Bloody Mary. [FINAL: film.]

Here it is on youtube.
Sorry I can't upload it directly onto the blog, blogger is giving me problems.

Problem Solving: Bloody Mary.

To approach my myth of the urban legend "Bloody Mary", I decided to make a film. I want to explore the ideas in the tale--young girls, dark mirrors, the chanting ritual, etc. while also exploring the 'coming of age' symbolism that has been observed within the legend, as written about by Alan Dundes. My film begins as footage of a cheesey, kitsch 1980s girls' slumber party, that turns into a romp into a world of dark mirrors, menstruation, and sexuality.

'Bloody Mary': Research.

To try and find some answers to the questions I posed about the Bloody Mary urban legend a few weeks ago, I've been doing some research. Here is what I found...

1.) Where did the name "Bloody Mary" originate?
It was hard to find an exact answer concerning the legend, as there are not many real scholarly sources on the tale. Most of the legend has developed through word-of-mouth and internet blogs, so that is where I ended up having to gain most of my information. An article on About.com describes the Bloody Mary spirit originally as a vain young girl named Mary Worth, who ended up being disfigured in some kind of horrible accident that caused her to be terrified of her reflection. Popular urban legend website Snopes.com describes the Bloody Mary story as either a witch who was executed hundreds of years ago, or a modern-day woman who was disfigured in a car accident (again, the theme of injury in some kind of accident). Snopes also goes on to explain that the name Mary may have been taken from historically infamous queens, such as Mary I of England and Mary Queen of Scotts, despite these two historical figures being far from murderous or having anything to do with blood. In the scholarly study of Bloody Mary by Alan Dundes, he asks children folklorists about the tale, and say they have heard reports of several variations of the Bloody Mary name, ranging from Bloody Mary, Mary Worth, Mary Jane, and Mary Whales. Though it is unsure of where exactly these names originated from, as each child that was interviewed from different areas had heard a different rendition of the tale.

2.) What are some of the most popular versions of the urban legend tale?
Many of legend variations being told around the internet either involve a vain young girl in love with her beauty being horribly disfigured in some kind of accident, usually a car crash. If not this, then the second most popular version is the story of a disturbed witch who dabbled in the black arts. These stories are not set in stone, however--there are many, many other versions of the legend that depend on the area on which it is told, the age of the children telling it, etc.


3.) What are some versions of the ritual used in the urban legend to summon Bloody Mary?
All variations of the tale involve a darkened mirror. How to actually 'summon' Bloody Mary depends on each variation of the story. Usually it involves some kind of chanting--saying the name "Bloody Mary" or "Mary Worth" a certain number of times, in a certain volume or tone. Sometimes it involves repeating phrases, such as "I believe in Mary Worth". It can even involve the movement of spinning in circles, the use of a candle, and even a drop of blood.


4.) How is Bloody Mary portrayed in pop culture?
Bloody Mary is a great mysterious and chilling tale that many films and movies have taken advantage of. TV show Supernatural based an episode off of the legend, while horror films such as Candyman and Bloody Mary have gotten inspiration from the legend in varying degrees. There is also the famous cocktail drink called 'Bloody Mary', but its debatable how relateable the drink and the legend are.

5.) Are there any other supernatural legends similar to that of Bloody Mary?
When various online research articles attempt to dissect the Bloody Mary urban legend, many of them come up with many cases of Victorian era 'spells', that involve young woman seeing their future spouses in a dark mirror, etc. There is also the Spanish legend of La Llorona, aka the "Weeping Woman", who is a disgruntled ghost who wanders the earth after killing her own children during her living days.

Seeking Shambhala and other art at the MFA.

