Letters #6

Still needing to come up with subject matter for my narrative, i found a possible lead that got me inspired:

Taking inspiration from how John Akomfrah drew upon two books to inspire his installation, i turned my attention to letters. But instead of basing my work on pre-existing letters, maybe i could write my own? Letters in themselves are like little novels, but more personal and specific to the person receiving them. We've been getting a lot of Christmas cards through the door recently. It made me think about how special the sending and receiving of letters is, especially as our world is becoming more technologically dominant. It's different to just sending a text. There's a story in each one. A letter is a network because of all the paths it crosses and how it is able to connect people from any end of the world. A letter is a physical network as opposed to a digital one. 

When i think of letters, a few things spring to mind. The first of which is the remastered monologue from Alan Bennett's 'Talking Heads'. 

A LADY OF LETTERS

Imelda Staunton took on the monologue, 'A Lady of Letters', directed by Jonathan Kent. It was a truly captivating performance and showed Staunton as an older lady (Irene) who's existence relies on the sending and receiving of letters, mainly to complain about the failures of others. To her however, she's doing them a favour and there's nothing wrong with the sending of these letters. When the police come round however, it becomes clear that maybe her letters aren't in the best interests of those she's sending them to. There's one particular house she watches from her window. She's convinced that there's some kind of foul-play occurring within the household, as the parents always seem to be out, leaving the child all alone for days on end. We find out at the end that this is in-fact not the case and her letters/observations are proving more harmful than helpful. The effortlessness and realness of Bennett's writing is so interesting. You are drawn in by this seemingly sweet lady who writes letters to just about everyone about just about everything. But there's an underlying darkness to what she writes and the way she writes it. In a way, she pesters people. But, as a viewer, you look at this old lady and think 'really, what harm can she do?'. She's all alone and you feel as if she should do whatever she can to keep her mind occupied and in contact with the rest of the world. Her way of doing this is through letters. She can communicate with anyone without showing her face. I feel like the modern day equivalent to this would be people calling up companies to make a complaint or people sending food back for a very minor reason. These people always feel as though they're making a positive impact, which maybe they are, but more often than not, it's the way you say things that matters. The clever thing about Irene sending letters is that she can sugarcoat them and write them in a particular way as to not sound too patronising. She still gets her point across, but in a more polite manor. The problem with Irene however, is the volume of letters she sends. But, she has a connection to every single one of these people, whether it's a lasting one or simply a fleeting exchange of words. She has created a network through these letters. So big a network that Irene made a name for herself, word got round and she ended up in jail. I think it's just a great example of how letters can be used within media- in this instance, television. It's an inventive, captivating and eventually rather dark and poignant presentation on the impact letters have on everyday people. 

Letters can hold absolutely anything, which is what makes them so interesting. I could have a series of stories based upon letters people receive. Then i could base the narrative on the significance of who the letters are from and the significance of the information they hold. Maybe it could even be the same letter sent to multiple people? They all react differently. Or, the same letter sent to same people telling them to meet in the same place? Then all the characters become connected too?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08ftr1n- Link to Staunton's monologue.

Gaining inspiration from 'A lady of letters', i kept thinking about the different kinds of letters people can send:

-Letters to a friend/family members

-Love letters

-Business letters

-Letters of condolence

-Celebratory letters

-Formal/informal letters

I then thought about letters that you receive and don't know where they've come from or who they've been sent by; anonymous letters. Either they're anonymous because they hold sensitive and secret information. Or they're simply anonymous because the person writing doesn't want the receiver to know who they are. A book that comes to mind:

SOPHIE'S WORLD

'Sophie's World' is a 1991 novel written by Norwegian author, Jostein Gaarder. It follows Sophie Amundsen, a teenager who is introduced to the history of philosophy by Alberto Knox, a middle-aged philosopher. She is introduced to this through letter after letter from this mysterious sender. 

The book begins with Sophie receiving two messages in her mailbox and a postcard addressed to Hilde Moller Knag. Afterwards, she receives a packet of papers, part of a course in philosophy.

