Method (step 1) – imaginary
Introduction
The construction of the method for creating OldNewBox biblical illustrations is divided into four steps, the first three of which are strictly theoretical. It is through the understanding of three concepts – imaginary, adaptation and purpose – that the path is paved for the final step, when the production of the illustrations begins.
This series of articles, divided into four parts, is therefore intended for those who, in addition to consuming OldNewbox's visual material, seek to delve deeper into its motivations and intentions. Thus, the first step is to understand what the imaginary is and how it manifests itself in our daily lives. To this end, two books dedicated to the subject will be used as a basis: The Imaginary by JJ Wunenburger and his namesake Gilbert Durand.
Definition of the term
After all, what is the imaginary? JJ Wunenburger defines it as “a set of productions, mental or materialized in works, based on visual images (painting, drawing, photograph) and linguistics (metaphor, symbol, story), forming coherent and dynamic sets, referring to a symbolic function in the sense of an adjustment of proper and figurative meanings” (2007, p.11, our translation, emphasis added).
To illustrate this idea, imagine a newborn baby. This person experiences reality and begins to form images loaded with meaning in his mind based on everything he sees and hears. So, when a child hears the word “tree”, he’ll automatically picture a group of trees with trunks, branches, and leaves. As he grows older, he’ll not only have seen real trees but also illustrations in children’s books or read descriptions of them. His imagination is shaped by these experiences and stored in memory. The more contact he has with trees—whether real, illustrated, or described—the richer his imagination about them will be.
Image 1 – The Mulberry Tree
Vincent Van Gogh, oil on canvas, 54 x 65 cm, 1889, Norton Simon Museum.
This imaginary is not expressed only on an individual level, it is also collective (WUNENBURGER, 2007, p.7). Religion, nationality or any other group to which an individual belongs is a determining factor in the construction of his imaginary. A Christian is naturally more predisposed to have in his mind the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil”, not the Yggdrasil of the Nordics; the Canadian flag shows a representation of a maple leaf, while the Lebanese flag shows a representation of a Cedar. These differences are due to many factors, including variations in beliefs, geographical environment, symbolic connections, etc.
“Fantasy, memory, reverie, dream, unverifiable belief, myth, romance, fiction are various expressions of the imagination of a man or a culture. […] The imaginary includes pre-scientific conceptions, science fiction, religious beliefs, artistic productions that invent other realities (non-realistic painting, romance, etc.), political fictions, stereotypes and social prejudices, etc.” (WUNENBURGER, 2007, p.7, our translation).
Gilbert Durand complements: “[The imaginary] is defined as an unavoidable representation, the faculty of symbolization from which all fears, all hopes and their cultural fruits continually flow” (2010, p.117, our translation).
Images and words – shapers of the imaginary
As seen previously, in addition to mental productions, the two paths of the imaginary are images and words. Both have different characteristics, therefore, they shape us according to their particularities: “the scopic experience of the eye, which provides us with analogical representations of objects, and the experience of verbalization, initially linked to the voice, […] in fact constitute two clearly differentiated sources and records of information and human expression” (WUNENBURGER, 2007, p.28, our translation).
Look some examples below:
- The image presents with greater precision the object it reveals. Words, in turn, are limited to the meanings of the signs and their distance from the sensitive appearance (WUNENBURGER, 2007, p.28, our translation);
- Words have a robust logical syntax composed of the grammar of each language, while the image has a syntax of a more subjective nature and open to abstraction (DONDIS, 2015, p.3, 19, our translation);
- The image is read almost instantly, unlike words that submit to the linearity of discourse (WUNENBURGER, 2007, p.28, our translation);
- Words are more democratic in their use, as they are naturally spoken and the literacy process is more widespread. Images, on the other hand, are generally placed as secondary education both in their production and reading (DONDIS, 2015, p.16, 20, our translation).
In the “dispute” to define which of the modes is the most effective in constructing the imaginary, JJ Wunenburger plants the seed of the coexistence of both, emphasizing the complementarity between them:
“The richness of the imaginary in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance undoubtedly comes from the fact that the linguistic expression is accompanied by a visual image that illustrates or reinforces it (figurative calligraphy, illuminations, emblems, mottos and coats of arms, etc.). […] Thus, the visual function and the linguistic function undoubtedly constitute two divergent junctions in the generation of images, without this branching out causing a definitive rupture” (2007, p.30-31, our translation, emphasis added).
Image 2 – Bout Psalter-Hours - KB 79 K 11 - folios 017v (left) and 018r (right)
illuminated manuscript on parchment, 11.6 x 15.8 cm, 1453, National Library of the Netherlands.
Impact on everyday life
The imaginary is intrinsic to us. If it is in fertile soil, it can be cultivated, flourish and develop. However, it can also be pruned and malnourished, either due to lack of opportunity, incentive or external pressure, after all, “the more a society is 'informed', the more the institutions that underpin it become fragile” (DURAND, 2010, p. 120, our translation).
The mental and materialized works of the imaginary “serve each consciousness to build the meaning of your life, your actions and your experiences of thought. In this aspect, visual and linguistic images contribute to enrich the representation of the world (G. Bachelard, G. Durand) or to elaborating the identity of the self (P. Ricoeur)” (WUNENBURGER, 2007, p.26, our translation, emphasis added).
Returning to the example of the tree, naturally the imagination of a botanist is different from that of a lumberjack. The one's gaze sees every structure, particularity and nuance of his object of study, while the other, perhaps, only sees raw material for extraction. There are also carpenters, gardeners, forest rangers, etc. You see, there are many ways of dealing with the same object-tree, and the fixed mental images in each one were and are a constituent part of this relationship.
J.R.R Tolkien, when speaking of fantasy (one of the subcategories of the imaginary), expresses its importance and even points to the act of creating fantasy as a fulfillment of the Imitatio Dei:
“Fantasy is a natural human activity. It certainly does not destroy or even insult Reason; and it does not dull the appetite for scientific truth, nor obscure the perception of it. Quite the contrary. The sharper and clearer the reason, the better fantasy it will do. […] Fantasy can, of course, be carried to excess. It can be done wrongly. It can be put to evil ends. It can even deceive the minds from which it came. But of what human thing in this fallen world is that not true? […] Fantasy remains a human right; we create, in our measure and in our derivative way, because we are created; and not only created, but created in the image and likeness of a Creator” (TOLKIEN, 2020, p. 63-64, our translation).
Image 3 – detail from Fantasy
Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, oil on canvas, 148.5 x 263.5 cm, 1866, Ohara Museum of Art.
Conclusion
In this first step, it was seen that the imaginary is constructed in the mental conception or in the production and consumption of visual and linguistic works, which solidify symbols and images pre-established for individuals or societies. It was found that it manifests itself in the most diverse forms in our daily lives and is a determining factor in the formation of the self and the way we see the world.
Regarding the Bible, what images permeate our minds in relation to it? Which of them are the result of direct contact with the text or of third-party interpretations and adaptations? What is our level of awareness in relation to this? The second part of this series seeks to investigate how the processes of adaptation between media work, and how these relate to the original material.
Translation: Marcelo Fransoze.
Next text (2/4)
- DONDIS, D. Sintaxe da linguagem visual. 3. ed. São Paulo: Martins Fontes, 2015.
- DURAND, G. O imaginário: ensaio acerca das ciências e da filosofia da imagem. 4. ed. Rio de Janeiro: DIFEL, 2010.
- TOLKIEN, J.R.R. Árvore e folha. 1. ed. Rio de Janeiro: Harper Collins, 2020.
- WUNENBURGER, J. O imaginário. 1. ed. São Paulo: Edições Loyola, 2007.
