Storytelling

Once upon a time songs, books, movies, and dances were designed around stories. Stories are what we want to see and hear. Stories are what connect us as a species. 

Think I’m wrong? Then think about the great stories we remember. “Sound of Music” or “Roots” or “Star Wars” or “The Nutcracker” are all fine examples of stories. OK? What is the greatest selling book of all time? The Bible is nothing more than lots of stories. With characters like Mary Poppins or Frankenstein or Harry Potter or Alice and her rabbit the stories can go on and on.

Going back to the early folk songs, they were sung to tell a tale that could be repeated and told again and again. Today’s songs are the same. The tell stories of love and pain and experiences we all share.

So how does this story telling relate to artwork? A painting or a drawing or sketches have to do with telling a story? Many of the old wall drawings were to tell the story of a hunt or a war. The hieroglyphics told stories etched in stone. Paintings of figures who could pay for the attention or were symbols of the moment grace museum walls. Then other paintings show us a detail of previous life telling us the story of our history. Quilts were not just constructed for warmth but to also tell a family story.

Even abstractions, whether in music, writing, movies, or artwork tells the story of the artists? For every time a person with an open mind expresses their thoughts, they are telling a story.