FINE ART FAIRY TALES - Jett Jackson
Like many people, I have been exposed to and affected by fairy tales through out my life.
They have been presented as teaching parables, with cautionary messages and as pure entertainment . They might be presented as mythical flights of fancy, stuff of legend
or "tall tales". They are told in nurseries, around campfires, in books or plays , cartoons
and animation , films and television. They are read in Pre-Schools to to P.h.d. Institutions
of Higher Learning. They also branch off- into dedicated groups and societies where they can be
joyfully celebrated and endlessly de-constructed.
Stories are told and re-told, they are referenced in other stories and become metaphoric devices
and vocabulary for so much that happens in the non- fairy tale, Human Story, itself -
An all important part of many fairy tales is our visual attraction to the accompanying illustrations.
(We can judge a book by its cover, in a good way-)
I am fascinated by illustrations of all kinds, from books to magazines and advertising.
When I am rendering my versions of fairy tales, I am extremely conscious of the fact that they
are beloved, "as is" , by not only me but by others as well - One of the challenges is to HONOR
all those original illustrations and story-lines and some of the, also beloved, succeeding versions.
But I do want to make them my own, "riff" off of them, perhaps add a modern perspective, or a funny twist-
It's irresistible to expand the story, tweak the image, to throw my bones on to the big pile that is the ever- told tale.
Fairy tales most often have a comedic aspect, this is a big part of the appeal.
Humor is integral to so much that makes me want to make art.
I love sarcasm, satire, puns, comics, high-brow, low-brow, dark or light ; humor, is the height of expression to me. It can be incredibly insightful and communicate great truths.
So with fairy tales, I get to humbly add on to, all the great old jokes and truths-
And to actively participate, in the "furthering" of the fiction and images that so many, love so much.
