Narrative Nuance
The Subject of Life and Death Management by Modern Fairy Tale Artists: The Example of «Duck, Death and the Tulip» View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Dimitrios Trakosas
Life in contrast with death has pondered quite a few artists over the centuries. It is also a subject frequently encountered in classic and folk tales. However, this is not the case in modern fairy tales which are considered as a popular literary genre for children and for this reason, death is treated as a taboo subject. When an artist decides to deal with this particular subject in the context of the modern fairy tale, most of the time he/she "approaches" it through a more positive framework. The artist focuses mainly on the loss management, thus reducing the stimulation of philosophical discussions that may this dipole raise. This study presents a way that artists can manage the distinct subject of life and death without worrying about possible negative reactions. We demonstrate a different perspective, which does not create superficial and fearful approaches reducing the artistic power of each modern fairy tale. Such a modern and groundbreaking approach to the subject of death, which can affect both children and adults, is the fairy tale "Duck, Death and the Tulip" by Wolf Erlbruch, author and illustrator. Ιt is analysed as a work of art using the Panofsky iconological method.
Sheng Sheng Man: The Structure of a Poem in Tang Dynasty in China
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Shuai Yao
The poem of the music we consider is borrowed from the famous piece Shengshengman, one of Yue Fu poetries by Bai Juyi (772-846), a famous poet of Tang Dynasty. The original verse depicted the prevalent elopement phenomenon in the Tang Dynasty. Under the social context of disorderly relationship, women would always have no place to go back to due to double miseries imposed by humiliation pain and disobedience of decorum. The finite traditional Sheng and female voice constitutes a sharp contrast to infinite sufferings for the woman. It is characterized by the proper reflection of life encounters within the finite music. This composition has been infused with dramatic elements while adopting methods including indefinite rhythm, polyrhythm, split rhythm, chunk, fast bowing and slow singing, speaking, as well as recitation. In addition, an adoption of Man - Tang Dynasty Daqu (grand opus) acts as a further probe and practice into the structure.
The Reconstructed Cultural Heritage: A Study of the Chinese Immersive Kun Opera Performance “Six Records of a Floating Life”
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Xi Liu
This study explores the remaking of two Chinese cultural heritages, kun opera and Suzhou garden, through the very first commercial immersive kun opera performance in contemporary China. The garden version of “Six Records of a Floating Life” (fusheng liuji), which is based on the autobiographical prose by a literati Shen Fu from Suzhou in Qing Dynasty, is performed in Canglang Pavilion, one of the oldest gardens in Suzhou since 2018, where the story of the play takes place. The two world cultural heritages were integrated through the live-action immersion experiences. With great commercial success in China, “Six Records” has also done excellent work in cultivating its “international style” in terms of storytelling, translation, and promotion. While the romantic love between the couple in the original story is highlighted in the performance, a poetic, artistic, and elegant “Suzhou-style life” as “an underpinning and essence of Chinese culture” is promoted by the producers. Through field trips, content analysis, and interviews with producers and audiences, this study aims to elucidate the strategies, achievements, and deficiencies in the redefinition and reconstruction of the two cultural heritages. It asks the following research questions: what kind of “Chinese culture” and relevant Chinese theatrical aesthetics are produced and propagated and why? What agendas of regional, national, and international identity-making are addressed? How have they been received domestically and internationally? How are boundaries between “tradition” and “modernity” reconfigured in the modernized kun opera performance?
