Just as grief causes negative feelings such as pain, sorrow and emptiness, grief also can cause positive outcomes such as nostalgia, strength and even motivation at times. In some areas of the world, certain cultures grieve for the loss of loved ones in a celebratory manner. Mexico is one such country that respect their dead so much that they even have an annual holiday event known as the Day Of The Dead.
The British Museum. (2015). Mexican Day of the Dead . Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FHrhH9k-PY. Last accessed 27th March 2018.
The day of the dead is a annual celebration of death and remembrance of those who have died. These celebrations consist of various parades, feasts and parties that are done as Mexicans believe that the dead visit us on this day every year to visit their families and join in on eating the food. In Mexican culture, they view death with the same level of dread as other cultures do but they also react to it in a joyful and happy way. This is because they have learned to accept the concept of death and embrace it in a light hearted manner.
The event originates from Aztec traditions, in which they gave offerings to the dead and believed in several planes of existence. There are findings that Aztecs would bury their dead very close to te family homes, which is done to this day.16th century Spaniards colonised over in Mexico, where they tried to eradicate the Aztec belief system and establish a Catholic Christian sect. The 2 cultures blended together and they modern Mexico contains a prominent catholic faith, along with traditional Mexican values on death.
In Mexico, death is mocked through the art and decorations of dancing skeletons and skulls with big grins. Art surrounding this festival typically features a black and white colour scheme for the skeletons, as this connotes the theme of death. most of the art however, does feature the use of an explosive array of colour, to contrast that of the black and white skeletons. The colour is meant to represent the feelings of joy and happiness that are practised in the event. A use of contrast between black and white and vibrant colour could be used in the animation for the project. The animation aspect could begin in just black and white to signify a sombre tone for the negative part of the grief narrative. Colour could emerge into the animation as the tone shifts to a positive vibe.
David Lozeau. (2018). 'Shot For Shot'. Available: https://www.davidlozeau.com/products/shot-for-shot. Last accessed 29th March 2018.
This print above by David Lozeau, was made using archival ink and glossy paper. It depicts a skeleton bandido drinking alcohol and aiming a pistol. David added a caption for this image, saying, "The skeleton bandido won't leave until he runs out of bullets and booze". It represents the culmination of death and celebration through the skeleton aiming his gun, which connotes death, but the skeleton drinking alcohol illustrates the partying spirit that surrounds the day of the dead. The black lining detail makes the print seem as if it is flowing, due to the attention to depth and shadow that these lines contain.
At this stage of the project, I am considering basing the animation style around a day of the dead style of drawing, as the festival embodies the more positive side of grief and may be a useful visual marker to represent a feeling of acceptance of death at the end of the film.
Comments
Post a Comment