Fairy Tales and Monsters

Yesterday we toured through Glenbow Museum’s current show, Fairy Tales, Monsters and the Genetic Imagination. I’d heard wonderful things about it, and as a writer for children, I was excited to see it. I found myself seriously disappointed

It was more an adult analytical examination than immersive feeling-based, with little connection to how children experience the world. To me, that misses the whole point of monsters. They emerge from our dreams and imaginations, and they should feel real.

Much of the art in this show felt like nothing at all to me, and seemed, from the write-ups, to be conceptualized rather than created. There were some exceptions, all of which were better without the analytical explanation.

My favorite was a boy with an old man-sea cucumber creature. They were both asleep, the creature’s head in the boy’s lap, the boy drooped over the creature. The looks on their faces said everything – they were both smiling, both clearly adoring each other.

I find literary discussions frustrating when they shift to the analytical, too. It seems to be considered the higher form of thought, but I find it a step away from reality, from being in the situation. As stories should be immersive, why would we want to step back? We should be stepping into them.

Maureen