On Thursday the 21st of November, I had a personal tutorial with Adam to talk about future plans/applications. Though my work, especially for this project, is largely story-based, the medium that I have chosen to work with has been linoleum, and I have grown to love linocut. There is a possibility that through this investigation of story, I may ultimately wind up in a printmaking path.
However, printmaking in the linocut fashion also has a relationship to paneled narratives because of the ability to re-stamp/repeat and to do so within the confined space of a block.
Adam and I discussed a couple of notions of the way that this story could go. Typically when I draw on an iPad, I will do a sort of visual collage of photographs, and reduce to opacity to draw them–almost like rotoscoping. Considering that I want to incorporate writing into this project, Adam proposed that I might try to find some sort of collaging/tracing mechanism in my writing as well.
So, I called my parents, and with their help, I created a little bit of a lexicon list around the semi-crystallize list of words/phrases that my brother uses to communicate, and the words/phrases that we have adopted into our own speaking habits. Speaking with Matthew is much more like a call and response activity rather than an actual unpredictable conversation, so perhaps incorporating that into the writing of this work will also be important.
Adam and I also discussed the final product that could be possible–particularly a graphic novel. The panel is interesting in terms of creating a visual rule of storytelling: the panel. Too, the subject matter concerns boundaries of a perceived reality, which is echoed in the use of panels/wherever it might be published. Perhaps the story will be bounded by the screen size if encountered on a phone. On the other hand, the creation of a physical object that contains a story re-emphasizes the value that people project onto objects. A book is not just an object, but a story. Similarly, for neurotypical and atypical brains a lot, objects contain more than their meaning. So, creating a book, which allows access to at least one meaning by being able to open its pages, might be a way to re-emphasize that. This may be a fetishization of the book and what it represents.
When I talked to my parents, they also reminded me that my brother went through phases where he would carry certain objects around–almost like an anchor. These objects included the following:
-ACT Prep Book (2017/2018)
-Green pillow (2016)
-Snorkle (Before 2005)
-Photo Calendars (Christmas 2007-present)
-Inside/out ball (2007-2010)
-Spoon (2000)
I am sure that there are more, but they will require more conversations with my parents.
The process of having these conversations was interesting in that it activated a transactive memory pathway. There were certain things that I can remember well but my parents can’t, and there are certain stories about my brother that I don’t have access to because I was too young. In terms of audience, then, these investigations may just have an initial audience of my own family.
RCA Graduate Diploma 