Welcome to my level 6 blog! The initial purpose of this blog is to display my thought process and project development throughout my Specialist Practice unit! I have chosen to use a blog rather than a sketchbook as I find I work better throughout the project by blogging and it gives a neater finish also!
PLEASE NOTE, THE DATES FOR THIS BLOG ARE SET BACKWARDS - THE NEWEST POSTS (DECEMBER) HAVE EARLIER DATES (SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER) AND THE OLDEST POSTS HAVE THE MOST RECENT DATES. THIS IS BECAUSE THE ONLY OPTION ON THIS BLOG FORMAT IS TO READ THE POSTS BACKWARDS, WHICH I BELIEVE IS INCONVENIENT FOR THE VIEWER AND DOES NOT READ AS I WOULD LIKE IT TO BE READ.
Tuesday 16 December 2014
Initial inspirations
Pinterest account link; http://www.pinterest.com/charleelouisehu/final-year-inspiration/
The above images were sourced from Pinterest, and were very initial inspirations for what I may like to include in my level 6 studies. I like the idea of combining nature into headdresses/wigs for editorial photographic purposes, and would like to look further into these ideas and the construction behind them before seeing if I can create a brief to accommodate these ideas as a project of level 6 standard!
Monday 15 December 2014
Another potential to get this idea started would be considering a collection of extravagant headdresses relating to seasonal changes and incorporating nature from each season into the pieces. The image above which is a sketch found on Pinterest reflects autumn quite clearly, with the leaves in the hair representing autumnal winds and rains, blowing the hair about with leaves falling off the trees and the colour palette is simply autumn like blues and whites would represent winter - looking into the semiotics and how we read colour would also be a really interesting look at this subject!
Another image sourced from Pinterest using an arrangement of heathland plants also gave me ideas to look at environments and reflect on the impact and change of environments. The models bare pale skin and small, grey plait of hair gives off an image of lifelessness, perhaps to do with changing environmental issues and concerns, addressed in a very editorial fashion way. I also am questioning whether this project is something to be considered as make-up or fashion? This is something to discuss with my tutors.
One of the images I found most inspiring was this one, called 'spring in bloom'. The model wears a whole headdress made of what looks like genuine flowers, with a strong lipstick and clean blemish free skin which makes for a very natural statement look. This image would work well potentially as an advertisement for a natural hair product or similar, using nature on the head quite literally! I love the idea of using nature more in fashion and editorial based work, whether this is for colour schemes, textures, or seasonal materials.
Sunday 14 December 2014
Russian Dancers - Hilaire-Germain- Edgar Degas
In 1899 Edgar Degas created this pastel drawing of Russian women dancing. This was the first of many which were first executed in charcoals before being reworked in pastel colours.
The women are moving their extremely long hair around whilst dancing, and the flowers adorning the hair really stand out from a colour perspective and the artist has made them really visible. The yellows suggest daffodils possibly and could be seasonal aswell as cultural. They are created using primary colours and therefore are more attractive to the eye and 'more confirmed' colours than the majority of secondary colours that make up the image. This has brought a view of cultural studies to my work/research and is something I wish to develop further.
Odilon Redon - Ophelia amongst the flowers
This image comprised of pastel, was created between 1905-08 by Odilon Redon and is thought to reflect Shakespeare's Hamlet. There are fruits aswell as no specific flower type in the drawing, and Ophelia turned towards them apparently contemplating beauty. The use of colour and composition in this image really drew me towards it. The intense landscape suggesting an evening scene in the background used the intense reds and yellows that contrast so well against the flowers, which are of a larger size and take up a lot of the image with the bright colours. Ophelia is almost faded into the yellow background and this suggests to me that nature and these natural fruits were seen as more beautiful that the most beautiful of women and therefore should be given more attention when viewing this image.
Ophelia also is adorned in a flower hairband, which I would like to investigate further and also possibly look at other Shakespeare works such as 'A midsummer nights dream' which was very mythical and nature based.
Portrait of a woman inspired by Lucretia
This image was painted in 1500-02 by Lorenzo Lotto. The image shows a woman who was never identified holding an image of Lucretia who is about to stab herself after being raped by the son of King Tarquin.
I saw inspiration in this image through the hair, the round 'band' of curls which are a miss matched colour from the darker hair on the fringe suggests the very very early use of either faux hair or a head piece, adorned with flowers. The curls on this piece emphasise what we already know about the renaissance period, the curls of hair suggesting love and romance, the flowers bringing the element of nature that was so popular in art at the time into the work. This is a very early indication to me as mentioned of a floral headpiece, and an early starting point for research into this era, the nature and romantic meanings of hair in history!
