A Very ...Interesting Interview with Dame Darcy
We've been waiting months to hear more about Dame Darcy's illustrated Jane Eyre, and now we have a new interview and a few illustrations. The interview itself is really very odd:
Darcy was first exposed to "Jane Eyre" while in art school where it had an immediate impact on her. "It's just so gothic and awesome. I really like how all this surreal weird stuff goes down, while the rest of the time is spent drinking tea and staring out the window - which I think is actually kind of cool. I enjoy doing that, too! [laughs]"
Penguin gave Darcy a lot of room to play with in working on "The Illustrated Jane Eyre" and every illustration she created for the book will see print. "What's really great is they asked me to do the cover and it could have been any image from the entire book, but I thought the way to make it really kind of punk rock for the new generation of goth girls that it'll appeal to was to take the scene where Jane Eyre is freaking out while the giant mansion is burning behind and Jane Eyre is written in bloody red letters. That's how hard core Jane Eyre gets! People think it's this classic about a governess, but it's not necessarily about that - I mean, she gets called a witch about 7000 times and everything demented and tragic goes down during the book. I thought that should be portrayed. Plus, she's seriously Catholic-damaged, which is probably true for most of my fan base. [laughs]"
So much for overtones. 'Catholic-damaged?' And Jane is a witch? She's also called a skylark, a linet but they're not in fashion at the moment. I wonder what the last half of the book's illustrations will be like.
9 comments:
um..Catholic damaged??? When?? How??
somebody is obviously confused with Villette...which I think would make an awesome comic book by the way, hope she undertakes it...even if she's a little punkish :`)
Villette would be aces illustrated gothically, considering the lovely spooky visuals – the disappearing portrait, the NUN in the attack, Lucy haunting the allee defendue. Usually I am not a great fan of Burton-style kitchy gothic, but I like these illustrations a lot – especially this one of Jane and her friend (whose name I have forgotten) out gallivanting while Helen suffers. I wonder how expensive the finished product will be…
to mysticgypsy:
You know I am as confused as you are.
to mandyjoy:
That is what a few others are saying. Villette would appeal more to her I think- and there's the opium episode, and the plotting of Madame Beck and the priest. But in Jane Eyre? Really OTT.
to liz:
Agreed. I do have some reservations, though. I'm glad to see the witty girl from Lowood for a change (I can't remember her name either), but ...jewel-tone scarlet frock and pumps? At Lowood? It makes for a pretty effect but it is completely out of place. It doesn't even make sense symbolically. Her line work is excellent. I just... wish she hadn't coloured the illustrations, or had at least not used acrylics. Acrylics have a way of looking like crayola markers when they are used as watercolours. I hope this doesn't sound too harsh.
"Acrylics have a way of looking like crayola markers when they are used as watercolours. I hope this doesn't sound too harsh"
No. It sounds amusing! :) Perhaps she wanted to be unusual?
Not a few mintues ago I read this little cartoon strip that showed a man writing a note with crayons on a birch bark and saying "At least I am unique! I can impress the admissions officers"
Just occured to me...maybe she thought Lowood was a Catholic school, with nuns...although, if Miss Temple was the bride of heaven...hmmm, that kind of ruins my hypothesis....
If Lowood was Catholic, that would put quite another spin on it! I always considered the privations to be uniquely Protestant. ;-)
“jewel-tone scarlet frock and pumps? At Lowood?”
Perhaps they are ‘dream garments’?!
Post a Comment