Sophie, without the knowledge of her mother, becomes a student of an old philosopher, Alberto Knox. Alberto teaches her about the history of philosophy. She gets a substantive review from the Pre-Socratics to Jean-Paul Sartre. In addition to this, Sophie and Alberto receive postcards addressed to a girl named Hilde from a man named Alberto Knag. As time passes, Knag begins to hide birthday messages to Hilde in ever more impossible ways. Eventually, through the philosophy of George Berkeley, Sophie and Alberto figure out that their entire world is a literary construction by Albert Knag as a present for Hilde, his daughter, on her 15th birthday. Hilde begins to read the manuscript but begins to turn against her father after he continues to meddle with Sophie's life by sending fictional characters to talk to her. Alberto and Sophie must escape Albert's imagination. On the line between what is real and what is imaginary, the moral of the story is that the key to surviving the world is understanding yourself. As Sophie learns more and more about philosophy from the mysterious Alberto Knox, she has to escape the clutches of Albert Knag. 

This book is not only a conversation on the distinction between reality and the imaginary, but it's also such an imaginative way to present letters within a story. 

SHIZUKA YOKOMIZO

I could look at how anonymous letters might be perceived in real life. One photographer, Shizuka Yokomizo, came up with the photo project 'Dear Stranger'. She drafted up a very polite letter to send through the letter boxes of complete strangers, asking to take their photograph. Below is an excerpt from one of the letters:

"Dear Stranger, I am an artist working on a photographic project which involves people i do not know...I would like to take a photograph of you standing in your front room from the street in the evening. A camera will be set outside the window on the street. If you do not mind being photographed, please stand in the room and look into the camera through the window for 10 minutes on (date and time)...I will take your picture and then leave...we will remain strangers to each other...If you do not want to get involved, please simply draw your curtains to show your refusal...I really hope to see you from the window."

This project was born out of Yokomizo's rather failed attempt at trying to glimpse unsuspecting people through the windows of their flats. Having the one-sidedness of the activity and the ethics of this idea against her, she realised it was important to capture eye contact while photographing. She needed to also be recognised equally as a stranger. So, she decided to use the format of a simple anonymous letter, which contained the possibility of agreement. If they agreed, she would come to the window, set up her tripod, expose her film and leave. She needed for them to recognise their existence and hers. She existed as a stranger, they existed as strangers, but there was a meeting point rather than just an unsuspecting invasion into people's private lives. She also made sure that when the photos were taken, the light would be too dark outside to see her. She would allow her subjects to see their own reflections in the window.

This idea about consenting through a letter and being able to form a connection with a complete stranger is inspiring. There's a level of trust within this concept and Yokomizo captures these trusting people in their homes, that we would otherwise not have been allowed into. We have a window into the lives of strangers and it's very welcoming. The fact that the photographs are so simple, that it's the subject matter and the context behind the project that makes these images so interesting. This project just shows that there are endless ways to form connections through the use of letters. 

I also started by looking at films that are either based on letters or revolve around letters. Below are the ones i found:

Mary and max- Animation

84 Charing cross road

The lake house

Dear John

The shop around the corner

P.S I love you

Letters to Juliet

MARY AND MAX, Adam Elliot 2009 stop-motion animated feature film.

The film that stood out to me most was Mary and Max. One, because it's an animation and it sets an interesting aesthetic for the whole film. Two, because it's about two strangers that get to know one another through an exchange of letters. Both characters, from different ends of the world, form a spontaneous and meaningful connection. There's something more personal about a letter as opposed to a text. I feel like people are more intimate and detailed in letters as you have the time to compose it and think about what you're writing. Texts are instant; too instant sometimes, that you are left to regret what you've just sent. 

The film follows the relationship between a lonely Australian girl, Mary, and her American pen-pal, Max; a morbidly obese man with Asperger's syndrome. The film is inspired by the director, Adam Elliot's relationship with his pen-friend in New York who he's been writing to for over 20 years. The two characters are so different yet much alike. Despite their differences, both are in a desperate search for the same thing; a friend, someone to talk to and someone who understands. 

I really think this film will help to inspire an idea, so i plan to watch it tonight. I had always had the idea that i wanted to build something for this project that i'd exhibit, however, if i end up making a film, i could build the set for it so that i don't lose that initial inspiration. It's also something i'd really love to do. 

