NATHALIE DJURBERG: Still image with crayon from “Johnny” (2008), a claymation film for the Prada Foundationhttp://forums.thefashionspot.com/f81/patroness-miuccia-pradas-art-foundation-nyt-66680.html
'Experiment' (2009) 1. What do you understand by the word 'claymation'?
Clay animation is one of many forms of stop motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_animation
2. What is meant by the term 'surrealistic Garden of Eden'? and 'all that is natural goes awry'?
Everything that she created in the surrealistic garden is telling about how the earth were created in the past,but in this works ,the artists is trying to make the ambience looks eerie and creepy.All the leaves and flowers goes awry;they looked like an evil garden that only exist in hell.The artist controls each minute detail in the production process.She commands everything from idea, material, scenography, costume and not least the tense dramaturgy that is reinforced by the handicraft of her film technique. Her collaboration with the composer Hans Berg plays an important part in the final result. His rhythmical film music, like the music for silent movies, pushes the narration forward and creates an extra field of tension.It’s mean that 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. She used her imagination from dreams and fantasies,as well as from the real world, come to life through her use of stop-motion animation.With burlesque aesthetics and humor, she approaches hierarchical power structures, and tabu subjects such as violence, guilt and violation.
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/6886/nathalie-djurberg-experiment-at-venice-art-biennale-09.html
3. What are the 'complexity of emotions' that Djurberg confronts us with?
Djurberg confronts us with ambiguous feeling ,which is scary but also revolting at the same time.The art work gives the bizarre atmosphere,which reveal structures of power and human decadence.
4. How does Djurberg play with the ideas of children's stories, and innocence in some of her work?
Events unfold with a curious simplicity, driving them closer to the realm of fairy tales; but in Djurberg's stories mythical threats and nightmares are not overcome. As in fairy tales, animals commonly appear, but they don't seem in symbolic service to any human psychic economy, even as they perform sexual favors--like the moose that a belligerent queen humps as they ride together through a forest (The Secret Handshake, 2006), the queen clinging to the moose's underside. Children in her films are not caught in some wondrous moment of "innocence." They are as monstrous and crudely complex as everyone else. Even her characters' capacity to cry copious, foamy blue tears doesn't make them seem tender.
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?
I think this has come about because nowadays there are so many designers always loves to create something innocent and sweet,which I think is very boring and unattractive.I always look forward to seeing new type of art,something turn the innocent into something disturbing.Thus creating new art work into something disturbing and more interesting would make the work more outstanding and can be easily well-known.There are many designers ,who likes to make the make the same thing over and over again, is like keep repeating itself.I think is somehow like Harry Potter,how J-K Rowling make the fantasy novels turned into character that have power,unusual,scary but also interesting at the same time.This is the reason why the movie is so famous and is world-wide,because it is something different.
6. In your opinion, why do you think Djurberg's work is so interesting that it was chosen for the Venice Biennale?
I think Djurberg’s work is a special art.It is uncommon to see in art gallery.
She exposes the innate fear of what is not understood and confronts viewers with the complexity of emotions. She makes her works twisted from dream into cruel-reality.It is creepy but those flowers make the artwork look more enchanting but also seems scary at the same time.The colours are painted in darker tone.It is so different from normal art work,normally when it comes to children novels or claymation making,designer tended to make the work more cute, sweet, colourful and more lively.However Djurberg’s work was successful,it turned out so fantastic that it was chosen for the Venice Biennale.
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/6886/nathalie-djurberg-experiment-at-venice-art-biennale-09.html
7. Add some of your own personal comments on her work.
I was really amazed by her art works as it is very interesting and uncommon.I like how she displayed her art,where can’t be found in the usual gallery.It would probably take a long time for her to come out with something different,out of frame.Everything she made,probably takes a lot of time before it succeed.I also like how she shows the nature has turned into eerie and creepy feel.
'Experiment' (2009) Venice Biennale
