Xia Wu
Int. Sem. 1: Avatar
November 22, 2015
Annotated Bibliography
1. Aesop, “The Fox and the Grapes”, Aesop’s Fables, Lit2Go Edition, (1867), accessed November 22, 2015, http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/35/aesops-fables/395/-the-fox-and-the-grapes/.
This fable tells a story about a fox becomes scornful after he realizes that he is unable to get the grape on the branch. People usually think this kind of feeling is negative because they think the fox will not say the same thing after he gets the grape. However, I think the fox’s thought is somehow clever, because there is always something that we can not attain even though we put a lot of effort into it. People sometimes need to be comforted by the similar thought of fox’s so they can feel better. I wish to change people’s general perspective to fox in Aesop stories by presenting my studio project.
2. Bradford, By. “Foxes: Facts & Pictures.” LiveScience. May 23, 2014. Accessed November 22, 2015. http://www.livescience.com/27168-foxes.html.
This website includes all the important facts about fox, such as size, habit, habitat, offspring, diet, conservation status etc. It provides the basic information about fox, so after I read it, I feel I have gained an overall knowledge of this mysterious creature.
3. Gustave, Courbet, Fox in the Snow. 1860, Oil on Canvas, 85.72 x 127.79 cm. Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, USA. Available from: ARTstor, http://www.artstor.org (accessed November 22. 2015).
In this painting, there is a fox in the snow and it is eating a mouse. I see the fox’s desire to live and survive through its eyes while it catches the mouse. I also realized that life is hard not only for human, but also for creatures like fox. So I intend to show this with a humorous sense, for example, I will make a handbook about how to survive as a tiny fox.
4. Lempke, Susan Dove. “Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart.” Horn Book Magazine 88, no. 3 (May 2012): 104-105. Professional Development Collection, EBSCOhost (accessed November 16, 2015).
Amy Lowry provides us a book review of the illustration made about fox while introducing the details of fox in the Aesop story. I learnt the common impression people have for fox, which is crafty, calculating and cunning. I also get a sense of how to use illustration to reflect the fox’s personality and characteristics in my studio work.
5. Uther, Hans-Jörg. “The Fox in World Literature.” Asian Folklore Studies 65, no. 2 (October 2006): 133-160. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed November 22, 2015).
The article talks about the role of the fox in folktales. Instead of characteristics like slyness, perfidy, and devilishness, the article discusses more positive qualities of fox, such as an ingenious mind, a readiness to care for and help others, swiftness. The article’s content perfectly matches with the aim of my studio project. So I am thinking about including an illustration of a fable about fox to make the contrast more obvious.
6. “Young Fox Hunting in the Snow,” YouTube video, 3:34, posted by “BBC Earth,” August 19, 2015. Accessed November 22, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EiV-ERKRRs.
This video shows how young fox hunt during the winter. I found out that fox is smart and sensitive, they always give a careful look to the surrounding world. In the video, hey carefully listen to the sound of fish swimming underground and jump up to dive into the snow. They have to jump up in a proper height so they will neither get stuck in the snow nor fail to get through to the snow. So I may include some illustrations of fox hunting in the snow in my studio project.