The national gallery/portrait gallery
Upon my arrival in London I was looking for inspiration to help develop my initial ideas and make then clearer, and more concise with possibly research starting points.
We visited the national portrait gallery first at Trafalgar square, before going next door to the national gallery. As I am someone who has never made use of galleries before, I was really impressed by the range of art and sculpture on display, and how helpful this was to accessing ideas. I listed a lot of images and sculpts that inspired my work and have followed this up with analysis in my following posts;
Keywords
As a benefit to my own personal project development, I have worked on appear to create spider diagrams with keywords and areas of study I can approach wothin the unit.
Some of these key words included;
Nature
Weather
Seasons
Flowers
Neutral
Tones
Beauty
Elements
Mythical
Mysterious
Fairies
Fashion
Catwalk
Campaign
Semiotics
I am hoping my trip to London on Wednesday will help to influence these words and help me find a more defined area of study for specialist practise.
Friday 12 December 2014
Photography collaboration
After devising my concept for this project, I was contacted by a third year photographer Rachael Cameron to discuss a potential whole project collaboration. Rachael and I discussed each others briefs and also too a photocopy each of these. Rachael's ideas included adapting her shoot into a high fashion commercial shoot based around fairies which fitted perfectly with my brief of 'A midsummer nights dream'.
Some things I had to consider before agreeing to the collaboration were;
- Timescale - Were our deadlines at a similar time? Fortunately they are 4 days apart so this will work well as we progress through the project together.
- Equal Responsibility/Authority - It is essential we split our work load and consider important decisions together. This will prevent either of us creating a full body of work whilst the other reaps the reward of the final shoot by not pulling their weight essentially!
- Compromising - If there is an issue to be addressed good team work and compromise is also essential as this is a joint venture.
- Weekly meetings - We also have arranged to meet weekly so we are up to speed with our work and how it is combining as one. Also so we can discuss any developments.
- Independence - Although this is a joint project, an essence of independence is also key, as we do not want to almost intrude on our specialist field, although opinion is key and this links back to compromise.
This enabled me to write my proposal for the project.
I also looked at 'Make-up is art' which is a comprehensive book on working within the make-up industry. They have a small section on collaborating with other artists which I found interesting to reference, and is something I would like to read back on after the collaboration and compare.
Some things I had to consider before agreeing to the collaboration were;
- Timescale - Were our deadlines at a similar time? Fortunately they are 4 days apart so this will work well as we progress through the project together.
- Equal Responsibility/Authority - It is essential we split our work load and consider important decisions together. This will prevent either of us creating a full body of work whilst the other reaps the reward of the final shoot by not pulling their weight essentially!
- Compromising - If there is an issue to be addressed good team work and compromise is also essential as this is a joint venture.
- Weekly meetings - We also have arranged to meet weekly so we are up to speed with our work and how it is combining as one. Also so we can discuss any developments.
- Independence - Although this is a joint project, an essence of independence is also key, as we do not want to almost intrude on our specialist field, although opinion is key and this links back to compromise.
This enabled me to write my proposal for the project.
I also looked at 'Make-up is art' which is a comprehensive book on working within the make-up industry. They have a small section on collaborating with other artists which I found interesting to reference, and is something I would like to read back on after the collaboration and compare.Thursday 11 December 2014
Project proposal
Proposal:
My Specialist practice project will be based around developing my skills in wig and
hair work. I have developed ideas through initially looking at inspirational images that
use large and floral/exotic head pieces. Looking to continue my level 5 work, and
develop my portfolio, I am going to be working alongside a Level 6 photographer to
create a final high fashion/ commercial photo shoot based on Shakespeare’s ‘A
Midsummer Nights Dream’. I will meet this brief by designing and making a collection
of 3 headpieces/wigs which will be made bespoke to the models head. They will be in
keeping with each other, and will compliment the work of my photographer and the
fashion students who will be collaborating later into the project. Theoretically I should
create a high fashion, modern outcome which could be seen on a catwalk, in a
fashion magazine or on a fashion database. Working alongside another student to
complete a project is a new challenge for myself, and also working towards a high
fashion outcome will test and develop my make-up techniques aswell as my hair/wig
work. I will look at established artists in the fashion area such as Pat McGrath and
Alex Box. The research aspect of the project will revolve around many books aswell
as internet research, looking at fashion, wig making techniques, wig making
companies, history, Shakespeare, fairies and myths, aswell as semiotics, colour
theory and I also aim to use more databases available to myself through the
university. This is a project based on my ambitions after graduation, more so working
with wigs than working as a fashion artist. I want to build on my wig skills i developed
in the last unit, not by simply knotting two wigs as I have already done but looking at
other techniques such as using cages and creating headpieces aswell as different
uses for weft work. I will be presenting my work in a blog as this format works a lot
better regarding my own presentation preferences, and will provide an accompanying
‘sample book’ with materials and designs that will be developed alongside the blog to
give a feel of the project away from the digital format. My blog will be live throughout
the project, and therefore I will be simply ‘crediting’ images at point of insertion but
referencing in my bibliography which will give a sleek professional feel which draws
away from my student identity.
