The silent but not unheard Icon of Silent Films

It is not too often that you hear a lot about silent films, though they have had recent publicity with the new film ‘The Artist’, but I think I the reason I love them is probably the same reason I love black and white photography. It just has a quality that is hard to find in colour films/photography, that is instantly bold and captures a moment in time, telling a story without the need or want for words or captions.

I think my favourite actress of the silent movie era came in close to the end, and was the black sheep of silent movies for the films she participated in. I think this bad, against the vine attitude is what draws me to her.

 Louise brooks

Was an American Dancer, model, showgirl and silent film actress, who popularised the bob haircut and created an iconic femme fatal style of the time. Starring in such silent movies as Pandora’s box(1929),and Diary of a lost girl (1929).

She was notorious for her salty Language, and In addition she, had made a vow to herself never to smile on stage unless she felt compelled to, and although the majority of her publicity photos show her with a neutral expression, she had a dazzling smile. Though it has to be said that some of the most striking images of her, is when she has been looking at us with a neutral or even angry face. Within her pictures there is a great sense of sexuality and mystery, which has become a greatly known characteristic of her. And By her own admission, she was a sexually liberated woman, not afraid to experiment, even posing fully nude for art photography, and her liaisons with many film people were legendary, although much of it is speculation. Though when you research more into her childhood you can get more of a clear idea what has influenced her to be that way. Suffering sexual abuse at the hands of a neighborhood predator at the age of 9. This event had a major influence on Brooks’ life and career, causing her to say in later years that she was incapable of real love, and that this man “must have had a great deal to do with forming my attitude toward sexual pleasure…. For me, nice, soft, easy men were never enough – there had to be an element of domination”. Which is quite clear within her imagery, where she is not portrayed, as many other silent movies actresses were…. Meek, and weak. She showed us her independence and through this created a life long mystery and iconic image for herself that was often very controversial.

Final Outcome

These are the final illustrations and the text to go with it, completed in a book format…..

This is the 1st and 2nd page of the book and tells the tale of ‘The Fox and The Cat’, with this first page I wanted to equally show both fox and cat within the screen and in a way that there wasn’t too much in the scene to make it hard for the eye to concentrate on one specific thing. I really like the outcome of the cat, yet I think the fox could still do with some work….. maybe a bit more detail??. anyway I like the overall effect, because with the shape of both the fox and cat on the page their bodies and colour draw the eyes inwards towards the writing. I chose the font ‘chalkduster’ because it really goes well with the style I was looking to achieve, and is a constant for the titles of the different tales to keep a flow throughout the story. I choose the colour of the font because I didn’t want it to be overbearing within the setting and i wanted it to fit nicely within. The rest of the text which is a ‘Aesop’s fable’, was sourced from http://www.aesops-fables.org.uk/, where i then changed the font and colour to fit it to the needs of my work, using ‘Bangla Sangam MN’ as the main font throughout and a light greyish colour, so as before it didn’t distract the eyes away from the illustrations and would not become overbearing in the overall look.

This is the 3rd and 4th page of the book and tells the rest of the story of ‘The fox and The Cat’, I decided to spread it out between 4 pages because I thought it would be more effective than me just leaving it all on one page which I thought would have looked too crowded. I really like this page because I think without being too detailed it tells the story well throughout for the readers to imagine what is happening. I really wanted the fox to look as though it was still thinking as the hounds came, which I think I achieved, the only thing im not to keen on is the dogs which I think lack detail a bit too much, which I may change.

This is the 5th and 6th page of the book and tells the tale of ‘The Crow and The Pitcher’, overall I really like the illustration and thing the watercolour blur looks really nice and has made the colours blend together really well, and I also like the positioning of the title, the only thing I may change is the positioning of the wording, which I may have to add a few other pages to accommodate.

This is page 7 and 8, and tells the tale of ‘The Eagle and The Arrow’, overall im happy with the layout of these pages and the wording, with the morale a little smaller the rest of the wording which is what I wanted throughout the book. But im still not to keen on the illustration I think it works overall but, I am still going to try a few different illustrations to see if I like them better.

This is the 8th and 9th page showing the tale ‘The Frog and The Ox’, overall I really like the outcome of this and think everything works really well together and that it doesn’t look too crowded, the only thing im not too sure about is the big frog illustration, though it is very cute, I don’t think it achieves what the tale is trying to say, so I may re-do it.

