Well it's been a while, but here I am posting finally. Hope the summer has found you at perfect weather and good surprises! It's been a pretty crazy summer, in a slow way, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I've been mulling and experimenting with my final decision to work in a sort of fairy-tale-shadow box mode while observing and commenting on family relations, primarily that of three female figures abstractly attached to my own sisterly relations. After some time and experimentation, I've decided to narrow it down further and to take a more narrow focus by retelling the story of the little known Vasilisa The Fair from Russian Folklore (on of my absolute favorites!). I've found that narrowing my subject down has been pretty effective as it allows for better starting points in working. It also has helped me map out my series of work; it has allowed me to choose exactly where I'd like to go within the more intimate details of my concept. If you are unfamiliar with Russian folklore, and how very lush it is with motifs and cultural references, allow me to share. It is after all on of my earliest and most natural loves.
Russian folklore is something particularly special to began with. It is full of reoccurring characters throughout the different stories and motifs are extremely common, giving any kind of researcher a wealth of information to pursue. For example, it isn't uncommon for there to be Three children, the youngest of which is usually called Ivan-- sometimes a reference to Ivan the Terrible (I will locate my book with this information and footnote shortly). It is also usually always Ivan, or a hybrid of the name who may start the bum of the family, but surely comes to better means than his siblings. Likewise, Vasilisa is usually the common heroine. Martha Tartar, the John L. Loeb Professor of Germanic Languages and Literature at Harvard University states that "Vasilisa is the generic name for a heroine who appears in multiple Russian tales and who rises from humble origins to a royal rank" in her book The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales. Among other motifs, you will find Baba Yaga a most common character who I find extremely fascinating to no end. I have found her in many tales, a strange hybrid of good and evil combined. It is as if she is all evil, wanting the hero or heroine to fail, ready to gobble them up and set up their bones outside her hut, but she is unable to unless the hero or heroine are driven by the wrong reasons which would enable their failure. It is as if a greater good protects all characters from her. If a character remains hardworking, cunning, and wise, Baba Yaga cannot go against her bargains. In some tales she seems purely evil, and others she comes off as a horrific grandmother. Some examples you can find are in Vasilisa the Fair, Maria Morevna, and Baba Yaga, all of which can be found in Russian Fairy Tales, collected by Aleksander Afanas'ev, translated by Norbert Guterman. You can find a copy here at Amazon.com. You can also click on the image below of Baba Yaga by Bilibin to find an interesting article about the character by Pam Besel from Ohio Wesleyan University.
With those tidbits of information, you can be sure it's also packed with cultural signifigance too; but i'll let you do the reading and find it yourself! With all that in your head now, I'd like to show you some of the more practical research I've been doing for the designing and aesteteics. Here is a good note: When making historical and cultural references, be sure to research for accuracy. Do you best to know what you're talking about. I found this great book online on Russian Folk-art and I think I might have to locate it, because it's too good to keep bookmarked only. here's some great images of traditional clothing.
Peasant Art in Russia, Edited by Charles Holme
Unfortunately, I'm not sure there is a way to flip these images.
Might I add, these gowns just make my imagination go wild (and if you look at the rest, there is a striking resemblance to Princess Amidala). I find that finally researching and building my series on something I love has made this much more enjoyable and easy to study. As an undergraduate I think we often times feel the need to make work that may not be us. Work that shouts and screams so we can get noticed. Perhaps it's a given stage in the development of a young professional artist. I have disovered more about my work and myself in dealing with those frustrations, so to finally embrace that which really moves me and my work has been a break-through for me. Perhaps people will look at my work as a sell-out. Perhaps it's innovating. I'm finally coming to the conclusion that I create art because I must. I'm not really agressive unless I feel threatened. I'm much more an observer who loves to share those tidbits of knowledge. I look forward to tackling and solving the problems that come with being an experimenter and observer of humanity. I get a lot of gratification from studying things that are unfamiliar and exciting to me. To learn something new is to learn something great. I feel that I'm finally able to delve into reality through the subconscious world of culture and storytelling. This excites me....so much so, I'm going to go back to my researching. I will also locate my one of too-few-in-my-opinion Russian Folklore books for the footnote, and find a way to flip those images for you all. Please comment, share, and tell your friends about Assimilation! -Issa
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