Aims:
Aims:
-
A1 To develop intellectual reasoning, design thinking and practical research skills
that relate to the field of make-up transformation.
-
A2 To encourage research informed practice through the visual, creative and
technical realisation of the project.
-
A3 To negotiate a body of work within the context of the brief through a learning
agreement that demonstrates effective work planning, time and resource
management
-
A4 To encourage in-depth learning through a high degree of independent
judgement, research, experimentation and critical reflection
Learning Outcomes:
On completion of this unit you will be able to:
Team working, Professional skill development, Developing my identity, Applying appropriate contexts to outcome, trying new techniques, networking.
Assessment Requirements:
A negotiated body of work that will include evidence of advanced technical and artistic experimentation and risk taking 80%
Critical evaluation of project outcome (1500 words) 20%
Already introduced my project is based on Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Nights Dream’. The project is going to take the elements of nature and fairies/myths to create a collection of 3 hairpieces, potentially one of these being a wig and combining these with a high fashion photo shoot as context. Working on recreating a classic and well known story, provides many interpretations and conceptual research to consider and will allow me to intellectually design and create my idea of Shakespeare’s work, and enable me to develop my own professional identity, through make-up and hair transformation (LO1+2). Working alongside Level 6 students in the photography and Fashion departments will create a polished professional outcome which will showcase and build on my portfolio. A budget of £150 will be in place for this project as synthetic hair is going to be used and this also includes travel costs to the shoot venue etc. (LO3). I will hand in 3-4 final images from the shoot, aswell as a blog documenting the development of the project along with a ‘sample book’ including designs and materials used to create the final outcomes and give a feel for the project. This is a more appropriate body of work, as with a blog alone I feel such a lot of material and development will go to waste if the viewer cannot see physical elements of the development. Although I am working alongside students, I think my own critical awareness will be seen in a new light from a team point of view, how I worked with others aswell as new aspects that I could change and develop for my final major (LO4).
Should an opportunity become available to work with students from another course, the body of work will be negotiated with your unit tutor.
Each assessment requirement must be passed at a minimum grade of 40% to successfully complete the unit.
On completion of this unit you will be able to:
-
LO1 Demonstrate the initiation and creative application of intellectual reasoning
design thinking and practical research that relate to make-up transformation
-
LO2 Relate concepts, theories and critical themes to the realisation of make-up
transformation.
-
LO3 Demonstrate the ability to negotiate an appropriate body of work, formulise a
work plan, a budget and manage time and resources effectively.
-
LO4 Inform project solutions with appropriate understanding, a high degree of
judgement regarding my own skills and demonstrate critical self-awareness.
Team working, Professional skill development, Developing my identity, Applying appropriate contexts to outcome, trying new techniques, networking.
Assessment Requirements:
A negotiated body of work that will include evidence of advanced technical and artistic experimentation and risk taking 80%
Critical evaluation of project outcome (1500 words) 20%
Already introduced my project is based on Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Nights Dream’. The project is going to take the elements of nature and fairies/myths to create a collection of 3 hairpieces, potentially one of these being a wig and combining these with a high fashion photo shoot as context. Working on recreating a classic and well known story, provides many interpretations and conceptual research to consider and will allow me to intellectually design and create my idea of Shakespeare’s work, and enable me to develop my own professional identity, through make-up and hair transformation (LO1+2). Working alongside Level 6 students in the photography and Fashion departments will create a polished professional outcome which will showcase and build on my portfolio. A budget of £150 will be in place for this project as synthetic hair is going to be used and this also includes travel costs to the shoot venue etc. (LO3). I will hand in 3-4 final images from the shoot, aswell as a blog documenting the development of the project along with a ‘sample book’ including designs and materials used to create the final outcomes and give a feel for the project. This is a more appropriate body of work, as with a blog alone I feel such a lot of material and development will go to waste if the viewer cannot see physical elements of the development. Although I am working alongside students, I think my own critical awareness will be seen in a new light from a team point of view, how I worked with others aswell as new aspects that I could change and develop for my final major (LO4).