The Seeking Shambhala exhibit at the MFA was very beautiful, but the two pieces that I connected with the most were 'Radioactive' by Gonkar Gyatso and 'The Mantra Waterfall' by Tadanori Yokoo. 'Radioactive' was a psychedelic collage piece on a cast-resin statue of Buddha. The stickers and magazine clippings are very modern and kitsch--even including the glittery bits representing the Chakras of the Buddha. It was an interesting mix of holy iconography and modern-day kitsch, which I love and try to put into my own art.
The second piece in the exhibit that really captivated me is Tadanori Yokoo's 'The Mantra Waterfall', which is a mix of art and technology. It involved small, animated tv-screens where the waterfall was, causing a psychodelic, animated effect throughout a colorful, traditional style Japanese paintings. The water patterns on the screen, over the 2-dimensional painted hills, drawing the viewer in and making them believe in a make-believe world behind the painting. In my own art, I love creating my own worlds, and I'd like to hope I could create the similar feelings I got from Yokoo's work with the art of my own creation.
In another part of the museum, I found a beautiful automaton titled 'Diana and the stag', who had been credited by Joachim Fries. It is an extremely ornate drinking vessel, made from silver and gold-gilded silver encrusted with jewels, featuring an ethereal angel figure riding a beautifully decorated stag, with hounds and forest animals at her feet. The entire piece is so wonderfully detailed and fairytale-like, it caught my eyes immediately. It made me want to write stories about the figures portrayed in the figure, which I find very inspiring. I hope this same sense of whimsy and fairytale-like nature comes through in my own work.

'Bloody Mary' film: 8 images from the progress.

Su-En Wong.

Su-En Wong is a Singapore artist, born in 1973 and now living in New York City. For years, she was a recital pianist, for which she moved to the US to tour with her music. Stage fright kept her from performing, and she ended up an artist instead. Her pieces are mainly done in colored pencil on acrylic backgrounds, and occasionally in graphite on paper. Her pieces play with stereotypes, sexuality, and maturity. Su-En Wong gets her inspiration from her own personal experiences and emotions, and plays with the ideas and feelings associated with a young girl growing up into a woman. Her drawings create a sense of time through her repeated characters--each piece represents a girl or woman at a different age, while playing with whirlwind of emotions and attitudes with each one.

5 Questions about Bloody Mary.

1.) Where did the name 'Bloody Mary' originate?
2.) What are some of the most popular versions of the urban legend tale?
3.) What are some versions of the ritual used in the urban legend to summon Bloody Mary?
4.) How is Bloody Mary portrayed in pop culture?
5.) Are there any other supernatural legends similar to that of Bloody Mary?

'Bloody Mary': exploring the myth.

     For my final 'myth' assignment, I will be exploring the urban legend of Bloody Mary, the malicious ghost that is said to appear in dark mirrors after saying an assortment of chants. This legend is a rumor strongly believed by elementary and middle school children, which makes the original source of the legend hard to track down, as the story is tweaked and changed through each generation. Some scholars have said that the legend may have been inspired by the folklore of Queen Mary I, who was rumored to have bathed in the blood of virgins to preserve her beauty. She was also known for having many problems with birth, and had several miscarriages, which brings a strong maternal thread to the tale. Several of the versions of legends have to deal with a woman who has either lost her child and committed suicide, or murdered her child in a fit of madness. To summon this spirit, whoever she may be, also depends on the legend the summoners are following. Some chants involve simply saying 'Bloody Mary' a number of times, or saying "I believe in Mary Worth" or "Mary Worth, I have your baby". When summoned, the spirit is said to be very violent, scratching and hurting her summoners and even dragging them into the mirror with her.
     My connection with this tale has been a long bout of paranoia that has lasted me since my junior high years. I learned about the infamous Bloody Mary tale at a girlscout sleepover I attended, and ever since I have had an extreme fear and yet morbid fascination with the tale. I still cannot be in a room with a dark mirror, much to my parents dismay, but I think the grisly mysterious aspect of the tale has affected me and my art on a psychological level. I'm excited to explore the terror and sleepless nights I had because of the tale, weaving them in with symbolism from the actual legends into a single film.

some images that i'm using for inspiration...

the "real" bloody mary...

the beginning of my storyboard for my film...

'Dodgson': Portrait of a Person short film.

Analyzing film: Jan Svankmajer's "Meat Love".

