Creative project(s).
This is a group project for four people. The assignment is meant to help
you understand better the choices that a team of artists makes in telling
a story visually. I expect you to take into account the requirements or
limitations of the format you choose to work in and to consider the needs
of your potential audience. Think about what your narrative is supposed
to convey: does it teach, comment, entertain, or some combination of these
functions? Please come talk to me about what you decide to do!
For the first project, due Thursday, March 10, I want you to make
a design for a visual narrative, using an Asian format (i.e., medallion,
handscroll, fan, folding screen, pictorial or sculptural frieze, cave
wall). Here are some ideas (but feel free to come up with your own):
* Adapt any of the examples of narrative art that we have looked at in
class for a different visual format.
* Choose one of the jataka tales related in Once the Buddha Was a Monkey
(on reserve in the Library) and come up with your own concept for
an illustration of it. (It should not be one of the tales that we studied
in class.)
* Design your own version of the lost first scroll of the Miraculous
Origins of Mt. Shigi. (Hint: read Karen Brock's article on this set
of scrolls carefully first.)
* Design an illustration of one of the chapters of The Tale of Genji.
(It should not be one of the chapters that we studied in class.)
* Design an illustration for the beginning and/or end of Han Xizai's story,
which have never been illustrated to my knowledge (see me for details
on that story).
* Adapt one of your own favorite stories for an Asian audience.
Each project should have three distinct components:
1. a short explanation of the project and the choices your group made,
and who worked on which aspect of the project. (Divide the work as equally
as possible; if someone in your group does not participate equally in
the project, I want to know about it.)
2. a clear design of how you would render your narrative visually.
3. a textual basis for your design (whether you plan to incorporate text
into the visual narrative is up to you, but if you choose to tell your
story exclusively visually, then you should include the text you were
working from in your explanation).
For the second project, due Tuesday, May 3, you have a choice:
1. you may realize the design you came up with for the first project.
Because this is not a studio art class, I would not be grading you on
your artistic ability, but I would expect your work to exhibit good craftsmanship.
Also, you could use any kind of medium you are comfortable with (including
digital imaging, photography, oil on canvas, or any other modern/Western
medium), and any text could of course be English, but the format should
be distinctly Asian;
2. or you may start all over again with a design for a different story,
in which case, follow the instructions for the first project.
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