SUMMER OF SURREALISM & DREAMS PART 1
My Summer of Surrealism took many forms, so many that I had better split this post in two... the surrealist things i fed myself & the surrealist things I took part in!
Leonora Carrington’s paintings are wonderfully strange & with this visual language I was excited to enter her head in a more descriptive way. The Complete Stories of Leonora Carrington were wonderful. Whenever you put surreal writers into google - top of the list is Haruki Murakami. I have previously read Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman - a book of short stories & loved getting lost in its pages... I don’t even think I read them in order... This time I chanced on Kafka On The Shore - one of his more surrealist works. It did not disappoint!
I had over the course of a few months listed the films I wanted to watch. The more bonkers the better. One that came up was Daisies (1966) written by Vera Chytilová. It was sublime. And the fun colours & effects added to the film definitely had an affect on the kind of summer I wanted to have with the children. It did alter the way I saw things. The story - also fantastic. I urge everyone to watch it. ( I found it on YouTube).
Valarie & Her Week of Wonders (1971), also found on YouTube, I had seen before, but revisited. The visuals are so beautifully crafted.
Over the summer holidays Film4 had a season of Studio Ghibli films. They are a firm favourite in our house & it was brilliant to have the opportunity to see more amongst the ones in our DVD collection. The girls loved these - we still have them saved on our Sky Box to enjoy over & over again. I love how immersive these animations are - the girls too are transfixed by their stories.
Another film that comes top of the surreal list in film is Aria (1987). The idea is that there are 10 short films written & directed by 10 people to accompany opera soundtracks. The result is visually glorious. It reminds me now that I should have squeezed in a few Ken Russell films over the summer!
The Company of Wolves (1984) is my most favourite film ever. A scarier take on the Little Red Riding Hood written by Angela Carter. This film is so gorgeously dreamlike & strange. I loved the excuse to rewatch it again!
I also read The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter. I have read a few of her books previously, such as The Magic Toyshop & Nights at the Circus & am keen to lose myself in more of them. I love that when you put her book titles into google images the diverse book covers & illustrations are so beautifully crafted. So opulent & strange - just like the stories.
This summer I also introduced my eldest daughter Judy to my favourite childhood book. A Necklace of Raindrops by Joan Aiken. I loved the story & also the beautiful filigree illustrations by Jan Pienkowski. Again so dreamlike & surreal. I do think about this story often... and was delighted to also discover that Aiken also wrote the Wolves of Willoghby Chase - so I bought it & will devour that too.