Czech surrealist and animator Jan Svankmajer is famous for his unique film editing technique involving sharp, rapid cuts between scenes. I am going to analyze the transitions used in his short "Meat Love" :

The film begins with a short establishing shot that zooms into the film's subjects: slabs of animated meat. There is a cut moving to a close-up of the meat being cut away at by a knife. The film moves on to a subject to subject scene, where the two slabs of meat come 'alive' through stop-motion animation. Another cut, and the first slab of meat is looking at its reflection in a spoon, as if it were a mirror. Through action to action cuts, Svankmajer moves the camera to the second slab of meat, who raises and seems to notice its companion. Another cut to the first slab of meat and its 'spoon mirror'. An action to action scene shows the second slab "standing up", and Svankmajer cuts into a subject to subject scene where the two slabs of meat begin to interact. Another sharp cut has a close-up of the meat engaging in some flirtatious behavior. Through several more sharp cuts, the camera closes in on the first meat's "mouth" who lets out a yelp, and another close-up of the spoon 'mirror' being dropped. More cuts are rapidly shown of each slab of meat, reacting to their companions in different ways. A cut to a closeup of the second slab of meat turning on an old fashioned radio. More rapid cuts of the two slabs of meat interacting, each one being the focus of each cut, interacting to the music. This leads to a subject to subject shot of the two slabs of meat dancing. There are a few short cuts of the textures of the meat interspersed between this dance scene. This leads to an action to action scene with one of the slabs of meat running across a cluttered kitchen counter. The running slab of meat stops at a bowl full of flour, and short rapid cuts are used in moment to moment shots of the other slab of meat being hit with the flour, as if it had snowballs being thrown at it. This leads to a last subject to subject scene between the two slabs of meat having a romantic tryst in the bowl of flour, and leads to a wipe shot that leads to a pair of forks grabbing the meat and throwing them into a frying pan.

I love Jan Svankmajer and I feel this work is one of the most light-hearted of his shorts. I love the wit and humor used in it, and I find it fascinating how he edits all of his work with very sharp and violent cuts, with next to no fades or dissolves.

A Portrait of Lewis Carroll. (storyboard + ideas)

My "Portrait of a Person" assignment is going to be about Charles Dodgson, also known as Lewis Carroll, who is known worldwide as the author of Alice in Wonderland. In this film I want to explore the romanticized rumors surrounding Dodgson's supposed "pedophilia", and whose intense love for a young girl named Alice originally inspired his famous tale. With intense symbolism and wild visuals, I want to portray the image biographers have painted Dodgson to be--a creative man with an intense but pure passion for young girls, but struggling under the harsh conditions and social regulations of Christian, Victorian society. The film begins with the air of whimsy and innocence, and then spirals into a much darker, struggling vibe. Here are photos of Charles Dodgson and the real life Alice that have inspired the visuals of the film:

If my book had a sound...

...it would be this.

Artist Book Photos + Statement.

My human-heart shaped book is an exploration of the emotions and traumas I went through growing up, ranging from my childhood to my highschool years. It starts off innocent—photos of myself in child-like princess dresses playing with my childhood favorite food, potatoes. Then the book slowly gets darker, to represent my diagnosis with extreme anxiety and depression. During this time, I was put onto medication that made me very sick and confused, so growing up became very frightening. The book slowly becomes more positive, with hints to my growing love for fashion and art. The motifs of bows, candy, lace, and rhinestones represent the hobbies that helped me through my depression and anxiety and become the person I am today.

Final Photo Sequence for Artist Book.

Research on Sound artists.

