Illustrations and the Eco-Reality of The Velveteen Rabbit
Title and/or Affiliation
Simmons University
Presenter Bio
Wenduo Zhang received her MA in Children's Literature from Simmons University. Her research interests include animal stories and anthropomorphized creatures in children’s fiction and picturebooks, in particular from an ecocritical perspective.
Session
Panel: Reading Classics through Other Eyes
Location
Zoom
Start Date
8-7-2022 2:45 PM
End Date
8-7-2022 4:00 PM
Abstract
This presentation will offer a look into the Japanese edition of The Velveteen Rabbit, adapted and illustrated by Komako Sakai, as a miniature ecosystem of words and pictures that interact with each other and create meaning through counterpoints. I will analyze primarily the visual narrative, namely Sakai’s use of color and light, relative sizes, and distance and frames in her paintings. I will also focus on the depiction of and implication about nature and how illustrating techniques contribute to our understanding of the story. By acknowledging the interests of animal others (even toy animals) and identifying whether the natural environment is implicated in the story, such reading engages us in the ethics of human relationships with built and natural environments, as well as nonhuman beings.
Illustrations and the Eco-Reality of The Velveteen Rabbit
Zoom
This presentation will offer a look into the Japanese edition of The Velveteen Rabbit, adapted and illustrated by Komako Sakai, as a miniature ecosystem of words and pictures that interact with each other and create meaning through counterpoints. I will analyze primarily the visual narrative, namely Sakai’s use of color and light, relative sizes, and distance and frames in her paintings. I will also focus on the depiction of and implication about nature and how illustrating techniques contribute to our understanding of the story. By acknowledging the interests of animal others (even toy animals) and identifying whether the natural environment is implicated in the story, such reading engages us in the ethics of human relationships with built and natural environments, as well as nonhuman beings.
Comments
Moderated by Lisa Rowe Fraustino