Summer Brief- About The Author Part 2. Angela Carter

Angela Carter

Best known for the bloody chamber Angela Carter is seen as one of the most influential writers within the last century. Carter's stories challenge female stereotypes turning the hero's and heroines such as in the Bloody Chamber where she has the mother of the bride rescue her daughter instead of the woman's two young sons such as in the original tale. Angelia tries to abolish the troupe type of women usually written in stories. She also focuses on both male and female  desire, however such as seen in the snow child a hetrosexual mans desire tends to be at the expense of female's desired. 

The violence and sexualisation of revised children's tale lead to outrage among many students and scholars who began to study it. However as Carter said, "I was taking ... the latent content of those traditional stories and using that; and the latent content is violently sexual."

And in this I see truth. Tales traditional contain violent retribution and constant imagery of the importance of female virginity and the impurity and evilness of women who are always hinted a being overtly sexual and as a result of this sinful. 

Within feminism angela has been seen as a controversial figure, embracing the works of marquis de sade, whose work carter deems as one of the first pieces of discourse to look at the liberation of the female sex as something more than procreation. Most feminist of the time argue that Marquis work commends those who use their sexuality for their own pleasure but punishes those who decided to have children and take on the traditional role of a wife.

Summary Of What I Found Out About Angela Carter

• Her work wasn't made to just startle or be controversial but to start a conversation about how sex and violence are such an integral part of traditional fairy tales.
• Angela pushed feminism and literature to delve deeper into the complexity of female sexuality as well as the way we as a society treat female sexuality.
• Angela spent a great deal of her life and her work trying to question what it is to be a woman and how the feminist ideals at the time needed to become more open to the idea of change and evolving within itself.
• Best Works: The Bloody Chambers, Night At The Circus and The Company of Wolves 

Shakespeare Summer work

• The first two are simple paintings as immediate reactions to re-reading othello. 
• Just a attempt at head angles and colour theory with the first one
• Though making Othello all green shades leaking into the lettering would have allowed the image to flow, together working in unison rather than the break of colour almost moving them into type and image. 
• The green was supposed to flow into the neck and face more to symbolise the all consuming jealousy that becomes Othello's ruin.
• Using colour symbolism within my work ' Especially since it's about Shakespeare' would be a smart idea as the connotations of both colour and visual symbolism is heavily used throughout most of his works. 

• I just wanted to get the obvious symbolistic images out of my head before I could start to look into more abstract imagery.
• Refined this image of the candle and Desdemona being so physically interlinked making you hyper aware of Desdemona's declining mortality.
• However at this moment in time further exploration and deeper research is needed before going for an obvious idea because with more research my ideas will become less obvious. 

• Attempt at creating characters out of themes

• This is all just character development of the conflict of emotions Othello feels throughout the play.

• What comes from turning the main characters of plays into monsters that convey their most distinguishable emotions and traits?
• These drawings are very simplistic and fast maybe a media change and a bit more time put into crafting would help with idea development?

• This idea became exhausted after a few pages it seems to move towards something less tangible and a change in media and subject may be needed as I feel like I'm not progressing. 

• Lino cuts start looking at different media 
• Very simplistic however if crafted a little cleaner and slight detail in the eye this piece could become striking.
• This print emphasises the need for refinement in character.
• However I'm not even back yet so, At the moment a focus on idea producing and maybe developing is more important. 

• Trying to tie shakespeare heavily catholic/biblical themes shown  in both shakespeare's life and works.
• Supposed to be a more monstrous way of seeing lust. 
• Added horn motif used throughout shakespeare's work as a symbol of both being cuckolded and devil worship

• Looking at other plays such as Macbeth
• The concept of all consuming guilt.
• The Quote   Really stuck with me and I wanted to look at visualising it.

• Slight Character development for Macbeth 
• Nothing really came from this except my own idea of what he should look like.
• Not sure where to go with this.

• Wanted to draw without a pencil or pen.
• Maybe further research into shakespeare is needed
• Wait until after I have a better understanding of the brief.