Windows on the Worldtold through fairy tale type

#510

Window gazing can provide awareness about:

• Storytelling,• Cultural Distinctions, and• Art making Disciplines.

With regard to fairy tale type #510

What is tale type #510?

Folklorists categorize tales by types and motifs and assign numbers accordingly. Tale type #510 is the oldest and most widely circulated tale of transformation, originating in 850 A.D. China with Yeh-hsein. Disney’s iconic Cinderella (appropriated from Charles Perrault’s French tale) is the most recognizable #510 story in the United States.

Standard criterion for tale type #510 (subtype A) includes the following: A young girl is ill treated by family members. She experiences this mistreatment during a time of menial service at home or abroad. Benevolent forces assist in her transformation. She meets 'the prince'. She is identified by a variety of means such as a special shoe, a ring that is hidden in food, or an ability to accomplish a difficult task. Finally, she marries the prince. Tale type #510 rarely includes fairy godmothers, pumpkins, and/or mice.

Tale type # 510, as a platform of inquiry, offers students variants which are simultaneously familiar yet reflective of distinct cultural heritages and inherent power blocs.

In older versions the central character's transformation and/or salvation is not dependent upon a magic wand, but rather her recognition of and access to an internal power with which to overcome her own obstacles. Her transformation is hard-won consciousness. Folklorists have classified numerous sub-types of #510; including those identified as "Hero" tales where the main character is male (subtype E.). Another familiar version of this tale is likened to King Lear (subtype C) where the father figure abandons the girl after a misjudgment of her character. Other variants reveal incestuous intent or practice by the father (subtype B). Sub-type D is a catchall for those related versions that are not so easily catalogued but share a mixture of elements typical to the tale type #510

The above sub-types provide categories from which a teacher could develop critical curriculum, providing teens with an interface to explore fixed notions of dating rituals, death, patriarchy, family dynamics (including step and/or mixed families), gender expectations, grief, magic, matriarchy, misogyny, psych/social/phenomena,

privilege/power, sexuality and/or spirituality.

All photos of Marshall Field’s 2005 Holiday Windows

Posted by Rachelle Bowden at

http://www.rachelleb.com/002501.html

Cinderella- “Sweeping up” in Marshall Fields holiday

windows on State Street, Chicago, IL

• Encourage students to identify the many different design elements/choices in each of the Cinderella “windows” including the:– flat “set design” contrasted by the sculpted expressions,– costume design,– pets,– the renderings of shoe design posted on the wall, and– the framed portrait.

• How does (or does ?) each element move the story forward?

In the window shown in the previous slide, students might notice a variety of disciplines and design elements including:

– the gate is drawn in perspective,– the girls are cut-outs,– the decorated Christmas tree is three dimensional while those trees in the

park are not,– the footman is an animated figure,– the character peering in the door is a sculpted head.

Again, students might notice the many elements of design and how they are articulated in the window in the previous slide:

-the family portrait on the wall,

-the perspective and positioning of the dressing table

(enabling the viewer to see the items on the table top),

-the wigs set w/ rollers,

-the difference in flesh tone of each woman (beyond the facial

mask),

-positioning of each of the characters,

-the choice of fabrics used for costumes among the

characters, and

-the use of the lamp.

The previous slide’s image catches the women in motion-

Students might notice how the fabric is draped and/or what difficulties might arise when figures have moving parts.

How is the castle depicted through the window?

Here the students might consider expressions and what they convey:

Facial- particularly the gaze-

Hands- what do the gestures suggest, in this and other windows?

Here students could consider the use of lighting effects to assist the fairy godmother in casting a spell.

Students may notice how the blending of costume and set fills out a story board with details that may enhance the fantasy…

Students could now critique the over all effect of the blending of so many artistic elements.

• Did each element succeed? If not, why not?

• Review previous screens, enabling students to support their theories with evidence.

The images in the holiday windows are animated; a close cousin to puppetry.

I extend an invitation to students and faculty alike to consider puppetry as an art form to examine the depth of possibilities within tale type #510.

It is my extreme pleasure to invite your students:1. -to visit http://www.artic.edu/webspaces/510iftheshoefits/2biblio.html

for a wide variety of tale type #510 tales to select from; the stories span the globe,• -to select a #510 tale from the annotated bibliography that they would like to dramatize through puppetry,• -to research the various forms of puppetry used within the culture identified

as the source of their selected tale, and4. -to choose a style of puppetry to dramatize their selected tale (it need not match the identified cultural context- rather it should be a style that the student wants to explore.)• -to enjoy learning about tale type #510 and the art of puppetry.

To Have a Blast!!!!!!!!

Students will find a variety of puppetry design styles from around the globe at at the website for: Conservatory of Puppetry Arts

the URL is http://www.copa-puppets.

For example, the tale type #510 can be traced to 850 AD China. Two styles of traditional Chinese puppetry

are below: a) marionette b) rod puppet

This marionette with paper mâche maskis based upon the style/techniques used by the Peking Opera.

This rod puppet has animated eyes

Oil lamps provided the original light

source for Shadow puppets. Puppet below from Bali

Often the main character in a tale type #510 story is assisted by benevolent forces of nature; frequently animals who represent the

soul of a lost parent. Below are examples of animal puppets.

Eagle/marionette/USA

Bull/hand puppet/Spain

Rooster/hand puppet/USA

Invite your students to explore their creativity. The marionettes below are all operated by a single control.

1939 G.E. production, Mrs. Cinderella at the Worlds Fair.

Having selected a culture, a #510 tale,and a puppetry design style, students could be encouraged to work together to:

• story board the script,•design and make •the puppets, set, costumes •and finally

put on the show!!

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

If you and your students explore tale type #510- share your lessons and their art work and I will be delighted

to post them.

Very best to all…

Kate Loague- kloagu@artic.edu