Should an opportunity become available to work with students from another course, the body of work will be negotiated with your unit tutor.
Each assessment requirement must be passed at a minimum grade of 40% to successfully complete the unit.
Assessment Criteria: (specific criteria related to the learning outcomes and linked to
the statement of generic assessment criteria matrix):
The level to which your work communicates intellectual reasoning, design thinking, visual ideas and concepts through practical research and applied processes - experimentation, exploration, interpretation, self-evaluation and reflection. (LO1)
The level to which you have considered the context of your project represented in terms of the breadth and depth of your research and the realisation of make-up transformation. (LO2)
The level to which your work demonstrates increasing autonomy in self-management and project planning from conception to the final outcome. (LO3)
The level to which you have applied critical self-reflected to inform project solutions concluding in a final evaluation of the project outcomes. (LO4)
Reference Material
Cox.C/ Widdows.L (2005) Hair and Fashion.[book] London: V&A
Corson.R (2001) Fashions in Hair: The first five thousand years. [book] London:Peter Owen
Kościukiewicz-Markowska. D (2013) Palace of Colours. The magic of make-up New York:Movart
Make-Up Artist Magazine [journal]
Ririnui. J (2010) Make-Up is Art [book] London: Carlton Books
Ruskai. J (2010) Wig Making and Styling: a complete guide for theatre and film [book] Oxford: Elsevier/Focal Press
Shakespeare. W (1979) A Midsummer Nights Dream.[book] USA: Arden
Shakespeare
The level to which your work communicates intellectual reasoning, design thinking, visual ideas and concepts through practical research and applied processes - experimentation, exploration, interpretation, self-evaluation and reflection. (LO1)
The level to which you have considered the context of your project represented in terms of the breadth and depth of your research and the realisation of make-up transformation. (LO2)
The level to which your work demonstrates increasing autonomy in self-management and project planning from conception to the final outcome. (LO3)
The level to which you have applied critical self-reflected to inform project solutions concluding in a final evaluation of the project outcomes. (LO4)
Reference Material
Cox.C/ Widdows.L (2005) Hair and Fashion.[book] London: V&A
Corson.R (2001) Fashions in Hair: The first five thousand years. [book] London:Peter Owen
Kościukiewicz-Markowska. D (2013) Palace of Colours. The magic of make-up New York:Movart
Make-Up Artist Magazine [journal]
Ririnui. J (2010) Make-Up is Art [book] London: Carlton Books
Ruskai. J (2010) Wig Making and Styling: a complete guide for theatre and film [book] Oxford: Elsevier/Focal Press
Shakespeare. W (1979) A Midsummer Nights Dream.[book] USA: Arden
Shakespeare
Wednesday 10 December 2014
Box of Broadcasts: A Midsummer Nights Dream Film Screening and Reviews
The plot: (taken from commonsensemedia.org)
"Four couples sort out their romantic entanglements in Shakespeare's most magical love story. Hermia (Anna Friel) and Lysdander (Dominic West) love each other, but her father wants her to marry Demetrius (Christian Bale). Demetrius loves Hermia, but is loved by her friend Helena (Calista Flockhart). When Hermia and Lysander run off together, Demetrius chases after them, with Helena chasing him. Meanwhile the Queen of the Fairies, Titania (Michelle Pfeiffer), and her King, Oberon (Rupert Everett), argue over custody of a changeling child. The local Duke Theseus (David Strathairn) prepares for his marriage to Hippolyta (Sophie Marceau), and a group of workmen rehearse a play to perform at the wedding celebration. With the help of the mischievous Puck (Stanley Tucci), Oberon exposes his queen to a potion that causes people to fall in love with whomever they first see after they wake up. The queen falls in love with a man who has a donkey's head. But Lysander and Demetrius are exposed, too, and fall in love with the neglected Helena, forgetting all about Hermia. But by morning, everything is sorted out, and the wedding festivities end with the workmen's remarkable play."
The CNN Review:
This production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was a labor of love for all involved. They took huge cuts in their normal salaries in order to make this $14 million film.
