I drew everybody next to my notes to help me remember who said what when I start teaching properly. I think some are more flattering than others... hmm... they can all get their own back on me when I have to give a talk about my work next week!
Wednesday, 2 October 2013
first day of term
School time has come around again. It was my first day back yesterday. All the new students had to give a short presentation on themselves and their work. I was getting nervous just watching them!
I drew everybody next to my notes to help me remember who said what when I start teaching properly. I think some are more flattering than others... hmm... they can all get their own back on me when I have to give a talk about my work next week!
I drew everybody next to my notes to help me remember who said what when I start teaching properly. I think some are more flattering than others... hmm... they can all get their own back on me when I have to give a talk about my work next week!
Sunday, 29 September 2013
Tuesday, 24 September 2013
defending the ending
The Selfish Giant has been out for a little while now and hasn't attracted all that much attention yet. One thing that has been causing some controversy is my decision to cut the original ending. I thought it would be worth my explaining that decision here as it wasn't taken lightly!
To begin with it is worth remembering that this story has been around in an unabridged form for well over a hundred years and no-one is taking that version away; this is just a new interpretation. My reasons for omitting the original ending were these:
My primary reason was that I thought that there was only really room for one narrative arc to be told comfortably in this 32 page picture book format. Even without the ending I found I had to leave out several spreads I would have liked to include were there more room. The story of the Giant's quest to find the boy again, of the boy's eventual return and the Giant's death and ascent to Paradise felt like a whole new tale and I thought it would have needed many more pages to do it justice.
Secondly, my abridgement and illustration of this story focuses on the character of the Giant. I feel his journey toward redemption is complete when he gives up his garden to the children. It seems to me that being able to share the garden is a reward in itself and he doesn't need the further reward of Paradise later on. In fact it has always bothered me that it is possible to see right action in this life as merely an investment in hope of getting something back in the future.
Last and least, I am not a Christian and I found the explicitly Christian nature of the original ending made it more difficult for me to understand what is in fact an excellent text on one of the great strengths of Christian morality, namely faith in the possibility of redemption. I feel that this is a story that has relevance to all faiths as well as to no faith at all. It is about death and rebirth, about empathy and love, prejudice and fear, about holding on and letting go and about learning to trust in one another. I feel that those are themes which have meaning for all of us and are not the exclusive province of a single doctrine.
To begin with it is worth remembering that this story has been around in an unabridged form for well over a hundred years and no-one is taking that version away; this is just a new interpretation. My reasons for omitting the original ending were these:
My primary reason was that I thought that there was only really room for one narrative arc to be told comfortably in this 32 page picture book format. Even without the ending I found I had to leave out several spreads I would have liked to include were there more room. The story of the Giant's quest to find the boy again, of the boy's eventual return and the Giant's death and ascent to Paradise felt like a whole new tale and I thought it would have needed many more pages to do it justice.
Secondly, my abridgement and illustration of this story focuses on the character of the Giant. I feel his journey toward redemption is complete when he gives up his garden to the children. It seems to me that being able to share the garden is a reward in itself and he doesn't need the further reward of Paradise later on. In fact it has always bothered me that it is possible to see right action in this life as merely an investment in hope of getting something back in the future.
Last and least, I am not a Christian and I found the explicitly Christian nature of the original ending made it more difficult for me to understand what is in fact an excellent text on one of the great strengths of Christian morality, namely faith in the possibility of redemption. I feel that this is a story that has relevance to all faiths as well as to no faith at all. It is about death and rebirth, about empathy and love, prejudice and fear, about holding on and letting go and about learning to trust in one another. I feel that those are themes which have meaning for all of us and are not the exclusive province of a single doctrine.
pitching a punch
I think Mr Punch is ready for a pitch. Am visiting Walker tomorrow so I will see what they think. It is an exciting stage to reach; this story has been rattling around in my head since 2003!
Here's a page from my sketchbook in 2005... still wrestling with it two years on:
These things sure can take a while. Why can't we have six more hours every day and at least fifty more years to live? I'm not going to have time to finish half the things I want to make at this rate!
Here's a page from my sketchbook in 2005... still wrestling with it two years on:
These things sure can take a while. Why can't we have six more hours every day and at least fifty more years to live? I'm not going to have time to finish half the things I want to make at this rate!
Sunday, 22 September 2013
form follows function
I went to see the Punchdrunk production, The Drowned Man today. It is a truly spectacular show and well worth seeing if you happen to be in London, especially if you have never been to a Punchdrunk performance before. I used to work for them when they were starting out and still willing to use enthusiastic amateurs!
The format of the show is similar to that of past productions in that there is a central narrative, this time loosely adapted from Woyzeck (several different Shakespeare plays and an Edgar Allen Poe short story, The Masque of the Red Death, have been the bases of previous pieces). This narrative then unfolds in a large space, a warehouse, office or industrial building, with different scenes being blocked into different areas of that building. You are free to travel wherever you like. The actors tend to be on set throughout. You can follow one character, watching them whether they are performing with other members of the cast or not; you can hop from character to character or you can just explore the space, watching performers if and when they appear. All the audience are masked and asked to remain completely silent. The result is an experience by turns liberating, empowering, thrilling and terrifying. As I say, it is something to behold.
