#4: The Weight Of Time

There are moments when we feel hard pressed for time, times when we feel that the inevitable future is coming nearer and nearer and that we are simply not ready for it. Not ready for the changes that time may bring, unprepared for what may lay ahead, afraid of what might or might not be. At some point in our lives, we all feel the weight of time bearing down on us.

Photo by Julie de Waroquier

Julie de Waroquier depicts the message of the weight of time in a beautifully conceptual and creatively simplistic manner. An oversized clock puts an emphasis on how we are sometimes burdened by time and how we may sometimes struggle with the changes that time brings and though we may try our hardest to fight against it, time waits for no man. The photographer is able to invoke thoughts and emotions and allow each and every one if us to interpret the photograph in our own way.

That huge clock is what draws my attention. I just can't seem to put aside what it means to me. To me, it represents change, changes that we may never expect, changes that we might not know is already taking place. Then, there's the model and how she seems to be trying to push that clock backwards. How many times have we all wished that we could slow time down or even stop time.

Waroquier sets the photograph in a desolate room,with a single model. It shows that there are moments when we have to deal with things on our own, fight our own demons, take time off to figure out who we're and who we're not. Whatever time may bring or wherever it may lead us, all of us are fighting our own fights and that we all have to adapt to change and make the most of what time is granted us.

"You know the great thing, though, is that change can be so constant you don't even feel the difference until there is one. It can be so slow that you don't even notice that your life is better or worse, until it is. Or it can just blow you away, make you something different in an instant." - Kevin Kline, Life as a House

#3: Why Is A Raven Like A Writing Desk?

I simply love Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". I love everything about the whimsical world he created where nothing is what it's supposed to be, a place where croquet is played with flamingos and porcupines and the Mock Turtle dances with the Gryphon to the Lobster Quadrille. 

Carroll takes every logical thing and twists everything around, turning tears into oceans and making parodies of  nursery rhymes which turned out to be more famous than the actual nursery rhyme itself. An example of a parody done by Carroll in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" is entitled "How Doth The Little Crocodile", which is a parody of a poem by Isaac Watts for children, "Against Idleness and Mischief".

Disney's animated film adaptation "Alice in Wonderland"

How Doth The Little Crocodile

How doth the little crocodile

Improve his shining tail,

And pour the waters of the Nile

On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin,

How neatly spreads his claws,

And welcomes little fishes in

With gently smiling jaws!

The creative way Carroll is able to come up with parodies amplifies the uniqueness of this book. The parody of Watt's poem takes the originally moralistic values of the busy bee and turns it into a poem of deception and and predation, a recurrent theme in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland".

Carroll also came up with amazingly memorable quotes, quotes that just sticks with you, quotes that make you think that maybe, just maybe, you could live in a world of your own. He came up with riddles without answers and all these are what makes this book so memorable. Loony characters such as the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts and the Caterpillarall play vital roles in making what the book is, an amazing piece of literary nonsense.

(So someone I know had this theory that Carroll might have been stoned when he came up with this story but that's just beside the point.)

"If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?" - Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

References:

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice's_Adventures_in_Wonderland

How Doth The Little Crocodile. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Doth_the_Little_Crocodile

#2: One Person's Craziness Is Another Person's Reality

Tim Burton is known today as a certified insane genius thanks to the movies he has directed, produced and written. The movies that were conceived from this renowned director are all true to a certain theme and one would just have to watch a trailer of a movie directed by Burton and know immediately that he would be the creative and driving force behind that particular movie.

Dark, quirky and originally unique, movies like Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhand, Sleepy Hollow, The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street and Alice In Wonderland all share a sense of nonsensical meaning and at the same time creates a different world which some of us are intrigued to visit. Tim Burton has a flair of inserting twists and turns, lending darker and deeper elements to a particular film which in turn gives that film depth and originality. Movies like Big Fish shows exaggeration in terms of storyline and character development. 

What most people might not know is that Burton came up with a 6-minute stop motion, black-and-white film entitled "Vincent" which depicted a young boy who pretends to be the actor, Vincent Price. The boy Vincent has obsession with tales by Edgar Allan Poe and is somewhat detached from reality. 

Burton's film "Vincent" contains elements similar to the works of Edgar Allan Poe, for example, the narration is told in a poetical way. The rhymes and storyline are inspired by Edgar Allan Poe. Burton had always used elements found in the works of Poe in many of him films, even in his animated films such as The Corpse Bride and The  Nightmare Before Christmas and his style of directing, producing and writing is clearly defined even in this very first film of his. The drawing and style of the characters in "Vincent" is seen again in the animated films stated earlier. 

Tim Burton shows that creativity is inspired and that by somehow 'borrowing' elements from a person who has inspired you and conforming it to come up with your own style of doing something, you'll discover a different part of yourself which sets you apart from the others. Quirkiness and abnormalities are merely a part of being creative and one should never be afraid of coming up with something that might seem odd and unnatural because you'll never know how that particular work might turn out. Experimenting and taking risks are what you should be able to do along the way of creating a creative, original and unique piece of work, be it a poem, film, script or painting.

"I have a problem when people say something's real or not real, or normal or abnormal. The meanings of those words for me is very personal and subjective. I've always been confused and never had a clearcut understanding of the meaning of those kind of words." - Tim Burton

References :

Tim Burton. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Burton

petrover. (2006, April 30). Vincent - Tim.Burton.Short.Animation.1982. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxQcBKUPm8o

#1: The Weight Of Your Words

Creativity is more often than not, born out of something so simple and the way some people are able to portray their creativity through songs, words or photographs simply astounds me. The way that they are just able to take something as simple as writing words on a chalkboard and bring to life a particular concept they had in their mind is captivating.

