Meunier, Brian 1954-

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Meunier, Brian 1954-

Personal

Born 1954, in Gardner, MA; married Perky Edgerton (an artist); children: two daughters. Education: University of Massachusetts, B.F.A., 1976; Tyler School of Art, M.F.A., 1978.

Addresses

Office—Swarthmore College, Department of Art, Beardsley 214, Swarthmore, PA 19081. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Sculptor, educator, and author. Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA, 1979—, currently professor of studio arts and department chair. Exhibitions: Work exhibited at Herter Gallery, University of Massachusetts, 1975; Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA, 1982; Noyes Museum of Art, Oceanville, NJ, 1992; and List Gallery, Swarthmore College, 2008. Work included in group exhibitions at Barbara Okun Gallery, St. Louis, MO, 1978; Karen Lenox Gallery, Chicago, IL, 1983; Carnegie-Mellon University Art Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, 1987; Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1990; Freeman Gallery, Philadelphia, 2002; and Noyes Museum of Art, 2006.

Awards, Honors

Ford Foundation grant, 1975; Provincetown Art Workshop fellowship, 1982; Mellon grant, Swarthmore College, 1982; Pennsylvania Council on the Arts fellowship, 1983; Franklin Town Corporation grant, 1983; National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, 1984; Blanchard fellowship, Swarthmore College, 1986; Pennsylvania Council on the Arts fellowship, 1989; Eugene M. Lang faculty fellowship, Swarthmore College, 1998; James Michener faculty fellowship, Swarthmore College, 2002.

Writings

Pipiolo and the Roof Dogs, illustrated by wife, Perky Edgerton, Dutton (New York, NY), 2003.

Bravo, Tavo!, illustrated by Perky Edgerton, Dutton (New York, NY), 2007.

Sidelights

Brian Meunier is the author of a pair of well-received books for young readers that are illustrated by his wife, artist Perky Edgerton. In addition, Meunier is a professor of studio art at Swarthmore College as well as an award-winning sculptor. "I am drawn to objects that activate my sense of wonder," he told Andrea Packard in an interview posted on his home page. "In the beginning, middle, and end of making the work, I require an intuitive and transcendent experience—for myself and, I hope, for the viewer."

Set in the small Mexican village of San Pablo Etla, Meunier's debut picture book, Pipiolo and the Roof Dogs, centers on young Lupe and her amazingly heroic pet, Pipiolo. Inspired by old Western movies, Pipiolo concocts an ingenious escape plan for the other canines in town that are confined to their owner's hot, flat roofs as watchdogs. According to Booklist reviewer Gillian Engberg, readers "will respond to the unusual, dreamlike story," and Nina Lindsay noted in School Library Journal that "children will love the idea of the dogs' liberation, and will remember Lupe and Pipiolo as likable characters well developed through text and picture."

A basketball-loving youngster helps save his family farm in Bravo, Tavo!, a "charming story set in Mexico," according to a critic in Kirkus Reviews. Although Tavo dreams of hoops stardom, he cannot afford to replace his decrepit sneakers, which are patched with duct tape. After clearing a series of irrigation ditches that bring water to the family's parched croplands, the boy is rewarded by an elderly neighbor with a new pair of shoes that may have magical powers. According to Booklist contributor Randall Enos, Meunier's "unusual" story "bring[s] … issues like wealth and poverty to younger children."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 1, 2003, Gillian Engberg, review of Pipiolo and the Roof Dogs, p. 328; May 15, 2007, Randall Enos, review of Bravo, Tavo!, p. 49.

Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2003, review of Pipiolo and the Roof Dogs, p. 912; July 1, 2007, review of Bravo, Tavo!

Publishers Weekly, August 25, 2003, review of Pipiolo and the Roof Dogs, p. 64.

School Library Journal, October, 2003, Nina Lindsay, review of Pipiolo and the Roof Dogs, p. 131; August, 2007, Mary Jean Smith, review of Bravo, Tavo!, p. 86.