Image Based Research
(Issu)
The current artwork for the album plays on this dark emotional side of the story book which the album is based around. The hand rendered type is interesting but would serve no purpose as the guidelines state that no artists name or song title is allowed anywhere on the cover.
Simple and emotive signifier
I would like to add a similar level of detail to the illustration which but has a bolder sense of colour than this.
This book which includes the following images has given me inspiration to add colour to the artwork, it is also important for me to begin to understand paper craft for my entry to Penguins 2013 book competition.
Dan Stiles, Picnic, Promopress
Dan Stiles, Picnic, Promopress
Dan Stiles, Picnic, Promopress
Videos
Singer/songwriter Laura Marling was only 16 years old when she emerged on the British indie scene in 2007 thanks to a handful of infectious singles made available on her MySpace profile. Endowed with a husky voice, an acoustic guitar, and a gift for building quirky, hooky folk songs (characteristics that find her compared favorably to artists like Lily Allen, Regina Spektor, and Martha Wainwright), Marling quickly made a name for herself throughout England thanks to a heavy touring schedule and a few high-profile gigs, not the least of which included an appearance at the 2006 City Showcase: Spotlight London and as the opening act for Jamie T. Although she was still without a label one year later, her debut EP, My Manic and I, was slated for independent release in the late fall of 2007. This status didn't last for long, however, because in early 2008, signed to Virgin, Marling issued Alas I Cannot Swim, which also came as part of a multimedia Songbox package. In 2010, Marling released her sophomore album, I Speak Because I Can, which debuted at number three on the U.K. albums chart and was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. Marling's third studio album, A Creature I Don’t Know, arrived on September 9, 2011.
"On the new album Ms. Marling sings about love, rage, desire, family, devils, angels, devotion, betrayal and the roles women play. In “Rest in the Bed” a woman speaks to an unborn child cradled in “the bed of my bones.” In “Salinas,” inspired by reading about John Steinbeck, Ms. Marling invents a mother who’s “the savior/Of six feet of bad behavior.”
Two recurring figures each get a song named after them. One is Sophia, the ancient goddess of wisdom sometimes seen as God’s female complement; Ms. Marling was drawn to the idea after being enthralled by Robertson Davies’s philosophical novel “The Rebel Angels.” (“I gave it to everyone I knew,” she groused, “and no one has read it.”) The other is the album’s centerpiece: “The Beast,” whose lustful snarl translates into layers of distorted electric guitar. So much for the nu-folk pigeonhole. “It was a bit like, people are going to think this is weird,” Ms. Marling said. “The electric guitar sound is like a character in the song, almost as important as the lyrics.”
The character of the Beast changes roles in the album, she added. “At some point it’s me, at some points it’s someone else, and at some points it’s not even a thing — it’s like a force,” she said. “I guess I didn’t really figure out what it was, and that’s why I ended up writing an album about it. The album is all about tugging and churning with goodness and darkness.” "
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/arts/music/laura-marlings-british-folk-cd-creature-i-dont-know.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0
Lyrics
I have highlighted the few lyrics in the song that stand out in Marling's live performance. I feel these capture a scenario which I can visualise the clearest. For the artwork I want to explore nordic and european illustration, fairy tales and culture around myths.
Where did our love go, you will never know // How did you get home, you will never know // Did you catch yourself in the mirror?
It's a sight I understand // You considered it all for a second // And put it down to slight of hand // You know I've been running 'round for hours // Calling my egyptian(?) blood to bear me flowers // Calling sophia, goddess of power // Instead I got the beast //And tonight he lies with me // Tonight he lies with me // Tonight he lies with me // And here comes to beast // You're okay now, I suppose You're not pulled by the rope // I'm pulled by the pull on my throat // I'm pulled by the rope // I swing from the trees into the slope // Hold my head high, just by the tip of my toes // And he lies, he lies so sweet that I choke // Tonight I choose the beast // Tonight he lies with me Tonight he lies with me // Tonight he lies with me // And here comes the beast // Put your eyes away // If you can't bear to see your (the?) old lady // Laying down next to the beast // Tonight he lies with me // Tonight he lies with me // And here comes the beast Look at yourself in the mirror // It's a sight I understand // You consider it all for a second // And put it down to slight of hand // I give you the best, the best that I can // I suggest that you be grateful // That it's your blood on my hands? And assume yourself weaker, the fall of man (?) / / And look out for the beast Tonight he lies with me // Tonight he lies with me // And here comes the beast // Put your eyes away // If you can't bear to see your (the?) old lady // Laying down next to the beast // Tonight he lies with me // Tonight he lies with me // And here comes the beast
I take inspiration for the illustration work from this film, the tale of Santa Claus in a dark and twisted way. The main character is enthralled by a book which depicts Santa in a particularly bad light. As I am working on a childhood graphic set for my Fedrigoni work, I think that working with this aesthetic should inform both projects. I am also using this as a way to play with illustrations and get away from the computer screen for a proportion of a project.
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