Method (step 2) – adaptation
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. Previously, in the first text of this series, we looked at what the imaginary is, how it is formed and its impact on the way we see the world around us (read here). Now, in the second step, we will take a superficial look at the difference between artistic mediums, the process of adapting original material to other media, and the impact of the changes that occur in this transposition.
The different art mediums and their particularities
In the book Teoria da Literatura It is said that art in its various forms (music, literature, visual arts, etc.) has a different rhythm and structure in each aspect (WARREN; WELLEK, 1962, p.134-135).This is due to the unique characteristics and limitations of each medium. After all, for the viewer, some forms of art are linked to vision, others to hearing, and some combine both senses. There are also media that involve touch, like interactive art or even games, where the player becomes part of the experience.
“Since the distinctions between the arts are distinctions between the sensory directions of aesthetic expression (sight, speech, hearing), the visual arts crystallize a state of mind at its most distant point, where it borders on the images of things. The verbal arts seem, instead, to detain, to capture the uncertain impression that a state of mind produces in us before assuming that simplification capable of reconciling it with space and making of it a visual image” (PRAZ, 1982, p.59-60, our translation).
The idea is that different forms of art evoke different reactions in us. Visual arts tend toward contemplation and silence; literature leads us to reflect on the innermost being; music touches us, moves us and can lead to dance; cinema brings all these characteristics together in a single whole. Each form of art, in its own way, fulfills our need for play, entertainment and beauty.
“The colors and shapes that a musical experience can suggest should not be confused with the colors and shapes that painting and sculpture can suggest directly. […] A state of mind expressed through one of the arts cannot be fully understood through the simultaneous and direct use of all the other arts” (PRAZ, 1982, p.58, our translation).
Image 1 – Angel of the Revelation
William Blake, watercolor, 39.2 x 26 cm, circa 1803-1805, Metropolitan Museum of Art – New York.
Image 2 – Songs of Innocence and Experience – The Lamb
William Blake, 1794, William Blake Digital Materials from the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection, Library of Congress.
The adaptation process
But what about when someone decides to adapt a work of art to another medium, is it possible to draw exact parallels between the artistic expressions in order to obtain an adaptation that is completely faithful to the original material? Before going into the answer, it is first necessary to understand what an adaptation actually is, and for this, Comparato gives us an interesting definition:
“Adaptation is a transcription of language that alters the linguistic support used to tell the story. This amounts to transubstantiate, that is, transforming the substance. […] The moment we make our content and express it in another language, we are necessarily within a process of recreation and transubstantiation” (COMPARATO, 2009, p.314, our translation).
If every adaptation is a recreation from an original material, each author with his or her own particular imaginary will bring a new artistic result. Added to this, we also have the limitations of each art form, making an exact transposition between the media impossible – describe a composite sketch to ten illustrators, and you will get ten different faces. Every adaptation is an interpretation, and “represents the meeting of two sensibilities, the sensitivity of the author of the work of art and that of the interpreter. What we call interpretation is, in other words, the result of filtering the expression of others through our own personality” (PRAZ, 1982, p.33, our translation, emphasis added).
Discussing the creation of adapted screenplay for cinema, Comparato says that there are different degrees of adaptation between an original work and the cinematographic result. There are cases in which parts of the story are cut or added, new characters are created or existing ones are omitted (2009, p.315). This is because the literary rhythm is different from the cinematographic rhythm. In the short story – where the main characteristic is synthesis – the filmmaker must expand on what is implicit. In the novel, the film must condense the story (2009, p.317-318). That said, returning to the question above, one thing must be clear: the intention of making an exact transposition between the media is an impossible task.
The similarity, then, lies in the realm of essence. Despite the concrete differences in each artistic expression, it is possible to capture a message in the same direction as the original work. Well, Peter Jackson achieved this feat with the trilogy The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R Tolkien, and more recently Denis Villeneuve achieved the same by adapting Dune, by Frank Herbert. “The means of expression used by the painter and the poet are different, but they both have a taste and a message in common” (PRAZ, 1982, p.60, our translation).
Image 3 – Detail from Master Betty as Hamlet, before a bust of Shakespeare
James Northcore, oil on canvas, 55.9 x 40.6 cm, circa 1804-1806, Yale Center for British Art.
The impact of adaptation
According to Robert Mckee, until the 20th century there were three ways of telling a story: prose (romance, novella, short story), theater (play, musical, opera, mime, ballet) and the screen (film and television) – each of these having its own unique characteristics. For the author, the highlight of prose is its better ability to develop internal issues, what goes on inside the characters; theater, in turn, is excellent at constructing dialogues and poetizing them; on the screen, the difference is in the visual possibility of developing credible universes, no matter how fantastic they may be. There is a diversification in these examples on an internal, personal and extrapersonal level (2006, p.342-343).
From this internal-external variation, it can be inferred that when a work is adapted, the “sensory radius” of its content expands, reaching the viewer in ways that were not seen before. It is notable that the experience of someone who reads a work and then watches the film adaptation is different from that of someone who does the opposite. In the first case, the person tends to form their own imagination based on what they read, while in the second case, the images from the film solidify in the reader’s experience, requiring greater effort from the mind to form new images – a kind of imagery hybridism develops here.
“Seeing a house burn, a man die, a lightning strike, a storm break out is more moving to see than to hear. The profiles and colors of a concerted poem are not as visible as those of a well-finished painting” (ALMEIDA, 2002, p.79, our translation).
Image 4 – The Burning of the Harbor Master’s House, Honolulu
Unknown artist, oil on panel, 1852, Honolulu Museum of Art.
Visual works seem to have a greater impact on the mind, and as such, they are a great complement to the textual material. However, they run the risk of working in the opposite direction, weakening the subjective nature of the textual description and providing a single concrete image – the vision of the author of the adapted work. A possible antidote? Consume both the original work and the adaptation, thus distinguishing the “canonical” from what has been added or omitted. It is true that there are cases in which the adaptation becomes better than the original work.
Conclusion
In the second step of this series, it was observed that artistic mediums have different characteristics and limitations, and that from this, any adaptation of an original work to another medium becomes a recreation. The impact of these new interpretations has the power to alter our imagination in relation to the original work, expanding or contracting it.
Understanding that each artistic medium stimulates reactions in different fields, that adaptation is always a recreation in a new medium, and that the Bible has been and continues to be represented in all forms of art, how much of our imagination moves away from or approaches the sacred book? The third part of this series brings yet another element to this question, seeking to investigate the purposes of those who decide to adapt an original work and how this affects our relationship with it.
Translation: Marcelo Fransoze.
Next text (3/4)
- ALMEIDA, M. Poesia e Pintura ou Pintura e Poesia: Tratado Seiscentista de Manuel Pires de Almeida. Translation: MUHANA, A. 1. ed. São Paulo: Edusp; Fapesp, 2002.
- COMPARATO, D. Da criação ao roteiro: teoria e prática. 3. ed. São Paulo: Summus editorial, 2009.
- MCKEE, R. Story: substance, structure, style and the principles of screenwriting. 1st ed. Curitiba: Arte & Letra, 2006.
- PRAZ, M. Literatura e Artes Visuais. 1. ed. São Paulo: Edusp; Editora Cultrix, 1982.
- WARREN, A; WELLEK, R. Teoria da Literatura. 1. ed. Lisboa: Europa-América, 1962.
