Snow White 'Trapped' Inside Her Pop Culture Depiction

Detail from Trapped: Snow White by Super A

"Isn't it just safe and cosy to stay trapped in our reality?" - Stefan Thelen (aka Mr. Super A)

There is a relatively new series of paintings (including some sculpture too) titled Trapped, which include a very interesting look at Snow White, as well as some other characters in pop culture. 

Created by the Netherlands-based artist who signs his work and goes by the moniker Super A, he's challenging his viewers to take another look at the shortcuts we take visually in pop culture - something we should be reminded to do often. The idea is to "explore the truth behind fantasy, slicing through pop culture figures to examine the reality that lays at their core."*

So let's do that a little. Let's explore these images and see what emerges. Please note - none of these comments or conclusions are endorsed by the artist. They are musings on the observations of the team in the Fairy Tale Newsroom, quite late one night. We beg your indulgence as we deconstruct things a little.

Each figure, including Snow White and the creatures around her, has its familiar, pop-culture-iconic design, unfurling like a layered ribbon, to reveal a realistic core. This ribbon is not ripped or torn, but instead cocoons the core inside, clearly waiting to rewrap itself and hide glimpses of its truth inside at any moment. Even once the core is revealed, the wrapping stays, and remains the dominant impression and image.

We find it interesting that Snow White's "inner reality" is not only the classic blonde princess (posed and wistful, suffering in silence, waiting, innocent and untouchable yet likely to be fed to dragons) but is also very reminiscent of Botticelli's Renaissance women, particularly Venus (from The Birth of Venus) and his 'La Primavera' (Spring) Maidens. It's also worth noting that many early illustrations of Snow White (including Disney's own development for the 1937 animated film) had Snow White shown as a blonde.

The clothing of the revealed Snow White is worth commenting on too, though someone with a better grasp of the romantic-fashion details of pearls, gauze skirts and wrapped bodice would be better suited to discuss symbolic parallels, however, the allusion to innocence - the "White" in Snow White - is still loud and clear.

It didn't escape our notice that she's settled on straw. With straw having many meanings in fairy tale and myth we have to wonder: Is she sitting on unprocessed gold?  Is she representative of the basic building material of all the pop-cultural masks that she helped lead the way in, specifically with regard to Disney and the US American view of this type? Or is she about to go up in flames? 

The propped backdrop, like a setting for a photo shoot, clearly indicates the construction of a specific scene - the beauty and life 'frozen' in time. The eyes of the animals in this scene stare out at the viewer too. They are also frozen, as if caught in headlights, unable to move. Poised with tension as these creatures are, you find yourself wishing they could get up and walk away, that they could be free. If only Snow White weren't so resigned to her role here, her eyes unseeing of their reality, only focusing on her unrealized dreams...

That's what we see here. What do you see? 

(We'd love to hear your own impressions in the comments, even if they're vastly different - or even opposite, to ours. Remember art is subjective.)    

The series intends to address our skewed perception of reality through easily digestible cartoons, demonstrating that there can be no objectivity when it comes to our daily view of the world. A certain lens is always employed, a myth disguises the harsh truths. (FTNH Ed.: emphasis in bold is ours)

“Nowadays the most dominant myths we have embraced as an warm blanket of truth are liberty, property and individualism,” said Super A. “We tend to see these as absolute objective truths which suit the best interests of all humanity. But aren’t we just trapped within our cozy reality? And if it’s cozy… Should we even dare to break free?” (This Is Colossal)

Two pieces in the series** were shown in Galerie Droste in Paris from February 15th to the 27th, 2018, at the "Art is where the heart is Vol. 2" exhibition: Snow White and Pierrot.

Those interested in the fairy tale-like character of Pierrot from Commedia dell'arte and ballet will find it interesting that the Ronald MacDonald character reveals his inner persona as being Pierrot - that of a sad, pining, broken-hearted romantic, a fool and the butt of many jokes. You can see a 360 rotation of that amazing sculpture HERE.

On display at Galerie Droste in February 2018 - art by Super A

* Source: This Is Colossal

** The series includes characters: Mickey Mouse, Tweety, Donald Duck, Snow White, Ronald MacDonald/Pierrot, Garfield, while Thumper and Bambi are included in the Snow White scene.

Le Cabaret Grimm

Starting today (April 8th) is a new mixed-discipline theatrical show is opening by The Performance Lab in Boston, called "Le Cabaret Grimm-a punk cabaret fairy tale (sans fairies)".