Shot on location in Italy, it looks marvelous. Academy Award winner Luciana Arrighi ("Howard's End" and "Oscar and Lucinda") was the production designer. She outdid herself, creating this sensuous magical world-within-a-world. The costumes designed by another Academy winner Gabriella Pescucci ("The Age of Innocence") are at times beautiful and elaborate, at other times brief and glittery.
Special kudos go to Tucci for his performance as Puck, and to Flockhart as Helena. Yep, "Ally McBeal" has stage training and she's not bad. But hands down, Kevin Kline proves once again that he's one of America's best when it comes to performing Shakespearean work.
Unfortunately, despite the wonderful locations, sets, costumes, and strong acting, this adaptation has a strange lack of magic or chemistry between players. That's a major problem since this is a love story, after all.
My Review:
This interpretation of a midsummer nights dream is one I did find a little amateurish - almost as if they directors didn't take the work seriously and just wanted to 'have fun'. I believe the storyline was not made completely clear and was very different to the book. I also agree with the CNN review that the fairies were too humanlike, or rather that there wasn't a fine enough line between fairy and human. Titania was played by Michelle Pfeiffer who I think was a suitable actress to exhibit the beautiful but feisty character of Titania and from a visual reference point of view this was a useful watch. However I think overall for someone who wanted to understand the book slightly better, and turned to film which often is very helpful - this film didn't give the atmosphere, character visuals (bar Titania) or plot that the book did.
"Four couples sort out their romantic entanglements in Shakespeare's most magical love story. Hermia (Anna Friel) and Lysdander (Dominic West) love each other, but her father wants her to marry Demetrius (Christian Bale). Demetrius loves Hermia, but is loved by her friend Helena (Calista Flockhart). When Hermia and Lysander run off together, Demetrius chases after them, with Helena chasing him. Meanwhile the Queen of the Fairies, Titania (Michelle Pfeiffer), and her King, Oberon (Rupert Everett), argue over custody of a changeling child. The local Duke Theseus (David Strathairn) prepares for his marriage to Hippolyta (Sophie Marceau), and a group of workmen rehearse a play to perform at the wedding celebration. With the help of the mischievous Puck (Stanley Tucci), Oberon exposes his queen to a potion that causes people to fall in love with whomever they first see after they wake up. The queen falls in love with a man who has a donkey's head. But Lysander and Demetrius are exposed, too, and fall in love with the neglected Helena, forgetting all about Hermia. But by morning, everything is sorted out, and the wedding festivities end with the workmen's remarkable play."
The CNN Review:
This production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was a labor of love for all involved. They took huge cuts in their normal salaries in order to make this $14 million film.
Shot on location in Italy, it looks marvelous. Academy Award winner Luciana Arrighi ("Howard's End" and "Oscar and Lucinda") was the production designer. She outdid herself, creating this sensuous magical world-within-a-world. The costumes designed by another Academy winner Gabriella Pescucci ("The Age of Innocence") are at times beautiful and elaborate, at other times brief and glittery.
Special kudos go to Tucci for his performance as Puck, and to Flockhart as Helena. Yep, "Ally McBeal" has stage training and she's not bad. But hands down, Kevin Kline proves once again that he's one of America's best when it comes to performing Shakespearean work.
Unfortunately, despite the wonderful locations, sets, costumes, and strong acting, this adaptation has a strange lack of magic or chemistry between players. That's a major problem since this is a love story, after all.
My Review:
This interpretation of a midsummer nights dream is one I did find a little amateurish - almost as if they directors didn't take the work seriously and just wanted to 'have fun'. I believe the storyline was not made completely clear and was very different to the book. I also agree with the CNN review that the fairies were too humanlike, or rather that there wasn't a fine enough line between fairy and human. Titania was played by Michelle Pfeiffer who I think was a suitable actress to exhibit the beautiful but feisty character of Titania and from a visual reference point of view this was a useful watch. However I think overall for someone who wanted to understand the book slightly better, and turned to film which often is very helpful - this film didn't give the atmosphere, character visuals (bar Titania) or plot that the book did.
A midsummer Nights Dream Character Illustrations
When I read 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' this is exactly what I think Titania looks like. It also reminds me of her because there are flowers all around her and she likes nature and many flowers around her when she sleeps. To me fairies are in tune with nature and animals around them so this pictures really reflects that because of the bird perched on her arm. Her long blonde flowing hair gives the impression that it is natural, not tampered with, which is appropriate to the time the book was created.
