Athenians in the Forest
A Depiction of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
Rationale
Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream is a work that delves into the inner workings of love. The play examines the irrationality that surfaces within the lover and the sensibility subsequently lost, leading to a discussion of whether we have the freedom of choice and control when it comes to love. In Act 3, the young Athenians descend into chaos as they leave the civilized city of Athens and enter the mystical realm of the enchanted forest. At the hands of the fairies, their love lives are intruded upon and their desires are manipulated. When Helena finds herself at the center of the fight between the Athenians, she curses both the men and her best friend.
The visual adaption I created focuses on the emotion of the characters within the scene. The Athenians were painted based on how the fairies' magic affected them, both directly and indirectly, represented by the symbolism behind certain colors. The use of bright and dark colors to paint the humans, as opposed to flesh tones, furthers the idea that they are under the influence of magic, as well as illustrates the dreamlike state in which this situation takes place. Lysander and Demetrius are both shown in red, alluding to both the involuntary passion they feel for Helena and the anger they have towards each other. Their rivalry displays itself in multiple contexts, both in their love for Hermia and what Helena perceives as her personal humiliation (3.2.155-156). Hermia is featured in gray, reflective of her confusion at Lysander's sudden change of heart and ill will towards her. I chose to paint Helena with blue; although she displays feelings of anger during the scene, there is an underlying sense of sadness within her words: "A trim exploit, a manly enterprise, / To conjure up tears in a poor maid's eyes... and extort / A poor soul's patience" (3.2.157-158). She is confused with her role in love, going from an unconventional huntress to the one being chased. The plight of unrequited love has altered Helena's perception to a point where she cannot believe that these two men could love her, minimizing their displays of affection to an act of spite. In addition, the meaningful friendship she has with Hermia crumbles under the influence of the male perception.
Height and size is manipulated within the piece to illustrate the displays of power during the scene and the play as a whole. The jabs made at height by Hermia and Helena reflect their personal insecurity, as well as adds a bit of comedic relief to the scene. Hermia is drawn in very small stature in comparison to the rest of the Athenians, akin to a child. This adds a bit of humor to the piece, as her childish insults and anger towards Helena resembles a tantrum. Her small size also reflects how powerless she is against the fairies' magic; no matter how hard she tries, her efforts to make sense of Lysander's change in behavior are futile. Hence, she is shown clinging to him. Helena is described with tall stature in comparison to Hermia, as noted by the insult "painted maypole" (3.2.296); yet, Lysander and Demetrius tower over her, emphasizing the influence they have over her. They have the power to alter both the women's perception of themselves, as well as serve as the origin of conflict within their lifelong friendship (3.2.198-201). Hermia and Helena are making judgments of themselves and each other based on how they believe the two men perceive them. The ordeal speaks to the power disparities between gender, specifically within acts of love, of which the play examines in an effort to understand human agency. In this instance, the woman's ability to think rationally for herself and of others is inhibited by both love and male dominance.
The piece is meant to reflect the effects of the enchanted forest and how the Athenians' sense of agency has been altered by the fairies' magic. I choose to focus on emotion and power within this scene because these relationship between these two ideas, as well as how they may be individually influenced, remain the central focus of the play. Shakespeare dissects the outside forces that effect our behavior and perceptions, ultimately exercising an unparalleled curiosity into what makes us human.
The Process Behind the Art
I haven't had an opportunity to sit down and make art in a while, so I was a bit rusty with my watercolor skills. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the chance to be creative when it came to interpretation the play.
My process behind making art is always begins with a sudden rush of ideas. When first reading the guidelines of the assignment, images immediately popped into my head, and I needed to document them as soon as possible before I lost the concepts. This usually is in the form of my iphone notes, shown in the first image to the left. These sketches tend to be very rudimentary and somewhat comical, demonstrated by the stick figures and circles displaying the colors I planned to use to paint the characters. I mapped out how I wanted to characters to look using Procreate. I find that sketching digitally is the better alternative at the drafting stage, since I tend to have little slip ups when it comes to proportions, and the undo button proves itself to be very helpful in those situations. Then, I took to actual paint and paper for the piece. My favorite part of this specific painting process was using a "negative painting" technique for the background. Using unconventional colors for the subjects' skin tone is always fun as well.