Now, having been to quite a few Punchdrunk shows before, I started to wonder about the use of narrative in this way and its aptness to the form. One criticism that people have leveled at them in the past is that it can be mighty hard to follow what the heck is going on when you might be three floors away for all the key scenes. That is part of the rationale behind using the kinds of stories mentioned above. The idea is that if you are already familiar with the shape of the story you will know where you are in it and who you are watching, even if you haven't seen what came before and are going to miss what comes after. Another way they have tried to tackle this problem is to loop the narrative several times within a performance. That way you could follow say, Romeo one loop, Juliet another and hang out with the priest for the third.
These solutions are undoubtedly a help but they don't really confront the underlying issue, which is that those narratives were written for a different form. They have to be heavily adapted and tweaked in order to fit. I would like to see a play that was actually designed from the outset to be shown in this way. The concept of repetition inherent in the loop structure could be made an integral part of the narrative as in myth of Sisyphus, for example. Or perhaps the production could create a place for us to visit that was the story, a prison, for example, or the circles of hell or a labyrinthine bureaucracy... audience members could be given a form at the entrance and then sent from pillar to post for the rest of the show like the scenes in Brazil or the Twelve Tasks of Asterix ^-^
All forms of storytelling have different patterns that fit them best and these tend to be the ones that make use of the properties of that form. In picturebooks, for example, the structure of the book as an object lends itself to a linear narrative with a distinct beginning and end punctuated with points of suspense related to the turning of the pages... I know that Punchdrunk are far from being the only company using installation theatre to tell stories but it will be really interesting following them over the coming years. I hope in time they will give us some stories that couldn't be told any other way.
The format of the show is similar to that of past productions in that there is a central narrative, this time loosely adapted from Woyzeck (several different Shakespeare plays and an Edgar Allen Poe short story, The Masque of the Red Death, have been the bases of previous pieces). This narrative then unfolds in a large space, a warehouse, office or industrial building, with different scenes being blocked into different areas of that building. You are free to travel wherever you like. The actors tend to be on set throughout. You can follow one character, watching them whether they are performing with other members of the cast or not; you can hop from character to character or you can just explore the space, watching performers if and when they appear. All the audience are masked and asked to remain completely silent. The result is an experience by turns liberating, empowering, thrilling and terrifying. As I say, it is something to behold.
Now, having been to quite a few Punchdrunk shows before, I started to wonder about the use of narrative in this way and its aptness to the form. One criticism that people have leveled at them in the past is that it can be mighty hard to follow what the heck is going on when you might be three floors away for all the key scenes. That is part of the rationale behind using the kinds of stories mentioned above. The idea is that if you are already familiar with the shape of the story you will know where you are in it and who you are watching, even if you haven't seen what came before and are going to miss what comes after. Another way they have tried to tackle this problem is to loop the narrative several times within a performance. That way you could follow say, Romeo one loop, Juliet another and hang out with the priest for the third.
These solutions are undoubtedly a help but they don't really confront the underlying issue, which is that those narratives were written for a different form. They have to be heavily adapted and tweaked in order to fit. I would like to see a play that was actually designed from the outset to be shown in this way. The concept of repetition inherent in the loop structure could be made an integral part of the narrative as in myth of Sisyphus, for example. Or perhaps the production could create a place for us to visit that was the story, a prison, for example, or the circles of hell or a labyrinthine bureaucracy... audience members could be given a form at the entrance and then sent from pillar to post for the rest of the show like the scenes in Brazil or the Twelve Tasks of Asterix ^-^
All forms of storytelling have different patterns that fit them best and these tend to be the ones that make use of the properties of that form. In picturebooks, for example, the structure of the book as an object lends itself to a linear narrative with a distinct beginning and end punctuated with points of suspense related to the turning of the pages... I know that Punchdrunk are far from being the only company using installation theatre to tell stories but it will be really interesting following them over the coming years. I hope in time they will give us some stories that couldn't be told any other way.
Christmas penguin
Here's a design for the Galapagos Conservation Trust Christmas card. They wanted it with a penguin to go with their penguin appeal... and only ever so slightly Festive ^-^
... I just realised why that would be. Can't imagine the religious iconography sells too well to all the Darwinists and Atheists who support GCT. And winter scenes don't really work on the equator either.
... I just realised why that would be. Can't imagine the religious iconography sells too well to all the Darwinists and Atheists who support GCT. And winter scenes don't really work on the equator either.
House of Illustration fundraiser
I have donated my cover artwork for Five Children and It to the House of Illustration for their fundraising event. You can bid on it in a silent auction on their website if you like!
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