Introduction
The painting we chose is Hope, II, 1907-08, by Gustav KlimtHope.In Hope, II a woman with a skull nestled into her gown lowers her head toward her swelling belly. Below, three women also bow their heads—in prayer or possibly mourning.
We decided to create a storyline: A woman was giving birth, but her baby was dead when born, and the baby was like a dead monster. The three daughters of the woman were sleeping in harmony at first, but two of them started mourning and comforting the woman after they saw the skull of the dead baby. Only one daughter didn’t care about that, she was taken by her sister, but she rolled her eyes and kept sleeping again.
For the fabric on the woman with lots of circular patterns, we decided to use acrylic to paint on a piece of muslin fabric. For the colorful fabric on the left side of the woman, I decided to use yarns to create a fabric with texture. For the make-up, We actually put on white powder and specific paintings on our faces to be more similar to the original, but the effect is not so obvious.
Original Masterpiece
Our Work
The Park
Acted by me, Camille, Clover, and Nasser
Shot & Edited by Cosette
Process Photos
This is me arranging the yarns. Because the yarns I bought are wrapped into balls, I had to take them apart.
This is me with my teammates, working on the fabrics. I and Camille were painting golden acrylic on the yarns.
I took this photo of us making the background. We fixed the newsprints on the wall and sprayed grey and golden color on them. Then we painted some acrylic on them.
This is how we were putting on the fabrics.
My Contribution & Experience
When I observed this painting carefully, I immediately decided to use yarns to create the fabric instead of just painting on a canvas or a muslin fabric. The reason was that I wanted the whole scenery looked not so flat, but undulating and textured. I told my idea to my teammates, and they all agreed.
At first, when I was searching for the yarns, I went to a store called Lion Brand Yarns. This store was full of beautiful yarns, and I almost lost myself when I was in there. I bought lots of yarns and didn’t care about how expensive they are. I spent 115 dollars. When I brought my yarns, my teammates told me to return these because they were too expensive and recommended me to go to Michel’s. I went to Michel’s and found out that there were all kinds of yarns there, and the prices were much lower. I spent 36 dollars at last.
The process of fixing the yarns to the muslin fabric is hard. Because the yarns I bought were wrapped into balls, I and Camille had to take them apart and arrange them first. Then we used needles and threads to sew the yarns to the fabric. We twisted several threads together to form a very thick one, then rolled it into a circle and sewed it on the fabric. At first we thought it would just spend an afternoon, but actually, we spent almost two days completing that. I even stayed one night in Camille’s home for making this.
The last process was to painting golden acrylic on the yarns. It was so hard painting on the yarns because they were not flat, and they were so soft. I and Camille spent two hours finishing that.
When we were discussing how to act in the video, we first created the storyline. I suggested to zoom-in Nasser’s face and give a close shot when the baby is dead and his tears fall down. And about the three daughters. we decided to make two of them caring for their mother, but one of them doesn’t care about her at all. I suggested to make a scene of the other two daughters wake up her, she takes a look and rolls her eyes, and keeps on sleeping.
When acting, my knees hurt so much because of the position. I had to keep half squat, and that was too hard. It was so painful to hold that position. I had to control my facial expression to not to show pain on my face and act naturally. It was an unforgettable experience.
I’ve learned that anything that seems to be simple to do is not as easy as I think. Sometimes even much harder. If I want the final effect to be perfect, I have to put lots of effort and do my best on it.
Working in a team of five people is not so easy. That means I cannot do whatever I want. I bought the expensive yarns at first, but my teammates cannot except the price. I have to find cheaper ones. But the benefit is also obvious because they know what I don’t know. I didn’t know the yarns are so cheap in Michel’s until they told me.