Is two connections enough to fill the brief? It's not much of a network. Would i need more characters? Introduce a friend to a friend? Or maybe the act of them writing the letter introduces them to a network of more people. For example, A (lets say A is the main character) answers the door to the postman who is putting the letter from her pen pal through the door. They start a dialogue and this dialogue was only possible because the letter connected them. I could always have a scene of the postman at home with his wife having dinner. He can be talking about his day and this character, A, that he came across that day. Then his wife is connected too. When B (the pen pal) goes down to the post office to post their letter, they could accidentally drop it on the way. Someone can see this, pick it up and run after B. B then thanks them dearly and a dialogue opens up between the two. He could tell this kind stranger about A and how they're sending letters. The stranger could be baffled by the concept, as not many people send letters these days. It's all done over text. So, this interaction will have affected the stranger, in that, before they hadn't given much thought to the sending of letters. Maybe B has inspired her to start sending them, therefore opening up another network of people writing to one another. Just something like that. This way, there will definitely be a strong theme of network throughout my work.

The film itself was very strange but also beautiful and poignant. As well as being very sensitive, the film carried a great sense of humour with it and the world that Adam Elliot created was so wonderfully unique. Even though it was set in Australia and New York (a city we are all visually familiar with, as it's been featured in dozens of films), it became almost unrecognisable as a world we are familiar with. This is down to the rather dreary colour palette and the beautifully original set. One of the main things i got from this film was the beautiful set design. It gave me inspiration for my own set design or world design. If i end up deciding to illustrate my story for this project, then i won't be physically building a set, instead i will be designing a world. Both excite me equally. This film really helped me to start visualising the aesthetic of my project but i still haven't decided what medium i'd like to work in or how to present my story.

GENERATING IDEAS- How to present my story:

-Film

-Illustration (Digital or Hand-drawn?)

-Animation

-Narration, written story or soundtrack?

THE SNOWMAN, Raymond Briggs (Author and Illustrator)

 

One of my favourite childhood books. When i think of narration in relation to illustration, this is the first thing that comes to mind, as it allows you to be the narrator of this particular story. We'd spend hours coming up with a series of different events that would happen to the characters depending on the pictures. Despite it being a beautifully simple story, to a kid, there are endless possibilities as to what these characters could be getting up to. The fact that this book is purely illustrations and no text allows you to be the driver of the story. Even if their actions stay the same, you can imagine up different things they'd say to one another as the book goes on. Also, one action can have so many interpretations. If the snowman has his hand up in the air, is he waving? Is he saying goodbye? Is he signalling to stop? Is he stretching? They're little things but these little things are what change the whole tone of the story and are what make this book so interactive and engaging. Taking inspiration from Briggs, i could illustrate a storyboard-type narrative (like what's shown above) and transform it into a digital piece by having these images laid out like a web-comic. This way, it'll be accessible to all online and it'll also allow me to include audio such as a soundtrack. To keep in with this particular style, i wouldn't include narration as i believe the sound and the visuals would be enough to carry the story. 

AVA'S DEMON 

A digitally illustrated and animated web-comic drawn by Michelle Czajkowski and coloured by a number of colourists. It's been ongoing since 2012, and is known for its painted art style and animations.

Ava's Demon is set in a universe of interplanetary travel and advanced medical science, where some people have obtained god-like powers through science. A friend introduced me to this comic a few years ago. I had read it to a certain extent but, as it's constantly updating, i have since lost track of where the story has got to. The thing i love about this web-comic is the magic that the narrative carries with it. When you read this you are completely transported because the world depicted is so far from anything we could imagine; dream-like almost. It's also just a stunning comic. The colour palette used is enchanting and the illustrations and animations have just improved as the comic has developed. I'm not a very strong illustrator but this comic makes me want to change that. The worlds the illustrator creates are dystopian in their nature but also magical, mystical and romantic. Having re-discovered this comic, i am very drawn to the idea of creating my own web-comic. I'd like to push myself out of my comfort zone and illustrating a comic would very much be doing that. I could incorporate set design with an online web-comic, as i'd be designing the world where my narrative would take place. I'd love to gain more confidence within my illustration and expand my imagination when it comes to designing worlds and sets, as that's really what i enjoy doing. I feel like with something like a web-comic, there's room to include a little soundtrack to go along with it. I feel like music/sound is needed to compliment the colours, tone and feel of the comic. 

