THE ROOM / A Visual Poem

During this visual narrative workshop, you will make a small book whose character should resemble a poem more than prose fiction. In other words, the emphasis will be on form, rhythm, emotion and atmosphere.

 

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Before the workshop

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Make a simple model of an architectural space using foam board or cardboard and dressmaker's pins or Patefix to quickly and flexibly reposition flat surfaces that represent walls, ceilings and floors. Illuminate your invented spaces, f.ex. use an anglepoise desk lamps or your phones. You may introduce windows and doors or reflective surfaces such as mirrors or tin foil.

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Your spaces can be relatively abstract or they can represent real rooms, corridors and staircases. They can be cross-sections of a house, tower or stairwell. Work to scale, cut out a human figure and let it be your guide. You can create paradoxes and visual contradictions. Think of Rene Magritte's paintings (e.g. a giant apple in a bedroom).

 

Once you have played about with your models, start to make drawings from them (max. size: A6). Surprise the viewer by the unusual viewpoints by removing walls, ceilings or floors, or peering through the window from the outside.  Drama, mood, illusion and atmosphere are the key qualities to look for.

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Nicholas Poussin used models to work out the compositions for his paintings. Alfred Hitchcock and Fritz Lang used them when preparing for the film shoots, carefully working out the camera angles and lighting. You may wish to photograph your models with your phones or cut out small frames through which to peer with one eye closed and draw what you see. 

 

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During the workshop

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We will work together to give your book logic and character that is convincing and stir a response that we expect from a poem. It can be said that we often don't understand a poem, but we feel it.

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Even though your book will be small (max. 16 pages), you will need many drawings to make an exciting edit. Have the cover of your book at the back of your mind, although this will be a main consideration during the workshop week.