The gold gown represents her authority on the other fairies and the fact she is the 'queen'. I would like to incorporate the flowers surrounding her into my outcome, within the hairpieces, and this will then set up my next layer of research on natural resources.
The image to the right is of Hermia, a modest character who is described notable as 'short' in the script. Her greek robes are exactly what I would image her to be adorned in and the red flashes on the robe could express her sultry lust for Lysander or could also reflect the danger of another man loving her. Her simplistic hair reflects the character expressed through the text, and the likes of it being up on one side could demonstrate her formal, meek side whereas the other side lets her hair run down and free which could also be linked to her emotions.
I think Helena will not be a contributing character to the final outcome as she is not an icon of beauty or has any real relation to nature throughout the text.
A midsummer nights dream - character analysis
Identifying relevant characters to conduct further research on will be essential in narrowing down the involvement and influence of the play on my project.
Notably from the character list and analysis, Titania is the queen of the Fairies and is described as 'beautiful' and 'striking' throughout many academic texts.
'Titania - The beautiful queen of the fairies, Titania resists the attempts of her husband, Oberon, to make a knight of the young Indian prince that she has been given. Titania’s brief, potion-induced love for Nick Bottom, whose head Puck has transformed into that of an ass, yields the play’s foremost example of the contrast motif.'
Clearly she will be a character I wish to conduct further research on, to evolve the concept of fairies in my work. After looking at the book 'Good Faeries Bad Faeries' Titania's profile relates to that of the 'Good Faeiries' included in the visuals of the book itself.
Other females in the text include;
Notably from the character list and analysis, Titania is the queen of the Fairies and is described as 'beautiful' and 'striking' throughout many academic texts.
'Titania - The beautiful queen of the fairies, Titania resists the attempts of her husband, Oberon, to make a knight of the young Indian prince that she has been given. Titania’s brief, potion-induced love for Nick Bottom, whose head Puck has transformed into that of an ass, yields the play’s foremost example of the contrast motif.'
Clearly she will be a character I wish to conduct further research on, to evolve the concept of fairies in my work. After looking at the book 'Good Faeries Bad Faeries' Titania's profile relates to that of the 'Good Faeiries' included in the visuals of the book itself.
Other females in the text include;
Hermia - Egeus’s daughter, a young woman of Athens. Hermia is in love with Lysander and is a childhood friend of Helena. As a result of the fairies’ mischief with Oberon’s love potion, both Lysander and Demetrius suddenly fall in love with Helena. Self-conscious about her short stature, Hermia suspects that Helena has wooed the men with her height. By morning, however, Puck has sorted matters out with the love potion, and Lysander’s love for Hermia is restored.
Helena - A young woman of Athens, in love with Demetrius. Demetrius and Helena were once betrothed, but when Demetrius met Helena’s friend Hermia, he fell in love with her and abandoned Helena. Lacking confidence in her looks, Helena thinks that Demetrius and Lysander are mocking her when the fairies’ mischief causes them to fall in love with her.
Both these characters are interpreted in human form rather than faeries. Although they do not directly link to my project it will be interesting to research if there has ever been a faerie like interpretation of them. Also if not the comparison in appearance between them and Titania, will be influential on the key elements to faeries.
Summary of a Midsummer Nights Dream (from Sparknotes)
After reading the text, I found it useful to look back at a summary in plain modern english, by the research body Sparknotes.
Theseus, duke of Athens, is preparing for his marriage to Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, with a four-day festival of pomp and entertainment. He commissions his Master of the Revels, Philostrate, to find suitable amusements for the occasion. Egeus, an Athenian nobleman, marches into Theseus’s court with his daughter, Hermia, and two young men, Demetrius and Lysander. Egeus wishes Hermia to marry Demetrius (who loves Hermia), but Hermia is in love with Lysander and refuses to comply. Egeus asks for the full penalty of law to fall on Hermia’s head if she flouts her father’s will. Theseus gives Hermia until his wedding to consider her options, warning her that disobeying her father’s wishes could result in her being sent to a convent or even executed. Nonetheless, Hermia and Lysander plan to escape Athens the following night and marry in the house of Lysander’s aunt, some seven leagues distant from the city. They make their intentions known to Hermia’s friend Helena, who was once engaged to Demetrius and still loves him even though he jilted her after meeting Hermia. Hoping to regain his love, Helena tells Demetrius of the elopement that Hermia and Lysander have planned. At the appointed time, Demetrius stalks into the woods after his intended bride and her lover; Helena follows behind him.
