Clown Shoot 1

Early stages of development

Survey Results

References

Bruce Nauman - 'Clown Torture'

• 1987
• Use of repetition to cause discomfort.
• Installation containing 4 different screens, with 4 different types of clowns makes the experience noisy.
• 'Clown' and 'torture' may be seen as juxtaposing words, something the viewer sees before entering the installation.

Clown Torture by Bruce Nauman, 1987 from clemence grieco on Vimeo.

Stephen King - 'IT'

• Novel - 1986, original film - 1990, remake - 2017
• Some say King was inspired by serial killer, John Wayne Gacy.
• "We all float down here.' - a well known phrase from older generations which has now been re-emerged in the 2017 'IT' film.
• Use of sharp teeth and dark places is a classic set up for a horror film. 
• End of the film it turns out he is a giant spider like create, emphasising that people don't see clowns as 'completely human'.

John Wayne Gacy - 'Pogo the clown'

• 1972-78
• Well known American serial killer
• Convicted of killing/sexually assaulting at least 33 young men.
• Worked as Pogo at fundraising events and children's parties (an innocent looking job making a useful disguise.)
• Below is an interesting piece about the makeup that Gacy used, making his mouth with sharp edges rather than rounded to avoid scaring children.

American Horror Story - 'Twisty the Clown'

• 2015
• A clown with a disturbed past (rumours about him being a child molester).
• Kidnaps children from parents who deprive them from joy.
• Smiling mask used to cover his missing jaw.
• No longer works as a clown but still wears the costume (reason for his costume looking so dirty and used).
• Murderer.

Study Task 5 - Proposal

For this project, I intend to focus on why clowns are often feared by society. So far in my research I have discovered that clowns are often seen as scary characters because of their exaggerated appearance that almost represents a human being but certain aspects are slightly off which causes discomfort. Their unpredictable characters can also cause fear because people have an unconscious fear of being mocked, which is a similar experience to choosing to not sit on the front row at a comedy show, the same applies at the circus because of the clown acts.

My practical development will include using makeup on myself (and others who are willing) to create clown looks, both cheerful and scary. These looks will be then photographed and distorted using analogue methods such as the photocopier/scanner and Photoshop to try and induce fear in the audience. I am then planning on moving this on to screen printing where I can experiment with different printing techniques such as marbling the ink to produce a set of fearsome images.

I have created an online survey for my family and friends and fellow peers to answer so I can find out what people generally think of clowns as well as backing up my current research which seems to have worked well. Most people weren’t scared of clowns as children and generational differences tend to affect the intensity of fear that people feel when they see a clown. Also, in a lot of responses, many people didn’t seem to know the original purpose of the clown (which is providing humour at parties and in the circus) and instead thought their purpose was to induce fear and discomfort.

To start I am going to use some found images that I have found during my research from books and online to practice with the idea of distortion to see which elements of the clown’s appearance induce the most fear.

Study Task 4 - Introduction/Summary

So far from this project I have discovered why clowns tend to scare people. ‘The Psychology of the Uncanny’ – Ernst Jentsch (1906) analyses how the use of masks can often make people feel uncomfortable as the person underneath cannot be recognised which is similar with a clown’s makeup. He also focuses on automaton objects (such as dolls) that sometimes move and how this can cause a feeling of uncanniness because the object is lifeless but almost human. Marashiro Mori largely focuses on automaton objects (especially robotics and prosthetic limbs) which appear to be uncanny when they closely relate to that of the human form. Sigmund Freud’s ‘The Uncanny’ is another text which I have studied as he analyses and modernises Ernst Jentsch text, making the idea of the uncanny a lot clearer. I have not yet chosen the images I will be using in my text although I have a large amount that needs to be narrowed down for triangulation. I intend on focusing on Stephen King’s IT, John Wayne Gacy and Bruce Nauman’s ‘Clown Torture’ which are all pieces of work that are intentionally made to cause discomfort to the audience. However, I want to look into more artist’s work to relate it as closely as possible to illustration and my own practice.

1000 Clowns More or Less - H.T. Steele

Didier Ottinger - The Circus of Cruelty

More images

A selection of images from 'The Great Parade - Portrait of the Artist as Clown' by Jean Clair.

