For my Final Major Project I have decided to explore fairy tales. I am excited at the prospect of researching fairy tales and some of the themes and ideas that were lost on me when I heard them as a child.
As I am eager to work in publishing in the future I wanted to research a form of narrative, but not just pick one story or a series of stories that already exist. Focusing on fairy tales allows me to look into many different narratives from different cultures and select which ones interest me the most - I can then decide what exactly I'd like to illustrate from these stories and why. I think I can really challenge myself with this brief as it is so broad, and my outcome could vary from a series of book covers to a 3D set or display inspired by one fairy tale.
This week I have attempted to research the very broad subject of fairy tales and folk tales and focus on some key elements. I have been researching the origins of fairy tales and how they have been transformed and altered over hundreds of years - one of the main famous collections of fairy tales are of course by the Brother's Grimm. Originally the Brother's Grimm fairy tales were too gruesome and adults complained that they were too frightening for children, so they were changed to satisfy younger audiences. This is something I'm very intrigued by and want to look into more - fairy tales have been retold and reinterpreted by generations of people for hundreds of years, so there's no surprise that there are so many different versions of the same tale.
I have been researching the different versions of some of the most well-known fairy tales such as Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Little Red Riding Hood - including how some of these have been illustrated in collections in the past. It's eye-opening to read the different versions of these stories that I know so well, baring in mind that some of these other versions were the ones that some children would have grown up with. I like the idea of showing how fairy tales have changed so much over time, perhaps by illustrating the more gruesome and frightening versions of some fairy tales that are not so well-known by a modern audience. Illustrating something from an older time and making it modern for a new audience is something I'd really like to try.
Looking at the morals that some of these fairy tales are trying to give to children is something I'm also interested in - for example Little Red Riding Hood in the original was given advice by the wolf and because she took that advice, she was eaten. The moral of this story is that you should never listen to strangers or take their advice.
I've enjoyed really looking deeper into fairy tales and how folklorists have analysed the tales, for example Russian folklorist Vladimir Propp broke down the form of the fairy tale into 'seven spheres of action:' the villain, the hero, the donor, the helper, the princess, her father, the dispatcher, and the false hero. Applying these theories and ideas to the tales I have been researching has been enlightening, for example I would now consider labelling the mice in Cinderella as 'the helpers' and the fairy Godmother as 'the donor.'
I am beginning to research fairy tales depending on their culture and where they originated from - if their original origins can be tracked at all. I have noticed that a vast majority of the fairy tales that have been analysed and are very well known among Western culture are European fairy tales. The most popular fairy tales have originated from European countries like Germany, Italy, Norway and Russia. I am eager to learn more about the different tales from different countries, and if there is a certain group of tales from a certain country I enjoy and identify with more. I like the idea of focussing on fairy tales from one country or set of countries within a continent as it will really help me to target my ideas and stick to a specific set of tales - there is such a wide variety I think it would be wise to direct my research more specifically soon.
Written: 1st February 2014
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