I'm excited by your choice of Zirma, but less so re. the addition of those giant mushrooms. While I like the idea of creating a more expressionistic approach to this city, your giant mushrooms are an 'add on' - in so much as they 'mean' madness to you because you associate them with Alice in Wonderland, but there's no evidence in the Calvino text to support their specific edition. The idea of Zirma being a bit 'Caligari' - i.e. that the buildings reflect a sense of fragmentation - those obscure buildings you mention - yes, that seems like a more honest approach to meeting Calvino's vision creatively. Calvino gives you that great visual detail of the dirigible - or 'airship', which you should really exploit, as airships bring with them an architecture of their own:
In terms of conveying the 'madness', I think you should consider doing it by trying to create discomfort and claustrophobia and sense of panic and agitation in the viewer, as opposed to 'showing' mad things - things. The group of painters known as the futurists really tried, in their paintings of the modern city, to convey the noise and crowds and 'too-much-ness' of living in the modern world: they used repeated forms and a cubist approach to convey noise, and motion and a sense of being over stimulated;
Hey Sam,
ReplyDeleteI'm excited by your choice of Zirma, but less so re. the addition of those giant mushrooms. While I like the idea of creating a more expressionistic approach to this city, your giant mushrooms are an 'add on' - in so much as they 'mean' madness to you because you associate them with Alice in Wonderland, but there's no evidence in the Calvino text to support their specific edition. The idea of Zirma being a bit 'Caligari' - i.e. that the buildings reflect a sense of fragmentation - those obscure buildings you mention - yes, that seems like a more honest approach to meeting Calvino's vision creatively. Calvino gives you that great visual detail of the dirigible - or 'airship', which you should really exploit, as airships bring with them an architecture of their own:
http://cdn.calisphere.org/affiliates/images/csju/kt7k4023tp/hi-res/SVHO2004-0228.jpg
http://static01.nyt.com/images/2010/09/26/realestate/Scapes-1/Scapes-1-popup.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f8/28/e7/f828e7e32d0d9b43ba63b6a99888f5d8.jpg
In terms of conveying the 'madness', I think you should consider doing it by trying to create discomfort and claustrophobia and sense of panic and agitation in the viewer, as opposed to 'showing' mad things - things. The group of painters known as the futurists really tried, in their paintings of the modern city, to convey the noise and crowds and 'too-much-ness' of living in the modern world: they used repeated forms and a cubist approach to convey noise, and motion and a sense of being over stimulated;
http://art-educ4kids.weebly.com/uploads/8/9/6/9/8969100/1091641_orig.jpg
http://lunettesrouges.blog.lemonde.fr/files/2008/10/futurisme-visuels-russolo2.1225149959.jpg
http://www.mattesonart.com/Data/Sites/1/magritte/States%20of%20Mind%20-%20Those%20Who%20Go.jpg
http://madamepickwickartblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/futurist3.jpg
You might have seen this already on the group blog, but this might inspire too:
http://ucarochester-cgartsandanimation.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/fao-caa-yr-1-invisible-cities-8.html