In these same woods are two very different groups of characters. The first is a band of fairies, including Oberon, the fairy king, and Titania, his queen, who has recently returned from India to bless the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. The second is a band of Athenian craftsmen rehearsing a play that they hope to perform for the duke and his bride. Oberon and Titania are at odds over a young Indian prince given to Titania by the prince’s mother; the boy is so beautiful that Oberon wishes to make him a knight, but Titania refuses. Seeking revenge, Oberon sends his merry servant, Puck, to acquire a magical flower, the juice of which can be spread over a sleeping person’s eyelids to make that person fall in love with the first thing he or she sees upon waking. Puck obtains the flower, and Oberon tells him of his plan to spread its juice on the sleeping Titania’s eyelids. Having seen Demetrius act cruelly toward Helena, he orders Puck to spread some of the juice on the eyelids of the young Athenian man. Puck encounters Lysander and Hermia; thinking that Lysander is the Athenian of whom Oberon spoke, Puck afflicts him with the love potion. Lysander happens to see Helena upon awaking and falls deeply in love with her, abandoning Hermia. As the night progresses and Puck attempts to undo his mistake, both Lysander and Demetrius end up in love with Helena, who believes that they are mocking her. Hermia becomes so jealous that she tries to challenge Helena to a fight. Demetrius and Lysander nearly do fight over Helena’s love, but Puck confuses them by mimicking their voices, leading them apart until they are lost separately in the forest.
When Titania wakes, the first creature she sees is Bottom, the most ridiculous of the Athenian craftsmen, whose head Puck has mockingly transformed into that of an ass. Titania passes a ludicrous interlude doting on the ass-headed weaver. Eventually, Oberon obtains the Indian boy, Puck spreads the love potion on Lysander’s eyelids, and by morning all is well. Theseus and Hippolyta discover the sleeping lovers in the forest and take them back to Athens to be married—Demetrius now loves Helena, and Lysander now loves Hermia. After the group wedding, the lovers watch Bottom and his fellow craftsmen perform their play, a fumbling, hilarious version of the story of Pyramus and Thisbe. When the play is completed, the lovers go to bed; the fairies briefly emerge to bless the sleeping couples with a protective charm and then disappear. Only Puck remains, to ask the audience for its forgiveness and approval and to urge it to remember the play as though it had all been a dream.
Tuesday 9 December 2014
Modern fairy adaptations in make-up
Prior to researching fairys in fahsion/photography etc. I imagine these images to be connected to children and the idealistic fairy child - which can be linked to childhood disney such as peter pan (tinker bell). I also imagine a lot of face paints will be found for the search of 'fairy make-up' which is not an ideal result, therefore I am just looking for contemporary high quality adaptations of this style.
Image from wheartit.com
This image looks quite wedding like to me. The model is holding only one large bouquet of flowers, and is in a large gown in a forest. It is slightly predictable, and there is too much pink,romance and 'predictable' feminism for this to influence me, however... I think the make-up is incredibly shuttle and natural and this is why i have included this image. I want my final images to be all about the natural influences of the fairies Shakespeare created and find the make-up from this image very appropriate to analyse and consider. The shuttle contour, and sheer eye and lip colours work really well with the models complexion and I only wish there wasn't as much pink to drown out the beauty of that!
Image from viona-art.com
This image is slightly more appropriate in the composition and relevance to nature. I love the long natural 'untouched' look of the models hair, which is really inspiring for my wig so that i could achieve a longer length of my models hair. The subtleness of the headpiece and lack of wings also works really well - the image is composed and directed in such a way that the audience still understand the mystery of this image and that it is a supernatural creature through setting, adornment and costume.
The make-up again is very sheer, fresh and natural and this echoes what I have already said about wanting to keep close to nature and the natural beauty of my model.
<<<^^^ Images from Pinterest
These images are more influential of my inclusion of natural materials such as flowers. The top left image has a large powerful plait, something which I believe Shakespeares's fairy queen Titania would of made appropriate from her descriprion and powerful position. The model looks very uncomfortable and the composition is not something that inspires me but the use of beautiful summer flowers in the hair and around the backdrop is an element i admire from this image. The right hand image (elfin forest) again uses a strange flower structure to associate the fairy element of the shoot with the fashion concept. I of believe the orchid headdress is photoshopped onto the image, which obviously will not be happening in my project but again the image is appropriate for the outcome i aim to create.
