Sketches from a Nameless Land

The book titled The Arrival by Shaun Tan is probably his most highly acclaimed work so far. This book was not part of my case study as I had previously done a study of this book early on in this project. The study was not carried out using any analytical framework, instead this was me trying to figure out why I like picture books, what was it I enjoyed, were there particular artist or styles or genre that I engaged with more. The three books chosen for the case study were more unfamiliar to me than The Arrival so I did not have any preconceptions prior to carrying out the studies.
Sketches from a Nameless Land is a follow on from The Arrival which shows the creative processes and thoughts of the artist. This book has been really valuable in allowing me to gain a deeper insight into the workings of Shaun Tan. This book shows early preliminary methods such as collage, this allows composition to be created with details built in to see how they work together. This is something I do not generally do as part of my own practice, however I shall experiment with such methods to see how they may benefit this project and my overall practice as an artist.

Collage works

Tan discusses how he has always been fascinated by the sketchbooks of other artists, this is the main reason for the publishing of this book. I also tend to find sketchbooks more interesting than finished pieces of work, I notice this when attending student exhibitions where I may admire the finished piece but then quickly move on and spend more time going through their sketchbooks. Tan also states that he tries to create indirect illustrations by trying to find metaphorical equivalents to create imaginary experiences rather than literal ones.
Tan supports the requirement for research as he feels it often proves to be the key in solving many of his artistic problems. The Arrival is described as a carefully researched essay with the research proving to be an excellent way of discovering new ideas, which can in turn also lend them the gravity of realism. Carrying out interviews and researching through archives can lead to images such as the one shown below.

This could be seen as stealing ideas but as discussed in an earlier blog titled steal like an artist. Why would Tan want to try and create an unfamiliar hall when we already have historical images which are easily related to. Tan has taken the familiar and changed it enough that it is now unfamiliar yet recognisable. This to me is being clever, it is not stealing but rather showing exactly what creativity is. This is shown again through the image below in which he states that he has essentially paid homage to a painting by Tom Roberts titled Coming South.

Tan also discusses many of the themes that run the the narrative of The Arrival and explains how he has tried to approach them. One really interesting aspects was that of the immigrants leaving in single balloons. He explains how he imagined that each immigrant usually leaves with very little knowledge of where they are going or where they will finally end up. This resonated with him when he seen the spawn of coral reefs floating through the ocean on a documentary, they were just like immigrants leaving in these little round balls not knowing where they might end up. I have just seen this myself on a documentary for the first time last week, I would not have put these together. This is perhaps due to my mind not searching for such links, this is creativity at it's best connecting seemingly unrelated matters to create something new. Another great example is the language used throughout The Arrival, this is essentially letters and numbers cut up and rearranged to create a new language which also allows the reader to understand the issues the protagonist is facing in understanding this new world.

Tan shows a variety of methods he uses to create his art, these may involve making models from clay, building small cities from cardboard boxes, using photography, manipulating and drawing over. Creating actually rooms to see how they feel, how they function and illuminate. Even in the model lighting is a major consideration for Tan, positions of windows etc are of the upmost importance. Acting out the role of the main character was crucial for this book as it took over four years to complete and allowed Tan to play around more with poses and gestures. Many of these experimental methods of working are shown below.

Clay Model

Sketch of home that would be constructed full size

Using cardboard city, photography and manipulation, acting out roles

Setting scenes with photography, various stages of sketches

Tan states that the most important intermediate stage was the creation of three successive dummies of the book. This is essentially the stage I wish to be at by the completion of this project. My aim is not to have a fully complete picture book but rather a worked up dummy version. I will try to complete one or two images so I have a style or tone that I feel is suitable to the the story. This again may go under further changes and experimentation dependant on what I have come May. This for me is the most important stage in understanding my own work and determining how satisfied I am with it. The experimental work along with further research will likely become very critical aspects that determine the success of this project.

Pages from dummy version of book with notes

A short video of Shaun Tan discussing this particular book can be seen on the link below.
https://youtu.be/5fHkSS6dbbY