This is the 10th and 11th page of the book and shows the tale of ‘The Dove and The Crow’, I think this is my favorite page because I think it works very well as a whole, the only thing I would change given the time is the look of the crow, which I think looks too much like the dove.

Overall I really like the outcome of the format and illustrations of my own interpretation of Aesop’s fables, and given the time I would like to be able to illustrate all of his fables, and my own.

Childhood memories

 

For my project I have been looking at some of the childhood children’s books I read, like a blast from the past I have revisited my childhood reading selection (sorry to say not much….. though its hard to remember that far back…. if you remember any please feel free to share im always interested in looking at different illustrations and books).

‘Meg and mog'(above) i think one of my most memorable childhood books, i loved the cat and the owl they were my favorite characters, but now i look back at it i really like the simplistic illustrations, i think they are just what the story needs, if they had been too detailed i think it would have rewind it completely.

written by Helen Nicoll and illustrated by Jan Pienkowski, I was going to add a link to one of the stories but unfortunately I cant find any online so here is the TV animated series anyway…

 

Ahhh this brings back memories, from the illustrator Holly Keller came the treasured book ‘Geraldine’s blanket’, which i think was my sisters favorite, and which we still have as battered and bruised as it is it’s still alive. The cute colourful and original illustrations, in which animals take the place and role of humans. I love the real relation to children and blankets and toys we had as a child and treasured like Geraldine so you can really relate. The book is about Geraldine and she loves her baby blanket. Trouble is, she’s no baby, and her blanket is old and tattered. “It looks silly,” says her mother. “There’s hardly any blanket left,”says her father. But Geraldine refuses to part with her old friend. Will a new doll from Aunt Bessie at Christmas change her mind? (synopsis by http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1143050.Geraldine_s_Blanket)

I think this is the most original use of children’s book formating that there was at the time??? that was both original, informative, fun and simple, and has become a very memorable children’s book over the years but as it is not my favorite, still nice to see though, designed, illustrated and written by Eric Carle. The book follows a caterpillar as it eats its way through a wide variety of foodstuffs before pupating and emerging as a butterfly.

sooooooo shiny. Yes the book that lured the children in with the ever tempting colours and use of shiny material making it irresistable to a child’s mind, and for that reason i love it. Drawn and written by Marcus Pfister.

written by Ludwig Bemelmans, I loved these stories as a kid, and thought they were really fun and not to fussy, which is also why I like the illustrations, they aren’t so simple that the story behind isnt illustrated but they are simple enough to allow for you imagination to drift and wander.

Not really a book of MY childhood but i recently found it and honestly couldnt resist the very cute illustrations. Janosch the famous German children’s book illustrator.

 

Twistedly Beautiful

Baba Yaga

I came across Baba Yaga while researching fairy tales, and have to say as fairy tales go she is by far the coolest and scariest character I have yet to have the privilege of coming across. In my favourite story ‘Vasilisa the Beautiful’ of which is illustrated by Ivan Bilibin, is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev. (you can find the story at http://www.oldrussia.net/vas.html, or the synopsis at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasilissa_the_Beautiful). Truly I probably would never of taken a second look had it not been for the dark and twistingly beautiful illustrations, which haunt and mystify the story before your eyes.

The very gothic motifs and hint of art nouveau style that was clearly influenced by Ivan Bilibins love for Slavic folklore. What I love about his illustrations is that they are timeless, they are amazing whatever time you are in or whoever you are, and the are able to convey a joined vision of the tale that brings people and culture together even with language barriers.

Layout????

Now that I have finished the illustrations for Aesop’s fables, I now need to decide on layout of the wording and titles on each page to see how they work together and if they work together…..

Page 1 & 2:

Example 1 (above):

Pros:

• Draws the eyes inwards
• Title in a really harmonious position

Cons:

• Text all over the place
• no real flow of wording

Example 2 (above):

Pros:

• the title really works next to the cat because of the colour

Cons:

• Text still not really flowing as I would hope.

Example 3 (above):

Pros:

• the text flows
• the title is in a good position

cons:

• the text on the left seems a bit different to the right???

Example 4 (above):

Pros:

• The title is bold but not overtaking
• the illustration has more space
• text seems to have more flow

Cons:

• text still no quite right

= from doing these different layouts I have come to the conclusion that the 3rd version is the best and flows better than the others.

Pages 3 & 4:

Example 1 (above):

Pros:

• see more of the illustration

Cons:

• The text is restricted to one side
• covers foxes face

Example 2 (above):

Pros:

• The words flow more
• over both pages
• still can see the illustration

Cons:

• n/a

Example 3 (above):

Pros:

• the fox is seen properly

Cons:

• text only on one side
• covering other illustration

= from looking at the different layout I have decided that the 2nd layout for the 3rd and 4th page is better and easier to see and visualise.

