Attendees of the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Saturday and Sunday will have the
chance to pick up a paintbrush, and possibly help change the world.Cartoonists Across America and the World will be bringing their popular mural painting event to the festival, which strives to promote reading as well as the arts. The mural will span eight by 25 feet, and special guests, as well as the public, will be invited to participate in its decoration.
"We encourage anyone to come by and paint with us this weekend. It's a lot of fun," said Phil Yeh, the founder of Cartoonists Across America. " I'm kind of like Tom Sawyer: my job is to trick everyone into doing this mural."
Yeh travels around the world working on murals, like the one for the Festival of Books. He has done murals in 49 states and 12 countries, and his celebrity guests at the mural events have included former first lady Barbara Bush and actor Alan Alda.
" I think the important thing is just getting people to be more expressive, and that's kind of what the murals are about, so we invite everyone to come," Yeh said.
This year's guests will include Krystal, the 19-year-old singer who is opening for the Backstreet Boys on their Black and Blue tour, and Kevin Eastman, co-creator of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles".
The variety of people who work on the murals is one draw for special guest PJ Grimes, whose company PivotPointe assists creative artists with their personal and business problems.
"When I got to participate in one of the mural events I got to see first-hand how fun it is," Grimes said.
"The neat thing about it is that it's a real multicultural experience. There's all kinds of people of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds, so it's great," she continued. "The common thread is that paintbrush and the desire to let people know how much the arts and reading are important."
Yeh's son Jesse, who works as Vice President of Cartoonists Across America, enjoys working with the children who come to paint.
" I find it rewarding to see the kids at the events. They have a lot of fun painting with us and getting the books. It really makes them happy. And just knowing that I'm doing something that is hopefully going to make a change is rewarding," said Jesse Yeh, who will be accompanying his father to the Festival of Books event this weekend.
Amos recommended that Yeh, already a cartoonist, combine his artistic talent with his passion for improving literacy across America and the world.
Yeh believes that there is a connection between reading and the arts, and that through promoting both he can raise awareness about the problem of illiteracy, in addition to encouraging people of all ages to be creative.
" If people are interested in the arts, there's a really good chance that that person is going to get into books some way or another," Yeh said. " If you want to be a painter, for instance, you might read about Picasso. If you want to be a songwriter, you might check out a book about a musician."
Yeh finds that too few people are finding an interest in either the arts or reading. When he started his organization in 1985, 27 million Americans could not read. Yeh added that a recent report published in USA Today and Time magazine stated that 90 million Americans today are illiterate.
Furthermore, according to Yeh, the United Nations and U.S. News and World Report ranked the United States as 70th in literacy in the world in 2000. This is not a problem of literacy alone, however, as Yeh sees a connection between illiteracy and other social problems.
" It's connected to the issue of school violence," he said. " I have contended from day one that if we encourage more of the arts, we are actually giving students a chance to express emotions or problems in another way, other than taking a gun to school or threatening to blow someone up."
To encourage interest in reading and the arts, Yeh produces "Winged Tiger Comics and Stories", a comic book series that encourages children to be creative. Complimentary copies of the comic will be handed out at the Festival of Books.
For those who are worried that they cannot paint or draw well, Yeh offers a consolation.
" I see part of our mission as just reminding all Americans, and all people, that everyone can be an artist," he said. "The worse your art looks, the higher chance of a New York gallery or museum buying it for billions of dollars."