The bottom left image docent contain flowers so much however it was the use of shorter hair I wanted to analyse. It takes no attention from the beautiful clothing the model is wearing, which is beautiful and dainty much like the idealism of faeries. The white makes her look very pure, however the shadowy eyes and contouring, make her pop from the image, and I believe this make-up adds personality into her face, almost a 3D sheen to the image which works really well.
This image looks quite wedding like to me. The model is holding only one large bouquet of flowers, and is in a large gown in a forest. It is slightly predictable, and there is too much pink,romance and 'predictable' feminism for this to influence me, however... I think the make-up is incredibly shuttle and natural and this is why i have included this image. I want my final images to be all about the natural influences of the fairies Shakespeare created and find the make-up from this image very appropriate to analyse and consider. The shuttle contour, and sheer eye and lip colours work really well with the models complexion and I only wish there wasn't as much pink to drown out the beauty of that!
Image from viona-art.com
This image is slightly more appropriate in the composition and relevance to nature. I love the long natural 'untouched' look of the models hair, which is really inspiring for my wig so that i could achieve a longer length of my models hair. The subtleness of the headpiece and lack of wings also works really well - the image is composed and directed in such a way that the audience still understand the mystery of this image and that it is a supernatural creature through setting, adornment and costume.
The make-up again is very sheer, fresh and natural and this echoes what I have already said about wanting to keep close to nature and the natural beauty of my model.
These images are more influential of my inclusion of natural materials such as flowers. The top left image has a large powerful plait, something which I believe Shakespeares's fairy queen Titania would of made appropriate from her descriprion and powerful position. The model looks very uncomfortable and the composition is not something that inspires me but the use of beautiful summer flowers in the hair and around the backdrop is an element i admire from this image. The right hand image (elfin forest) again uses a strange flower structure to associate the fairy element of the shoot with the fashion concept. I of believe the orchid headdress is photoshopped onto the image, which obviously will not be happening in my project but again the image is appropriate for the outcome i aim to create.
The bottom left image docent contain flowers so much however it was the use of shorter hair I wanted to analyse. It takes no attention from the beautiful clothing the model is wearing, which is beautiful and dainty much like the idealism of faeries. The white makes her look very pure, however the shadowy eyes and contouring, make her pop from the image, and I believe this make-up adds personality into her face, almost a 3D sheen to the image which works really well.
The origin of fairies
**Taken from timeless myths.com**
Fairy comes from the Old French word faerie. The word has been overused to describe a supernatural being. There is a great deal of difference in classifying a being as a fairy from the medieval literature and those from modern literature, especially those belonging to the Celtic tradition.
There are other traditions such as that found in English, German and Slavic folklores.
Today, when we think of fairies, we often visualise them as tiny, supernatural beings with wings and glowing with uncommon light in today's children fairy tales. And they also possessed some sorts of strange magical powers, like Tinklebell in the story of Peter Pan or the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella. The modern fairies, between the 18th and 20th century, comes from oral tradition before they were transmitted into writing.
The fairies are supernatural beings that can be best described by the Greek word - daimon, which means "spirit". They are not divinity, ie. god or goddess, in the usual sense of the word, and yet they are not mere mortal; often, it is easier to classify them as minor divinity.
However, if we look at the idea of fairies, then you would find that have been around a lot longer than everyone expects. Perhaps the earliest form of faeries can be found loosely in the mythical beings in Greek mythology, such as the nymphs, satyrs and sileni. The nymphs from ancient Greek myths can be considered as fairies and they existed as early as the time of Homer writing the Iliadand the Odyssey. Even the river gods in Greek myths can be classified as fairies. These are spirits or minor deities of nature or of the natural phenomena.
And then, there are household or guardian spirits that can be found in Roman religion and mythology, such as the penates, lares and genii.
The Norse versions of the fairies are the wide variety of elves and the dÃsir that exist in the Teutonic traditions. The Valkyries could also be classified as fairies.
It was during the time of Queen Elizabeth I of England, where William Shakespeare (1564-1616) had popularised fairies in English folklore, in his play Midsummer Night's Dream, with the characters Oberon, Titania and Puck (Robin Goodfellow). Earlier than Shakespeare, Chaucer (1342-1400) mentioned that the land of Britain was filled with fairies before the time of King Arthur.
This text has helped me to clarify that I am looking at inspiration from Elizabethan Faeries from the 1500's/1600's. Below are some images of alternate faeries from this time in history.
Images from Pinterest
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