Pages 5 & 6:

Example 1 (above):

Pros:

• like the position of the title, which unlike normally where I would not like it because it overtakes the illustration, but I think in this it works well alongside it.
• text flows

Con:

• There is a gap that looks like these is something missing

Example 2 (above):

Pros:

• like the position of the title
• the wording seems to flow more
• able to see more of the illustration

Cons:

• The title needs to be brought inwards a little

Example 3 (above):

Pros:

• like the title placement

Cons:

• some of the text is hidden by the illustration
• large gap really obvious

Example 4 (above):

Pros:

• like the positioning of the title
• able to see the crow more

Cons:

• text on right side obstructing the illustration
• looks messy

=from this i have decide to use the 2nd example as my final layout for ‘The Dove and the Crow’ tale.

Page 7 & 8:

Example 1 (above):

Pros:

• like the positioning of the Title

Cons:

• too much text on right side
• title distracting from illustration

Example 2 (above):

Pros:

• The Title molds nicely with the pitcher

Cons:

• still too much writing on right side

Example 3 (above):

Pros:

• Title is clear
• the illustration is more clear

Cons:

• still most of the writing on the right….. doesnt seem to go together.

Example 4 (above):

Pros:

• can clearly see the illustration

Cons:

• the title doesnt seem to go there
• there is too much going on in the page

= overall I have decided to use example 2, as the final layout for the tale of ‘The Crow and The Pitcher’, because I think it works the best of them all, if I have the time I would want to add another few pages for this tale so that I can spread out the writing.

Page 9 & 10:

Example 1 (above):

Pros:

• the title works to draw in the eye
• the text fits in nearly and doesnt distract

Cons:

• N/A

Example 2 (above):

Pros:

• like the positioning of the title

Cons:

• wording seems a bit unthought-out???

Example 3 (above):

Pros:

• the wording and text go nice and neatly together
• illustration draws you eyes in

Cons:

• only on one side?

= I have decided to use the 1st example as the final layout for the tale of ‘The Eagle and The Arrow’, because I think it flows more for the eyes.

Page 11 & 12:

Example 1 (above):

Pros:

• The text flows with the illustration

Cons:

• the Title looks too cramped there
• the frog illustration looks too cute for the story?

Example 2 (above):

Pros:

• Text flows
• The title fits well with the illustration

Cons:

• the frog illustration looks too cute for the story?

= I have decided to use example 2 as the final layout for the tale of ‘The Frog and The Ox’, because I think the title looks better within it.

My first attempt at Illustrations…..

Throughout this time I have been working on an art project with the objective to work towards final pieces, which I specified at the beginning of this blog, researching different areas that inspire me to help along my though process. Originally I wanted to illustrate many different old fairy tales or myths, but after much reasearch found that within the time limit given this would be impossible to achieve. Originally looking into illustrating Hans Christians ‘wild swans’ (which I still hope later on to illustrate, if given more time), and other fairy tales such as Vasilisa the Beautiful and the famous character of ‘baba yaga’(if you don’t know its well worth finding out about), red ridding hood (looking at the original and earlier version rather than the more children’s version we see today), Blue Beard, Sleeping beauty ec.t through looking at these and seeing some artists who illustrated them such as Gustave Dore, Elenore Abbott, and Ivan Bilibin as just a few, but there throughout was the stylistic look of art neauvou and gothic entwined, to create the images of fairy tales we love and remember today.

After looking at these amazing illustrations, I thought what I wanted to illustrate and if it was achievable with the time limit given. Through this I decided to look at Aesop’s Fables and If I could illustrate them, because the stories themselves where short and education everything a children’s book should be. I then needed to decide what type of style and technique  wanted to use, at first I used acrylic but found when scanning it in that it didn’t look as nice as it did originally but I wanted to put the words in using a computer to make them look more professional and readable as my handwriting can sometimes be illegible. I decided through looking at my childhood book illustrators such as Geraldine’s Blanket illustrated by Holly Keller, The very hungry caterpillar illustrated by Eric Carle, meg and mog illustrated by Jan Pienkowski, and Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans. That going for a freer style would be best for the illustrations, and thought pencil or watercolour could achieve this so did a few different illustrations to test it out, and finally decided that watercolour pencils allowed for the colour and detail that I wanted from them.

