Eleventh International Conference on The Image

Abstract

In this paper, I share my work The Clown Genocide: a novel in woodcuts. I briefly discuss the history of woodcuts novels, my process for writing a novel told entirely in images, and my three-fold artistic intent when creating The Clown Genocide. Stylistically, I wanted to create a linear narrative told only in images. The style of the work is inspired by silent films and the works of Frans Masereel and Lynd Ward, whose woodcut novels from the early twentieth century are now seen as the precursors to the modern graphic novel. While I looked to these artists for inspiration, I strove to create my own style with my woodcuts, and then translated this style into three dimensions with the bronze statues. My second artistic intent is that conceptually, I wanted to create a world in which I could tell the story of a mythical genocide so that I could challenge the viewer to ask questions about genocide and mass murder without any historical background knowledge. And, thirdly, intellectually, I wanted to create a work that provokes questions: Why are some groups made the scapegoat for the troubles of society? What is the role of the average person in world events where mass murder is almost a daily news story? What does it mean to be a member of a society that has witnessed such events? And how do people heal from such events?