Fallen Princesses Project by Dina Goldstein

JPG Magazine has published online the images for Dina Goldstein's Fallen Princesses project. The images are provocative, especially since Goldstein mostly uses Disney's versions of fairy tale princesses which are arguably the most glossy and pervasive versions of fairy tale characters in modern times. This photo essay enters into the common debate over the suitability of fairy tales for children, as well as women's issues and fairy tales, two of the top five most popular topics on SurLaLune's Discussion Boards. They are so popular that I've devoted pages to them with books and links for reference: Children and Fairy Tales and Women and Fairy Tales.

Goldstein explains in her introduction that "these works place Fairy Tale characters in modern day scenarios. In all of the images the Princess is placed in an environment that articulates her conflict. The '...happily ever after' is replaced with a realistic outcome and addresses current issues."

I squirm over the choice of "realistic outcome." So many detractors of fairy tales tend to argue along the lines that life is never happy, always miserable, especially if one chooses to marry or seek out long term relationships. Yes, I'm writing in broad generalities and I firmly believe that life is hard and painful, but I also think that the pain is tempered with joy and happiness that is only made greater thanks to the contrast of opposite experiences. Traditional fairy tales tend to promote just that message, not perfectly, but in a much more realistic way, encouraging endurance and perseverance. Here's a summation of one of my basic philosophies: Happily ever after does not mean "without ever a conflict or hardship" but is an optimistic view of overcoming those hardships when they arise in the future, often with the companionship needed to make it easier.

I'm not criticizing Goldstein's work, mind you. I enjoyed it and want to share it, thus this post.

Back to the project. Some images are more poignant or hard hitting for me than others, but I've decided to let them speak for themselves instead of commenting on them individually.

Changes, always more changes

I am reskinning the blog to give it the SurLaLune feel and tie it into the main site. I will probably play with the design and layout over the next few weeks so please let me know if anything is glaringly wrong or invisible. I'm trying for colors that are easy to read but not distracting from all of the content that will appear here over time. Feel free to post comments and let me know what you think.

Have a great weekend all and I will resume with content driven posts on Monday!

Watch This: Burger King Commercials (Germany)

I discovered a press release about a new campaign using fairy tales and marionettes to sell burgers to Germans. I wish they'd use the same campaign to sell to Americans... Alas, I really hope when this new Burger King advertising campaign begins showing in Germany that some kind souls post the commercials on YouTube or somewhere similar. Well, after a quick search, I found all three. I'll share them at the bottom.

Here's the first paragraph of the press release found on ShootOnline at MetaTechnik Gets Quirky for Crispin:

"Metatechnik, bicoastal music and sound producer, has produced all of the audio components for a new Burger King campaign (Crispin Porter + Bogusky), for the German market. The 3 spots, featuring puppet marionettes out of fairy tales placed in modern day Burger King restaurants, encompass an off beat, quirky and surreal musical score. The "real to life" sound design draws out the quirkiness in the juxtaposition of the spots. Metatechnik's own German, Georg Bissen, cast and produced the voice over talent out of Berlin, Germany."

The press release is rather lengthy so be sure to click through and read more about it. There's one image, too, and it is of Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, of course. I'd be shocked if those characters weren't included in a fairy tale-themed campaign for Burger King. The other one appears to be the magic donkey who poops gold. Hard to imagine that one appearing on American television! The third is the hungry giant. I can't embed that one, but here's a link Burger King's Hungry Giant commercial.

Faerie Magazine: Spring 2009 Issue

The Spring 2009 issue of Faerie Magazine should be available by now at your local booksellers and should remain on shelves for another month or so. Most Barnes and Noble and Borders locations carry them in their periodical sections if you're not interested in a subscription. My column in this issue is about Beauty and the Beast, one of my favorite fairy tales, so it took me a few years to finally write about it.

The article is titled "Beauties and Their Beasts." In it, I discuss the tale's literary origins and the two versions by Madame Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve and Madame Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont as well as some modern versions that are well-known today.

Quotable: Greensleeves by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

I was recently rereading one of my favorite books from my teenage years, a gem by Eloise Jarvis McGraw whose more popular titles include The Moorchild, Mara: Daughter of the Nile, The Golden Goblet and The Moccasin Trail. While all of these are worthy books, I consider McGraw's masterpiece to be her little known Greensleeves. You can see how popular it is by looking at its high prices for used copies with Amazon and other used booksellers.

To my knowledge it has never been reprinted since it's original run in the late 1960s. Somehow I discovered it dusty and neglected on the school library shelf a few decades later, borrowed it and fell in love. No, it doesn't have much of a fairy tale influence although one could argue for it being a brilliant modern day (albeit 1960s, so not so modern) Cinderella. There's a secret identity, a fairy godfather of sorts and a hero who behaves like a prince.

But its appearance on this blog is brought about by a small quote during a conversation between the main character and a friend. Here it is:

“There’s a whole book here about it that she used to read me out of. She used to read me Grimm’s Fairy Tales, too.” Wynola glanced at me defensively. “You might think I was too old for those, but she read them herself, all the time. She said fairy tales were good for people.”

“Good for people? How?”

“Well said, ‘Same way helium is good for a balloon.’”

What more can I say? Until tomorrow...

Emily Anderson as Little Red Riding Hood

Here is another treasure I discovered at the Huntington last summer. One of the most common trends for portraiture in the 1800s was to portray young girls as images of Little Red Riding Hood. This portrait is of Emily Anderson painted by Thomas Lawrence for her father circa 1821. According to the placard, Emily had performed as LRRH in an amateur theatrical performance, so this painting also reflected an event in her life unlike many of the portraits in this subgenre.

Portraits like this one are the most common treasures found in my searches for fairy tale related art in my museum visits. It is pretty easy to find little girls wearing red hoods or cloaks forever captured on canvases. This particular one by Thomas Lawrence is one of my favorites. I have some other versions included in the Little Red Riding Hood Illustration Gallery on SurLaLune.

Cinderella Decorative Tiles

I was raised with many family vacations involving trips to art museums since my mother is an art historian. I've continued the trend into adulthood and usually find at least one fairy tale related piece in any museum I visit. The usual suspects are Cinderella or Little Red Riding Hood.

Last summer, I visited the Huntington Library and Art Collections in San Marino, CA during a business trip. I discovered this collection of Cinderella tiles designed by Lucy Faulkner for the William Morris Studio (Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Company to be exact). She based her designs on those of Edward Burne-Jones. According to the placard, the tiles were originally designed to ornament a fireplace, but were framed to create a single picture. I am always fascinated to see which images are used to tell the story and some of the choices here are a little bit less common for Cinderella.