Jōnas Sildri: Perth Illustration & Estonian Design

The path to the graphic novel “Between two sounds. Arvo Pert’s path to his own sound language” was not a sprint – it was an 18-year cycle filled with creative waves, which began in 2000 and culminated with the publication of the book in 2018.

Thanks to the publishing house “Aminori” and the work of the translator Maima Grīnbergas, now this voluminous, about 220-page visual short story is also available to the Latvian reader.

But the path to publishing the book was not easy either, just like Jōnas’s work on it: Maima initially approached several publishers. Someone refused right away, naturally worried about the likely insufficient returns of a publication of this nature, yet another accepted the book, but after a month or two refused, explaining that the costs for such a typographically nuanced work would be too high.

In the end, with a gap of seven years from the presentation of the book in the newly opened music and contemplation center named after the composer in Laulasmā village, the graphic novel “Starp dīvam skānīm. Arvo Pert’s path to his sound language” was also published in Latvian, translated by translator Maima Grīnberga.

Jōnasa Sildres (Jonas Sildre*1980)’s initial passion for Perth’s music began thanks to a CD with a selection of the Estonian maestro’s opus given to him by his friend, a staunch music lover. The gift (albeit pirated) was received in 2000, and since then, Jōnas’ passion for Arvo Pert’s music grew into a ten-year research process. He passes on many of the insights he gained during this time to young artists at the Estonian Academy of Arts (Estonian Academy of Arts), in which he sometimes teaches individual courses in visual arts or graphics, as well as advises on their compilation. Jōnas’s wife, Elina, is also one of Estonia’s leading illustrators of children’s books.