WEEK 1- Nathalie Djurberg's 'Claymations'.

Nathalie Djurberg's 'Claymations'. 

Swedish artist Nathalie Djurberg's intricately constructed claymation films are both terrifyingly
disturbing and artlessly sweet.

The new works created for the Venice Biennale explore a surrealistic Garden of Eden in which all that is natural goes awry.

She exposes the innate fear of what is not understood and confronts viewers with the complexity of emotions.

Nathalie Djurberg was awarded the silver lion for a promising young artist at the Venice
Art Biennale 09.

(http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/6886/nathalie-djurberg)

Research Djurberg's work in order to answer the following questions;

1. What do you understand by the word 'claymation'?

2. What is meant by the term 'surrealistic Garden of Eden'? and 'all that is natural goes awry'?

3. What are the 'complexity of emotions' that Djurberg confronts us with?

4. How does Djurberg play with the ideas of children's stories, and innocence in some of her work?

5. There is a current fascination by some designers with turning the innocent and sweet into something disturbing. Why do you think this has come about?

6. In your opinion, why do you think Djurberg's work is so interesting that it was chosen for the Venice Biennale?

7. Add some of your own personal comments on her work.

'Experiment' (2009) Venice Biennale

1. My understanding of the word "claymation" is that it is stop-motion animation - which is a style of animation that involves taking photographs of an object, and in between each photograph the object is moved slightly - that involves the use of clay, e.g. Wallace and Gromit.

2. The Definition of "surrealistic" is "Having an oddly dreamlike or unreal quality" (thefreedictionary.com). This means that Djurberg's work has been influenced  by non-lifelike ideas, for example increasing the scale of one thing in relation to the scale something else to make it feel less realistic. 'Garden of Eden' refers to the biblical paradise where the first man and woman; Adam and Eve, lived before eating the forbidden fruit and being forced to leave by God. From the above definitions, my understanding of the term 'surrealistic garden of eden" is that Djurberg set out to recreate the Garden of Eden in a more dream-like way as opposed to following the traditional description of the biblical paradise.

The definition of the word 'awry' is "Away from the correct course; amiss" (thefreedictionary.com). The term "all that is natural goes awry" implies that  the garden of eden has something not how it is supposed to be.

3. After watching an excerpt of Djurberg's work, I noticed that she confronts us with a huge range of intense emotions. There are strong elements of anger and destruction portrayed in Djurberg's work. Through her work she shows very twisted perceptions that are mirroring reality through a strong surrealist feel.


4. Through the use of Claymation, she harnesses our youthful association with the style. These associations can be seen in animations such as Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run. Djurberg takes these innocent ideals and transforms them into disturbed nightmares.


5. I think that this trend has arisen because it is edgy, and has strong shock value as it explores very personal themes and emotions. The juxtaposition of these two themes creates very strong confrontation as they are polar opposites and this creates interest and personal connection for the viewers.


6. I think that her work was chosen because it is so disturbing that it envelopes the audience into this nightmarish world that she has created.


References:


http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Garden+of+Eden
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Awry