper, canvases, color. He adds words later, but he would prefer they didn't even exist, because his alphabet aspires to the maximum simplicity. In the language of newborns, shapes and colours are the only protagonists. We should all return to that state, go back to the time when we were ready to learn everything. Childlike wonder is not lost in adulthood, it just needs to be rediscovered. Tullet shows us how.