With letters in mind, just from looking at the illustrations above, i have come up with a base for a possible narrative idea. 

Linking with letters idea here is a narrative idea:

Gaining inspiration from the magical and stunning illustrations in Ava's Demon, the world design in Mary and Max and the anonymous sending of letters in Sophie's world, I could create a futuristic land where people don't send letters anymore and those that do, are deemed to be hiding things from the government. What other reason would they need to send a letter? Rather than just send a message, which the government have access to. So they know if someone does something they shouldn't be doing. Letters are more secret. But if found to have sent one, the consequences are dire. Then this also links with networks in that, it's a comment on how we're becoming so controlled by technology that it's hard to have privacy anymore. We're all connected. Every move, every message; it's all an endless, inescapable network. Letters are just a more secretive form of connection. 

I've written little stories before but i guess i've always been nervous to create anything too far from reality and possibly too absurd. However, it's a challenge and it excites me so i believe i can pull it off.

I brought back the questions i asked myself in blog #4 to see if i could now answer more of them:

-Will i create purely fictional stories? Purely documentary style stories? A mix of both?

It will be a fictional story revolving around letters. I will create a dystopian world but it will have elements of our world within it. However, it will be more of a comment on where our world is headed, instead of the present day. We are becoming more and more dependant on technology and with the introduction of things like 5G, our private lives are becoming less and less. In this world i will be creating, we are so over-run by technology that our every move is watched and recorded. Sending letters is seen to be going against society as you shouldn't have anything to hide. If you send a letter, it is assumed that there is something threatening or damaging within the envelope. Going behind the governments back in a way. So, although fictional, it's a metaphor of what we could become and how our lives could be lived in the next hundred years or so. 

-What will inspire these stories? I will need to do research, i can't just pluck them out of thin air.

I will need to research dystopian novellas and films to develop this idea even further; worlds where the characters are becoming repressed by their own society. Where the Government's surveillance has become omnipresent. For example, The Handmaid's Tale, The Hunger Games, 1984, Blade Runner, Book of Eli, A clockwork Orange etc...

-Will i tell the stories through photography like Evgenia and have narration over the top?

-Will i tell the stories through illustrations and add digital elements with narration over the top?

-Will i create little sets to hold each story? Maybe use projections or photography within it?

I will create a web-comic, where i will digitally illustrate the narrative and have a soundtrack to accompany. 

-Will the stories be conventional fictional narratives or will they be poetry?

The story will be fictional, however i want it to look and sound poetic; i will do this through the use of colours and the soundscape i will create. Dystopian, Science-fiction. 

-How many different stories will there be? Will they all share the same theme? Will i create one story with several little sub-stories?

I think i will create one complex story where we will meet multiple characters. These characters will be linked by the letters somehow. I still need to finalise the details and further the develop the narrative.

I've always felt like i needed to make projects that we're true to my own experiences but i'd like to actually come out of myself and create a completely different world. Create a fictional story that holds some truth about our society and the direction we are headed, but make it so it's still a magical, alternate universe that follows my rules. 

RESEARCH GHIBLI FOR THIS.

1984. REFERENCE THIS.

'THE WILDS' is an example of omnipresence as well; always being watched. In a simulation but you don't realise it because everything seems so real. 

RESEARCH ALL OF THESE TO HELP DEVELOP YOUR STORY LINE.

EXPERIMENT:

As i'm setting myself a lot of work; write a story, create a web-comic and design a soundtrack, i want to make sure that i'm not being overly ambitious to the point where i can't get any of it done. What really stuck out to me with Ava's Demon was the colour palette in each of the images. So today, i am going to set myself the task of coming up with a character, setting and specific colour palette. I don't plan to use this for my final project, it's simply just a task that covers all components of drawing the web-comic and creating a story. I already have a story in mind so i can branch from that. I just want to see how long doing one drawing will take me so i know if my idea is fees-able or not. As, if this one drawing takes me several days then i will have to re-evaluate what i plan to do as i need to manage my time efficiently and not leave things until the last minute. Especially if i have set myself a lot to do.