The Guardian online has just published this comic strip which I emailed them yesterday morning, in reply to a request in the Family section of the newspaper's print edition last Saturday, for early childhood memories. Here's the relevant Guardian page about their Witness project. Thanks Guardian, we meet again!
Lately I've been thinking that autobiographical material, depicted in some kind of cartoon style, is probably the visual language I feel most at home with. Defining one's own creative voice is a difficult, ongoing process and in my case, complicated by over-exposure to too many influences and languages, both literal and metaphorical. From earliest childhood I absorbed the sounds and inflections of French, Russian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, English and later on, Italian. Alongside this multilingual cacophony (which seemed normal) was a multi-dimensional, restless family lifestyle, never completely at home in any one place. So I suppose it's not surprising that I've always found it problematic to choose just one form of expression, one medium, one direction, one style that I can call "mine" among so many possibilities. But who knows, I might change my mind tomorrow.
9 comments:
I wonder, because you were not subjected to a single societal influence, whether you have a more rounded, less hide-bound approach to life. It certainly seems so to me. When one becomes accustomed to a single influence, it is difficult to undo that influence and so see life as a reality. It simply degenerates into a brain-washing exercise.
Tom, that's certainly the positive aspect of such a background. What's missing from it is a sense of rootedness or 'belonging' but maybe that is not so important in the long run.
I hope your completed autobiography will provide the context for (2). I wonder if it was incidents like (4)?
Vincent, I'm not really sure about the context for (2) but no doubt a psychoanalyst would reduce it to the boring concept of 'penis-envy'. An undeniable fact is that my parents expected their second child to be male and although they were perfectly happy with me when I arrived, there were occasions in early childhood when my father called me "my son". Yes, I know how reprehensible that sounds but it really wasn't a problem. I truly preferred all things boyish and had much more fun with boys than girls.
You aren't by chance a Libra, are you? I have run into this, involvement in too many things, throughout my life until I settled into writing; but even then I want to create my own covers and trailers; so I drag the art along with me :)
Rain, I'm a Leo. But I think that the search for one's own individual voice or means of expression is something that creative people of any star sign have in common. To have lots of strings to one's bow is very useful but it can also be a hindrance.
(3) puzzled me.
When I came upon my father's car accident I ran to the residence of our priest, stood against a stone wall and wailed until he came to get me. I was 14.
Why did we not run towards our parents?
Ellena, it is puzzling indeed.
In my case it was probably panic, not knowing where to turn. This was in Paraguay, the house was in an isolated property.
You probably did the right thing to go and get help.
Really, really good!
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