(you can find out more about these illustrators and stories in the inspiration part of my blog)

This is the result hope you like it…..

De ce que les yeux voici

Eugene atget

A french photographer, best known for his photographs documenting the architecture and streets of pairs, only gaining recognition after his death. Saw photography as a means of an income and was originally an actor. Selling scenes to artists who were at the time painting from photographs, he did this for all his life. He photographed paris with a large format Bellows camera with a rapid Rectilinear lenses. He then exposed the images and developed then as 18-24 glass dry plates. As well as supplying artists and architects he was also hired to preserve and record landmarks of paris. His photographs show the narrow lanes, courtyards, old buildings, shops, window displays, stairwells and architectural details. He also liked to photograph people in particular small men, rag collectors and prostitute, and in fairs, and he liked to photograph the homeless shelters.

One of the characteristics of his work is how through high exposure the light is long and drawn out, which gives the impression of space and ambiance more than surface detail. This is why the subjects he choses suited the blurred figures, dues to his old camera and exposure times, his work avoids perfection because he didnt want the cold symmetry that photography normally achieves. They attracted the attention of Matisse, man ray, Picasso, but he stayed mainly unknown.

I really love his work and find the way he uses his camera lenses really interesting, he is able to put a warmth and character to his work that other photographers often lake. And though physically his pictures often don’t have people within them, they show human interaction and don’t leave a feeling of barrenness.

Willy Pogany

Was a prolific hungarian illustrator of children’s and other books, his work is inventive, involving and varied in style making you think that there was several artists in one. His work was based upon mythical and fantasy subjects in an art nouveau style. He illustrated at least 100 or more, went to america and london. All his designs were executed by him. With his work there were no boundaries with him going to great lengths to complete things using rich styles and intricate details to achieve this.

Recently I have become interested in fairy tales and illustrators, willy pogany caught my eye, though his work frequency reminds me of that of art nouveau, I really love some of his pieces, mainly because of the delicateness of his drawings, they have very bold subjects to them, that seem to jump out at you.

Pieter bruegel (The Elder)– ‘christ and the

woman taken into adultery’

Pieter Bruegel (1525-1569) was a Flemish Renaissance painter and printmaker, known for his landscapes and peasant  scenes. Obvious influence of the dutch master ‘Hieronymous Bosch, bt mostly influenced by nature and was known as the master of landscapes. With his often very unsentimental depictions of life for people and winter landscapes show how server winter was t the time. Some of his works were politically motivated. There are only 45 surviving paintings but there are many drawings and engravings.

On my first visit to summerstet house in which is house the courtauld gallery is in housed, the first thing that struck me was the hauntingly ghostly painting by Pieter Bruegel, which depicts from its name ‘christ’ kneeling on the floor writing a message on the floor, elders and onlookers in the background with a defined woman (supposedly the adulteries), the scenes caught my attention mainly because of its ghastliness, with its pale seeper colours at a large contrast to his usual colourful works, and yet it is still his work with stereotypical characteristics of other works by him creeping in. the scene is crowded with many people, going on with their work but still curious all the same about the commotion going on. All of his work though often very clustered and full, with many different things going on. All have great meaning, and feeling even if they cannot be seen straight away.

The Weird and Wonderful

Diane Arbus

Diane Arbus 1923- 1971, an american photographer noted for her black and white photographs. She liked to photograph marginal people, such as dwarfs, nudist ec.t. She was one of the first photographers to have an exhibition at the Binale in Venice. A lot of her work was viewed in traveling exhibitions 1972-1979. Her work has created great controversy, but has still sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction. It was quoted in 1971 by Norman mailer “giving a camera to Diane Arbus is like giving a live grenade to a child”. In some of her later photography she uses softer light, showing a people with intellectual disabilities. Critics such as sontage say that arbuses work had no beauty to them and failed to make the viewer feel compassionate, with a oftern shallowness to them.

The second time of seeing her work the first time and in what I consider a better exhibition, was at Cardiff Museum, the second at TATE Modern, which was in my opinion lacking, though did include some more of her work then In Cardiff museum. I really like her work which is not afraid to show the differences in the world and the divides between us all. Her use of stark imagery creates a bold and emotion filled sence look into someones way of life, so that we are able to sympathise and relate to it in our own ways or can be as closed off and isolated to it as we like but we all take different aspects of it away with us. I love her ability to question hegemonic ideological issues within modern society, about very relevant issues such as age, disability, religion/ beliefs, cultures e.c.t.