Contemporary Interpretations

I am also interested in other artists' work that has a more modern approach to fairy tales. In November 2010 I visited an exhibition at the Harris Museum, Preston, the exhibition was called House of Fairy Tales and contained a variety of artists each had been inspired by fairy tales. The exhibition was useful to my project at the time, and has stuck with me for potential use in the future.



Dexter Dalwood - Cinderella; Cornelia Parker - The Blue Room; Matt Collishaw - Duty Free Spirits

These pieces are much more abstract than the traditional illustrations I have already looked at, but I find that quite interesting. Cinderella clearly has symbolic representations from the original narrative; it shows the movement from the lower classes to being a Princess through the bright, natural ladder. Although the collage technique in this piece is quite rough, the simplicity avoids over shadowing the representations. Matt Collishaws Duty Free Spirits is quite interesting, as I have always liked imagery that plays with scale. The image has a sense of innocence; I think this is due to the presence of the children as fairies.

Hansel and Gretel art - Deviant Art

*created by *SquidPig; Ebae; MetaMephisto; =loba-chan

I have chosen to look at these images because they each have a different style but were all inspired by the same thing, in this case Hansel and Gretel. The first image has been created clearly with children in mind as the characters are very cute and innocent. I like how this artist has created the trees in the background; they are simple but effective. This style of imagery is very different to that used in the third image from the left. This has a much more aggressive atmosphere and could be considered scary in some sections, the witches face for instance. However, it is a very effective representation as we can all recognise the narrative. The right-most image is very intriguing, as it has elements of both aggression and innocence. The burning witch is quite graphic, but the expression on Gretel's face is very innocent and we can't help but like her and not blame her for the witch's end. It is very interesting to see so many variations of one story; I am going to continue looking at other artist's work.

Little Red Riding Hood art - Deviant Art

*created by restmlin; maina; lockjaw; Naimane
The first image in this collection of Little Red Riding Hood-inspired art is an example of Matte painting, as it is a collection of photographs that have been pieced together. I very much like the use of colour in this piece as it is very gloomy, which suggests that Red Riding Hood is resigned to her fate, but the splashed of red bring out the narrative and tell us to expect something different. I also like the second image along, as the artist has taken the key elements of the story and created a stylised representation. This is a good example of what I am looking to create; I want to create something different but recognisable for what it is based on. The third image is also an example of Matte painting, but of another type (I will come to research this at a later stage). This image is inspirational for its creation of scenery, as there is a clear sense of depth and light.

Reflective Journal -
I have enjoyed looking at what other artists have found inspiring in various fairy tales. I am now considering changing my idea to one single story, but in different styles. I will keep looking for stories that inspire me and will make a decision on this when I find something suitable.