Photo by Julie de Waroquier

The photographer who captured this photo has inspired me to be unafraid in bringing forth a darker side of being creative. Brutal simplicity can sometimes carry the message across to touch someone in numerous ways. While some may find this disturbing and unsettling, I find it somewhat beautiful.

The photograph was able to bring forth emotions and depth with the aid of mere words. The brutality of the contorted body emphasized the weight certain words have on different people. While some may interpret different messages depicted by the photograph, this shows that the photographer is able to connect with people of different mindsets and mentalities and that to me is the most intriguing part of this photographer's creativity. 

The photographer plays up on certain words which hints at her own feeling. Words like "alone", "broken" and "never" all hint at what the photographer feels. The word "me" and "fear" painted on the body of the model summarizes and puts into play all that the photographer is trying to put up. The thin body of the model somewhat conveys a different message altogether and I'll leave the interpretation of what it might mean to you readers.

The darker part of a person can truly bring forth some of the most hauntingly beautiful works of art. One very good example would be the works of noted author Edgar Allan Poe with his amazingly haunting poems such as "Annabell Lee" and "The Raven". Despite its darker tone and nature, his works are able to captivate readers throughout the ages as it delves deep down inside and grasps at the very core of what the author is feeling and it is in this way that the readers are able to somewhat have an affiliation with the author. Through his words, he expresses what people feel but are unable to put into words.

The same could be said above the photograph above. What some of us are afraid to say out loud what we may be feeling inside, the photographer does it for us in the form of a photograph. What we might feel when we're at our lowest is laid bare through the works of Poe. And it is through this that I gain the courage to lay on the line whatever I feel in hopes of coming up with new ideas and concepts.

"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before." - Edgar Allan Poe

A Disney Kid Through and Through

So earlier this week, a friend of mine decided to do a Disney animated movie marathon and a live tweeting session of the movies she was watching. In all technicality, I think I found my Disney soul mate. The excitement was shining through her tweets, one tweet for every three or four minutes, narrating her thoughts and feelings about a particular Disney movie. As childish as it may seem to some for me write a blog post on Disney, I'm going to do it anyways.

I grew up watching almost every single Disney animated film, from Snow White to The Aristocats, from The Black Cauldron to The Sword in the Stone. I followed the evolution of the Disney films as they joined forces with Pixar to come up with amazing and memorable movies like Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo and Up. Heck, I could probably name you every single Disney film if you wanted me too! 

What strikes me most about the Disney films that were released during was is known as the Disney Renaissance era (roughly between the late 1980s, ending in year 2000) was the music and the lyrics incorporated within the films itself. The characters' personality and charm were portrayed in such a beautiful way through music. 

Who could forget how Arielle wanted to part of our human world, with her ever loyal mentor, the little red crab Sebastian, trying to convince her that life is so much better under the sea.We saw the love and passion that Pocahantas had for the land she grew up on through the hauntingly beautiful 'Colours of the Wind', telling us that if we were to walk in the footsteps of a stranger, we'll learn things we never knew. 

Or the amazing music and lyrics by the great Elton John for the Lion King? Even today, the opening notes of 'The Circle of Life' can still give me musical frissons. We even learned what a wonderful phrase Hakuna Matata is. Tarzan boasts of meaningful and heart touching music by Phil Collins such as 'You Be In My Heart' and 'Stranger Like Me'.

Which Disney movie buff didn't imagine themselves soaring through the starry night sky with 'A Whole New World' playing in the background after watching Aladdin? Who wasn't inspired to 'Go the Distance' just like Hercules, to try their strengths in the wide world without fear, embracing their fate down that unknown road and to know that a hero's strength is measured by his heart? 

Who could forget the love story of Beauty and the Beast, who could forget the moment Belle started to fall in love with Beast as they danced to 'A Tale As Old As Time' or how hard a time Mulan had as she had to learn to be a man?

Disney's collaboration with Pixar brought us such entertaining movies that just commits to our memory without us consciously knowing it. I remember the time I went to the cinema to watch Toy Story 3. Most of the patrons were adults laughing throughout the movie and shedding not so subtle tears when Andy handed over Woody to that little girl. Movies like that, movies like Up and Wall-E sticks with us just as every single Disney movie has its uniquely memorable moments that we'll carry with us through our lifetime. 

How many of us looked forward to or were curious to know how the latest Disney animated movies would turn out and visited the cinema to watch 'The Princess and the Frog' and 'Tangled' and were still blown away  by the storyline and imaginative powers of Disney. Yupp, Disney; still doing it right.

To all Disney kids, go dig out those movies and be transported back to your childhood, discover a whole new world with Aladdin, go the distance with Hercules, have a Hakuna Matata of a time with Timon and Pumbaa, fly with a little bit of pixie dust with Peter Pan, get your groove on with Emperor Kuzco and wish upon a star with Pinocchio.To all those who think I'm a fanatic, you might be right. As for me, I'll be having a Disney-themed karaoke session with whoever wants to join me. And to those who think that you're way too old for cartoons, you're never to old for Disney.

"Someday you'll be old enough to read fairy tales again" - C.S. Lewis