        In class, we listened to some sound artists, and I really connected with DJ Spooky. I loved his electronic duet with a cello player he did to raise awareness for child soldiers in Africa--I thought it was a very beautiful and meaningful, and I thought it was great how he was trying to bring the digital and classical music worlds together. On his website, it shows how a lot of his music is based on world issues, which I find really amazing that he is using his dj-ing skills to help serious causes from around the world. I also love his DJ iphone app--it looks so cool! I think it's great how he is trying to get music technology to people around the world...this will maybe create more sound artists in the future!
        As for sound artists I have found on my own, I personally enjoy the two-girl band Toxic Lipstick from Brisbane, Australia. They take much inspiration from the attention-seeking and self-destructive phase many pre-teen girls go through growing up, along with the colorful and camp culture of the 1980s. They put a humorous twist on serious and unhealthy issues that teenagers have to learn to maneuver through, such as underage drinking, unprotected sex, and cruel bullying--they mock these things through their music, creating art through "anti-art"--with harsh loud synthesizers and wacky cartoon sound effects, mixed with lewd, jargon-filled lyrics that sound like they're coming out of the mouth of a confused 14-year-old on helium. Check out their video for their song Best Friends, and listen to I Smoke my Vomit and Tracey's Slumber Party!

My relationship to sound.

    I have many sounds I can recall from my childhood. Growing up, my next door neighbor was a biology scientist who studied birds, and cared for hundreds of chickens, ducks, and other birds in his backyard. You could hear the chickens and ducks squacking and cackling all day--it became a very nostalgic sound for me. We also lived next door to a small swamp, where many "peeper" frogs made their home. They would "peep" late into the night, and as a child I loved listening to them. I also have memories of listening to my mum cook in the kitchen while doing homework, and listening to my grandfather practice his trumpet whenever staying the night at my grandparent's house.
      I often escaped into music in my pre-teen years, when I was first diagnosed with social anxiety and life was becoming harder for me. It was hard for me to be detached from my CD player. The music I listened to then gave me comfort through the confusing emotions I was going through. I spent a lot of time listening to cliche alternative bands like Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance, but despite their melodramatic lyrics, I truly did enjoy them growing up. They gave me something to relate to.

20 sounds in response to my book.

• high heels on a hardwood floor
• the sound of water boiling
• the toilet flushing
• the sound of "morning announcements" in my highschool
• schoolkids gossiping
• music boxes
• muffled music from headphones playing too loudly
• the whir of a sewing machine
• the sound of bracelets and jewelry rattling
• the sound of pill bottles opening
• magazine pages flipping
• walking on pine needles in the woods
• water running in a shower
• wind rustling in the trees
• rain hitting windows
• water pouring out of a bottle
• the sound of heavy breathing from after having a panic attack
• the sound of potatoes being mashed
• school buses and cars driving away afterschool
• the sound of paint being thrown at a canvas

Artist Book Statement. (Draft).

My artist book is a collage/text combination exploring the hard times I had while growing up. During my childhood, I struggled with severe anxiety disorder, instances of self-harm, and bouts of depression. Despite all this, I ended up becoming a stronger person through my love for art and fashion. The photos taken for this assignment range from glamorous and dreamlike fashion shoots invoking child-like innocence and daydreams, to dark and twisted versions of the same outfits.  These represent the darkness I suffered through as a child, but how I healed myself through clothes. The book will be a collage of these photos, pieces of fabric and lace, and bits of texts from my childhood diaries. The book itself will be in the shape of a human heart, and tied shut with pink ribbon.

Artist Books.

     During our presentation of artist books in the library, I was particularly moved by one book titled "Rape Is...". It was a simple white color with a blood red sticker in the middle, printed with the book's title. The sticker had to be torn in half to open the book, representing the physical and emotional pain caused by rape. Inside are short quotes from rape victims, describing how they were raped, what it was like afterwards, etc. It is a very moving book and I thought it was especially impressive how the shape of the book could have such an emotional impact and a large part of the book's message.
     In my own research, I came across a lovely book titled "Fragile Kingdom" by Lara Shnitger. The book has the feeling of a very personal collage, with photos of intricate art installations mixed with simple candid featuring the artist's everyday life.  Lara has written page numbers in her own hand, along with titles for some of her photographs. I especially love the opening page, featuring black and white photos of who I assume is herself, making funny faces. I think it sets the tone of this very personal artist book well, and lets the viewers know that this book is going to act as a doorway into this individual's life.

Photographic Memories (part 3).