Which came first? The word or the image?

Introduction:
This semester we have spent a lot of time looking at the relationships between words and images, but we rarely stop to consider what these words and images are doing. What do Blake’s illuminated books, ekphrastic poems, hacked books, erasure texts, and illustrated books all have in common? They all tell stories, but in very different ways.

In my Continuing the Conversations post, I discussed illustrator Edward Carey’s “Drawing Inspiration.” In this article, Carey describes his image-based writing method. For him, “a whole book can start with a single absent-minded pencil sketch.” His Iremonger Trilogy, “all started with a single pencil sketch of an unhappy boy in a bow tie looking very worried. At first that was all there was, just this sickly, grim-looking chap. Now, four years later, there are three books and hundreds of illustrations.”  His storytelling is grounded in the image, not the words, and he uses the image as a guide to tell his story.

In contrast, Amy Bagwell describes herself as a poet…not an artist.  For her, “the poem always comes first.” She relies upon the words in her poem to inspire her creative frames and display designs for her work.  The words are the foundation for her creations, and they must be able to stand apart from her artistic designs before she moves forward with them.  They have to say and mean something by themselves; without the assistance of the structure she constructs to frame them. Bagel’s word based creative process is in opposition to Edward Carey’s illustration based method of storytelling and creativity, which relies upon the image to support and structure his writing.

Both authors/artists tell stories, but they use different methods to begin their creative process.  What are the differences between these two storytelling methods? Is there a difference between using writing and illustration to tell a story?  For my project, I want to explore the process of storytelling by using the Carey case study described above in conjunction with literary theory, pedagogy, and neuroscience research to argue that the visual elements are the more dominant in the storytelling process.  Analyzing each case study under this interdisciplinary lens will reveal how the true process or storytelling occurs, and whether the word or the image is the true foundation of storytelling.  Finally answering the question once and for all: Which came first? The word or the image?

Critical Component and Creative Component:
The critical and creative components for my project will be combined.  Using online publishing platforms and digital tools, I will write a two chapter argument to answer my question.  One chapter will argue that the image is the basis for storytelling and the other will consider the consequences of this argument and analyze the significance of the tensions that exists between the two approaches.

The platform I will most likely use to create my argument is Scalar, a program designed for digital long form humanities publications that allows the author to link different parts of the text together and to easily integrate media.  My three chapter argument will be an interactive reading experience for the viewer, allowing them to jump through the work to read corresponding arguments.

Timeline:
Friday, April 8th– Project Draft Due
Final Bibliography
Outline for each Chapter
Set up Digital Platform

Wednesday, April 20th
Complete Chapter 1
Integrate into Digital Platform

Friday, April 22nd
Complete Chapter 2

Sunday, April 24th
Finalize all revisions
Finish formatting on Digital Platform

Monday, April 25th– Final Project Due by midnight

Wednesday, April 27th– Comments due

Friday, April 29th– Reflection essay due

Bibliography:
Anderson, Katie Elson. “Storytelling.” Rutgers University Community Repository, 2010. Web. 30 Mar. 2016. < http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.7282/T35T3HSK>.
Andreasen, Nancy C. The creating brain: The neuroscience of genius. Washington, DC: Dana Press, 2005. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
Carey, Edward. “About | Edward Carey.” Edward Carey RSS. Edward Carey. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
Carey, Edward. “Drawing Inspiration.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 12 Mar. 2016. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.
Drucker, Johanna. The Visible Word: Experimental Typography and Modern Art, 1909-1923. U Chicago P, 1994. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
Gardner, Howard. Art, Mind, and Brain: A Cognitive Approach to Creativity.  Basic Books, 2008. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
Gardner, Howard. The Arts and Human Development: A Psychological Study of the Artistic Process. Basic Books, 1994.
Gregory, Richard L. Eye and Brain: The Psychology of Seeing. 5th ed. Princeton U.P, 2015. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
Mitchell, W.J.T. “Ekphrasis and the Other.” Picture Theory. U. of Chicago P, 1994. 151-181. Print.
Sipe, Lawrence. “”How Picture Books Work: A Semiotically Framed Theory of Text-Picture Relationships.” Children’s Literature in Education 29.2 (1998): 97-108. SpringerLink. Web. 30 Mar. 2016. <http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1022459009182>.
Walsh-Piper, Kathleen. Image to Word: Art and Creative Writing. R&L Education, 2002. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.

Edited 04/6/2016- Changes to the introduction and description of the project based on Churchill comments.  Appropriate adjustments made for project timeline.