The show is unashamedly experimental with masks, puppets, circus acts, music and more thrown into the mix as they interpret some tales by the Brothers Grimm through a variety of Arts and styles, including steampunk, cabaret and burlesque. Music ranges from from R&B, to Tom Waits to Ska to the Dresden Dolls.

An article from wubr.org (which also has an interview you can listen to) explains the Director's thoughts behind melding the art forms on stage:

“There’s circus arts, and there’s burlesque and cabaret and all kinds of really fun alternative things going on in the city but people don’t really know about it — it’s all in segmented places,” Slavick explains. “And I want the Performance LAB to be a bridge between the mainstream arts community and the mainstream audience, and the fringe, experimental community in Boston. ”

Here's the blurb from the official website:

From somewhere between Paris, Berlin and the bowels of the Bowery comes Le Cabaret Grimm, a punk cabaret tale of loss, longing, and desire - with a healthy dose of irony. We've got sexy girls and boys, conjoined twins, demons, and talking chickens. We'll take you on a journey drawn from the Tales of the Brothers Grimm, with music, mask, dance, and spectacle, led by the great chanteuse Veronique du Blahblahblah.

Each night we are joined by special guest performers. We bring you music, burlesque, circus, drag and more, hosted by the extraordinary Johnny Blazes.

Welcome to Le Cabaret Grimm!

I can't find any information on the use of the fairy tales or even which ones are being used except for this quote which reads: "We’re using these fun, contemporary styles to draw in the audience” says Slavick, “but we’re combining them with classic tales that have a universal quality and resonate deeply.” (source: StageSource) I'm very curious as to which tales are incorporated and the few photos available don't give many clues but it's interesting to think of any fairy tales being presented this way. I wish the 'LAB' every success.

If you're interested and can get to Boston in time, the show runs through April 24th, 2010.

Miwa Yanagi's Fairy Tale Masks

WARNING: These pictures and ideas are not for everyone. There are disturbing images and suggestions of the 'gruesome nature behind fairy tales' in this artist's work. I am posting what I consider to be the least disturbing of her photographs from the exhibit titled "Fairy Tale".

Despite my warning above, I do think the approach this artist takes is unique and relevant to the study of fairy tales. I'm posting what I consider to be the least disturbing of the set and including some quotes from an article so you can investigate further at your own discretion. The article does NOT include any unsettling images so if the topic interests you, yet you don't wish to see more pics I recommend just clicking HERE.

So what is it all about?

Artist Miwa Yanagi* has been delving into fairy tales to show the feminine role in all its forms (or, due to the use of masks, 'guises' may be a more appropriate term) while simultaneously bucking the traditional Japanese conventions of portraying bijinga (beautiful women pictures - the article linked to discusses this in detail). She combines theatrical techniques in her photographic presentations by way of staging, masks, exaggeration, costumes and metaphoric representation of literary aspects. Currently Yanagi has a number of exhibitions on display. The images shown in this post are from her work titled "Fairy Tale".NOTE: One of my favorite images (not included here in case some find it disturbing) is of a little girl cradling her 'grandmother' in the middle of a cut-open wolf corpse. Although quite a tender scene, there is, of course, some gore shown, albeit not human.

From The Japan Times online:

In the "Fairy Tale" series, Yanagi gives visual form to the tales of the Brothers Grimm and Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novella "The Incredible and Sad Tale of Innocent Erendira and Her Heartless Grandmother," which becomes Yanagi's image "Erendira" ...

... Rather than merely illustrating stories, however, Yanagi deviates from the texts, combining the supposed villainy of the old women in the tales with the innocence of the youthful girls. In "Snow White" (2004) the heroine dons an aged mask of wrinkles before a mirror and hands an apple to her reflected image, suggesting that there is some sort of complicity between the youth and the old woman. In another work, "Cinderella" (2005), further visual interventions occur. Here, a Balthus-like juvenile eroticism is given to Cinderella, around whom gather the three sisters, only one of whom may truly be "ugly," as she hides behind a wrinkled mask.

You can read the rest of the article HERE and see the rest of the eerie pictures from her "Fairy Tale" photo work HERE.

Yanagi's photography is on display at the National Museum of Art, Osaka until September 23rd.

*Miwa Yanagi is considered primarily to be a photographer, though her work encompasses many artistic disciplines.