Archive for September, 2010
Short Reports: Lesley Barnes vs. The Firebird
Hi everyone, just Meg here– I’m currently out of town at a wedding, so I unfortunately ran low on time to share the next scene in Alice with you. Expect a double dose of Alice October 11, but in the meantime please enjoy a lovely pair of scenes from Lesley Barnes! (More scenes from the Firebird are on her portfolio, so please check them out!)
Ivan was left holding a shimmering feather, but the Firebird had escaped and was winging away into the distance. Dropping the feather from one hand to another like a hot potato, Ivan went to fetch his horse, for he meant to go on with the hunt. Though he had caught only a painful blister instead of the Firebird, the feather lit a path through the darkness, making a splendid torch.
Short Reports: Rich Tu vs. Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats
“This is a revisionist portrait of the character Old Deuteronomy from T.S. Eliot’s book Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats (popularized by the Broadway play Cats). I always wanted to rethink the imagery of this book (well, really the play) because when I was a kid I used to see the commercials for Broadway’s Cats on New York television and see the actor all dolled up as O.D., being presented as this triumphant Messianic figure akin to Moses and quite honestly, I hated it. When reading the text you understand that O.D. is very very old, almost ancient. He’s seen a lot of war and grief seen and outlived a lot of other cats including his loves. Now if I were an ancient cat I don’t think I would be standing around looking like Moses all the time. I would probably be beat up and sick, have liver spots (I anthropomorphousized him somewhat), weird hairs, and sad at having to carry the weight of seeing everyone around me die and outliving them. It would be a curse. Why couldn’t I have died with my friends in war or something? If O.D.’s a Messianic figure, I view him as a tortured Christ having to make difficult decisions and feeling that painful weight, literally on his head. Also, technically he’s a Pekinese, but hairless cats are much more human to me. Often times I look at a cat and can’t get an emotional hold on it, but not so with a hairless.
Rich Tu is an illustrator and designer based in NYC. He received a Masters Degree in Illustration from the School of Visual Arts in 2009. His clients and collaborators include The New Yorker, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, The Institutional Investor, Tokion Magazine, Slam Magazine, Death + Taxes, SWINDLE Quarterly, The Believer, National Public Radio, Alfa Romeo, and Bombay Sapphire Gin.
He was nominated for the Swatch Young Illustrators Award in 2009 and has been included in the Society of Illustrators and American Illustration annuals. View more of his work at http://richtu.com and his blog http://richtu.blogspot.com.
“The Giver,” Chapter 6
Book: The Giver, by Lois Lowry
Illustrated by: Lucy Knisley
This sixth chapter begins the two-day ceremony; an annual ritual that advances every age group within the community by presenting them with items that signify age status. Jonas, being twelve, will go last and receive his “assignment” that will be his job for the rest of his life.
The book doesn’t detail every year’s ceremonial gift, but goes into the psychology of it a little bit by explaining some of the reasoning behind the objects. The back-buttoned jacket is meant to teach interdependence, as you had to rely on your classmates and family to do up the buttons. The front-buttoned jacket begins to promote independence. It’s fascinating to imagine what the unmentioned years might receive.
I remember being especially disturbed by the finality of the “assignments” when I was twelve and read this for the first time, and thinking, “Twelve-years-old is nowhere near old enough to choose a profession.”
Now when I read it, I think, “These ceremonies must be so BORING for people my age– adults without children of their own to participate in the ceremonies!”
Sorry I was late this month!
Short Reports: Sashiko Yuen vs. The Story Sisters
Meg and Claire looked at each other. They could hear the clock over the stove, ticking. They could hear doves in the courtyard. They wanted this moment to last forever. The sunlight was orange. They had to remember that. Meg would make certain they did. She fetched a piece of paper and wrote down the word orange, then folded the paper in half. They could cut up pears and and write down all the colors of the light and listen to people laugh and smell the blooms on the chestnut tree and forget about the rest of the world. They wanted to stay in their grandmother’s apartment always, but instead they would have this memory of sitting in the kitchen, being happy.”
I chose to illustrate The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman. I love Alice Hoffman’s stories. They’re based in real life but the worlds she weaves are magical. She combines a lot of fantasy and drama elements. The imagery is so rich, dark, romantic, and poetic. While I’m reading her novels a lot of images take over my mind. It’s actually hard to read her books without constantly putting them down to sketch.
The scene I chose to illustrate is of the one of the Story sisters. There are three sisters: Elv is a rebel and the oldest, Meg is the middle child, and Claire is the most optimistic (and the youngest). I wanted to depict Meg in the scene where the sisters are in Paris. There’s a lot of tragedy in this book, but this moment was memorable. The one moment Meg was happy and hopeful. I took a bit of liberty in symbolizing this moment as a locket. A deep and personal treasure to remember and reflect upon this memory.
Sashiko Yuen just graduated with a BFA in Art + Design. In university she studied painting, illustration, bookmaking, and couldn’t stop reading graphic novels. She currently spends her days writing short stories and painting strange pictures. And you won’t stop her till she’s dead. She drinks lots of tea and smells old books while nobody is looking. You can find her work at http://wishcandy.net but she honestly updates her flickr more often: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wishcandy/. And her shop is here: http://wishcandy.etsy.com (which she is always working to improve).
Short Reports: Michelle Kondrich vs. A Confederacy of Dunces
“When he had finished the first hot dog, Ignatius prepared and consumed another, contemplating other kindnesses that might postpone his having to go to work again. Fifteen minutes later, noticing that the supply of hot dogs in the little well was visibly diminishing, he decided in favor of abstinence for the moment. He began to push slowly down the street, calling again, “Hot dogs!” (more…)
