Reflections: The Content

I’ve been thinking about where my project has gone over the past several months. While the topic has remained the same, I seem to have been wrestling with the best form for my concept. The central debate revolves around the relationship between text and image. Putting more emphasis on my writing pushes the final project towards a book form and putting more emphasis on the illustration leans towards a more typical gallery art object.

While I have received some very good response from the two illustrations I did over winter break- the bowerbirds and squirrels—I don’t think that this is the best form for my IP concept. I will say that I am also pleased with the result and would love to continue in this manner…in the future and based on my own experiences. Allow me to explain: the style that these two pieces is reminiscent of what one might find in an old naturalist journal/field sketchbook. It includes a journal entry, a map, and other notes/drawing studies. However, there are two main issues that I have with this using this format for IP.

First, because all the information, research, and images were gathered from outside sources like scientific journals and stock photographs, it doesn’t feel authentic/personal enough for me. If I’m writing in the first person and pretending that these are documenting my own travels and explorations, then all my source material should be real, not stuff that I’ve pieced together from the Internet. This type of project isn’t conceivable while I’m living on campus for the next three months. But after graduation and I’m living out west with plenty of new territory to explore, I fully expect to document my experiences in a manner that I illustrated over winter break. And then publish it in book form, make tons of money, and travel the world.

The second issue that I have is simple: no one reads the text in these illustrations! From what I’ve observed in the studio and what I saw at Work gallery when the squirrel piece was exhibited, no one took the time to actually read what I had to say. It’s completely understandable. While it is in a somewhat illegible cursive, the main reason I can surmise is that people don’t read art pieces. They look and reflect for about 10 seconds and move on. If I really want someone to read what I have to say, then I have to stick with a familiar format for reading…like a book. People expect to sit down and devote their attention to the words and ideas when given such a form.

So what does this mean and how does it explain my current project?

One of the goals I set for myself as an illustrator was to reach a point where I could create an image that was narrative enough where no text was needed. I think that I’ve come close with my current 10 pencil drawings. Before I started these, I did an exercise where I wrote out exactly what I wanted the viewer to learn from each illustration (what specific reproductive strategy does this animal have?). In other words, if the entire exhibition was a thesis, what points did I want to make to prove the thesis? Having assigned each image to one main point might seem like a reduction in complexity, but it was also a challenge. Sometimes it’s harder to be succinct than grandiose.

Perhaps to better explain my intentions with this project, I should speak a little bit about my audience. I realize that this might not seem specific, but I intend for my work to be accessible and educational to just about anyone. This philosophy stems from my training as an interpretive ranger. I never knew who would attend my programs- it could a family of 5 from rural Washington or a retired couple from Seattle. I feel like my work is often guided by these two principles from Freeman Tilden, the father of interpretation:

1. I. Any interpretation that does not somehow relate what is being displayed or described to something within the personality or experience of the visitor will be sterile.

IV. The chief aim of interpretation is not instruction, but provocation.

As I mentioned in my thesis draft, if you just replace the word “interpretation” with “art” then you get my artist statement- my core beliefs as an artist.

The current form of my project follows this strategy. Here is how I envision my final work to interact with the viewer. With my current ten illustrations, there is always something that relates to the audience, i.e. something that connects this phenomenon in nature to the viewer’s life (in interpretive terms: a tangible connection). For example: I use a wedding dress and tuxedo to denote the gender and relationship between the female and male deep sea anglerfish. The squirrels make their calls to each other on cell phones. A praying mantis is praying her rosary in confession. So these familiar elements in the illustrations draw in the viewer and it makes what is happening in the scene more personal. This is Tilden’s first principle.

Each illustration however, cannot tell the whole story or all the really cool facts that I found in my research (try as I might!). I’m not a skilled enough illustrator to convey why each reproductive strategy is an evolutionary advantage to the species. Tilden, in my defense, would say that’s okay, that I shouldn’t overwhelm with viewer with too much information. What I do want to accomplish with my work is the same goal of any interpretive program- to inspire the audience to want to learn more.

I plan to offer that opportunity. In my final exhibition, I envision the 10(+) illustrations to exist as art objects, hung against a neutral gallery wall. They are all well-crafted and have a clear point to convey. At the end of the gallery wall exists a small bookshelf with numerous identical notebooks- small intimate objects. A sign invites to viewers to take one and sit in a chair provided nearby. Within the pages of the book are small black and white reproductions of the illustrations, but this time, the emphasis is on the pages of text to further explain the background and natural history of the full color illustrations they just witnessed. It is my hope that the audience will actually read what I have to say.

Okay, so the details about how the book will look aren’t perfectly worked out, but I believe that I’m finally negotiated this sensitive relationship between text and image. At least for this immediate project anyway.