Lotte Reiniger

Lotte Reiniger, the German silhouette animator. I have always been fond of Reiniger's work, I think its the detail and depth she creates in her films that are classic and timeless that keeps me interested in her work.

Play with light and shadows.

I got this excellent book out of the library today. Its full of exciting examples of what you can create with shadow puppetry. It shows the effects of the materials, shows the traditional, and it looks at focus and framing.

Real.

Rosemary West. A British serial killer who killed ten women with her husband. Like Hindley, West was the female who made their victims feel safe enough to go off with them.


Aileen Wuornos

Aileen Wuornos (1956 - 2002) was an American prostitute who killed seven men in Florida between 1989 and 1990. Wuornos later claimed the men were trying to rape her. Again we can see how it could be said that Wuornos was tempting the men and then leading them to their death.

Paper magic.

When i went to Hameln for my first project i went into one of the churches and there was this nativity scene made out of layered paper. I really liked it at the time and i bought this postcard as it didnt photograph very well. This was one of three panels.
I dont know much about but this is what it says on the back, Weihnachtstransparent von Gela Landwehr Hobbing, Marktkirche St. Nicolai Hameln ( thats the church ).


I hope to possibly use this idea to create backgrounds for my work, i can get some really nice detail in and then the puppets can be simpler.

Bill Brandt.

Today i can across the photography of Bill Brandt. The first photo below really caught my eye, the framing in the image is stunning and i hope to create this kind of atmosphere within my moving image piece. It has made me think of different ways i could use framing within the piece. His use of perspective is also really creative and has made me think of the ways in which i could use different effects for my project.
Another element of Brandt's work that i was drawn to was his use of silhouettes within the images. It create depth to the photos. I works really nicely to have something solid and black against a more detailed area.

Two views.

As i have previously mentioned shadow puppets are associated with childhood. So when you see something created using shadows you can't help but feel a bit of nostalgia.
However the content of my moving image piece is going to be very un-childlike. Most fairytales are. So you have this idea of innocent vs experience. Two levels. A child will interpret a story on one level and the adult will view it on another.

Example of shadow art.

Jane Eve and Trisha Brummer created these lovely examples of Turkish style shadow puppets for the Burning bush jewish music group.

Shadows.

I am fairly sure that i am going to try and create my moving image piece using shadow puppetry, this will enable me to create work in quite a quick, free way so as to complete the project in the little time i have left.
The idea behind using shadow puppets is to create this silly fear we had when we were little, and the curiosity of the shadow. The shadow having a mind of its own like in Peter Pan.



It is, again, a way of blurring the lines between real life and the fears we face in the world. The image we see cast by the shadow is real, but it is only a copy of itself, therefore not real. I'm not sure i've worded that very well...

Shadow art

Shigeo Fukuda is an amazing artist who has created several sculptures out of rubbish, scrap metal etc whose shadow cast detailed beautiful images.

Lunch with a Helmet On


Tim Noble and Sue Webster created these stunning shadows from a pile of trash. The detail is unbelievable.

Dirty White Trash (with Gulls) 1998



Real Life Is Rubbish 2002

First attempt.

Myra Hindley as a harpy.
I like this image alot but im not sure that i want to be this obvious in my approach. Also i am thinking about using shadow puppetry for this project and if i do this it will be difficult to make a persons face clear and obvious, especially as all the photos of Hindley are of her forward facing and therefore for me to get any good effects from a shadow a side on face would work best.

The Horniman: Myths and Monsters.

I went to an exhibition at the Horniman museum about Myth and monster and how they came about, for example, fossils of dinosaurs lead to belief in dragons. The unexplained explained in myth.
It was a really fun exhibition but was definitely designed for the under 12's! However i did learn the word Chimera, meaning any imaginery creature made up of different animals. E.g a fire-breathing monster with a lion's head, goat's body and a serpents tail= CHIMERA.

There was also a section about modern chimeras, and 19th century experiments leading to the Geep, half goat, half sheep!

SO a mermaid and harpy are chimeras. It was this exhibition that gave me this idea to use the disguise of the myth to reveal the links within the real.

I will put up some photos soon!

Mermaids

Continuing the idea that real horror stories can be seen reflected in these fairytales, or the creatures within the tales. Mermaids are also said to have enchanted people making them walk off the deck or run their ships aground ending in death. They are also thought to have tempted men into the water in order to drown them.

Quite different to the image depicted in the Disney version of the little mermaid!



However my house mate pointed out there is one character who reflects this idea. She tricks people, and she nearly kills them.

Making mythical real.

Within Greek Mythology a harpy is a winged spirit.
"snatcher", from Latin: harpeia, originating in Greek: ἅρπυια, harpūia
The literal meaning of the word, 'to snatch' seems to be a really vital part of my ideas as i am thinking of using this image to portray how real life can have parallels with fairytales and myths. For example, Myra Hindley would tempt the victims into her car before leading them to their death. Because she was a woman the victims would trust her more.
The image of the Harpy is of a part bird, part woman, who is generally rather ugly.