A new author brief; what do I think?
-need to commit to this author for an extended project
-how can I select an author that resonates with my interests and beliefs?
-illustration and reading are intrinsically linked
-I should choose an author who doesn't have an existing plethora of visual imagery surrounding them-how can I apply my interests and knowledge of literature and analysis?
THOUGHTS
This brief seems like a sort of extension of the 'Persons of Note' brief we did last year, but with more of a focus on authorship and literary legacy. From the outset it seems like the perfect project for me as I said to myself that I wanted to make sure I maintained my interest in English Literature if I wasn't to do a degree in it. In light of this, I feel drawn to some of the more classic authors such as Shakespeare and George Orwell so that I can explore some deeper literary themes, but I am also conscious of not illustrating already known or visually wealthy narratives. As this project is quite extensive, I must consider how interested I am in the author and so I feel something humorous and comical would work to drive my investment of that author in my creative practice.
WHAT I WANT TO ACHIEVE FROM THIS PROJECT
I think at level 4, I was often quite quick to run with an idea and it seems appropriate that with the length of this module, I should invest a good deal of time and creativity into the exploration of ideas. A collection of short stories or excerpts may help me to do this, rather than focusing on a challenging novel. My practice seems almost certainly concerned with sensitivity and humour so I feel that a text of many parts or unfamiliar concepts could be useful to driving the communication in my tone of voice.
WHO STANDS OUT/ WHAT HAVE I FOUND OUT
From the list of authors, I have pretty much ruled out any sort of gothic authors or authors who apply existential themes as I feel these already have a wealth of existing imagery around them and I would prefer to challenge myself with something that I can really play with. Similarly, I feel reluctant to choose science-fiction or dystopian novels as whilst I am interested in the anxiety and social critique of them, I have invested a lot of time in studying these thematically and feel I have exhausted many of these in literature studies. Alternatively, I am intrigued by satire and authors such as William Burroughs and Douglas Adams are standing out to me as being potentially quite experimental and mischievous in their language. Non-fiction also intrigues me as I feel this could be an opportunity to explore some editorial approaches to illustration and work with issues that are perhaps more real and engaging to my potential audience.
3 TO FURTHER RESEARCH
My curiosity mainly lies with humour and social criticism and so I have selected Susan Sontag, William Shakespeare and Douglas Adams, to research in more depth. This selection seems to provide me with a range of different themes and contexts, yet they are all grounded in an element of social criticism.
PLAN OF ACTION
To drive my project forward I must now investigate the authors' legacies and the potential thematic issues I could explore.
-Research each author contextually
-Identify appropriate and relevant texts to study
-Analyse and evaluate texts/author against intent for practice
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