Ernest Jentsch - The Psychology of the Uncanny

http://www.art3idea.psu.edu/locus/Jentsch_uncanny.pdf

Marashiro Mori - The 'Uncanny Valley'

https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/humanoids/the-uncanny-valley

• Relates more closely to robotics.
• Mentions uncanniness of death/living dead which clowns are sometimes connected with because of their appearance. 
• Could I make a similar graph relating more closely to clowns?

Marashiro Mori's 'Uncanny Valley' has been analysed and explained in detail in an essay by 

Shensheng Wang, Scott O. Lilienfeld, and Philippe Rochat in 2015:

 https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/features/gpr-gpr0000056.pdf

The graph was studied with mixed results as some could get a similar curve whereas others could not but this depends on the research that they use in comparison to Mori.

There is also a Bayesian analysation of The Uncanny Valley here:

https://www.nature.com/articles/srep00864

Study Task 3 Feedback

Listening to other people's ideas about my work has directed me in a clearer path.

I am going to look further into some of Angela Carter's texts where she expresses a clown's life through means of literature.

As well as this I am going to start focusing on making practical work by collecting materials and analysing parts of my research.

The subject I have chosen is quite dangerous as I feel like it could possibly be lead off onto the wrong path rather than sticking with the point of the question.

I am going to look more into the horror genre and see how clowns have been used throughout films such as Pennywise, The Joker/ Harley Quinn etc.

Bring on the Clowns - Beryl Hugill

I got this book from the library to expand my knowledge on my subject matter. A lot of the book is mostly based on historical clowns and how the clown's act has changed.

Some of the points made in the book help to emphasise why people are scared of clowns in particular when it mentions different performances which involve fire, animals such as lions and horses, as well as jokes about suicide.

The book also helped me to consider ideas for my visual journal because of the different makeup and costumes that famous clowns had and how their looks have changed overtime which could be in relation to people's fear of clowns.

Study Task 3

John Wayne Gacy - Goodbye Pogo

• Famous serial killer.
• Painted during his final days on death row.
• Self portrait (often the theme of his paintings).
• A fan of other killer clowns such as Pennywise.

More links:

• http://www.miaminewtimes.com/arts/the-ten-creepiest-paintings-by-serial-killer-john-wayne-gacy-6491945
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne_Gacy

Stephen King 

“Kids love clowns, but they also fear them; clowns with their white faces and red lips are so different and so grotesque compared to ‘normal’ people. The clown furor will pass, as these things do, but it will come back, because under the right circumstances, clowns really can be terrifying.”

• Said in 2016 in response to killer clown sightings across US.
• Wrote 'IT' in 1986
• https://medium.com/homeland-security/the-uncanny-valley-of-creepy-clowns-bd5cc233c4b3

Audrey Weber - Big Red Head

• 2016/2017
• Goache
• Human form and psychedelic elements.
• Mask like features relate to uncanny.
• https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/audrey-helen-weber-illustration-220217

Derek Ercolano

• 2014
• Created using photoshop.
• Relates to 'The Uncanny Valley' by Masahiro Mori as the face almost represents a human but is distorted which naturally makes people feel uneasy.
• This image relates to my question because of the resemblance it has to a clown because of the bold colours and exaggerated features.
• https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/illustration-derek-ercolano

Leonard Kok

• Illustrated for a children's colouring book to overcome his fear of snakes.
• A similar idea could be interpreted into my own work with the general fear of clowns and how people could overcome them if they were made into an interactive piece of work.
• https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/lennard-kok-apartamento-apc-illustration-070917

Winston Tsang

• '13 Treats of Halloween' gif series.
• Makes the famous fictional killer clown look a lot more innocent and child friendly because of the use of simple, fast movements and smooth shapes.
• Could I make clowns look more appealing to people by making them look cute?

Pawel Mildner 

• Meta-communication is used in this image by the facial expression of the doglike character. A simple line on the forehead has managed to change his expression into a more sinister one.
• Mixed media (analog print and digital).

Don't Hug Me I'm Scared

• Set of short videos using puppets which initially seem suitable for children although as you get further into the episode the mood changes.
• The target audience for this are young adults who have a dark sense of humour as well as people who are interested in social issues which are sometimes mentioned.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C_HReR_McQ
• The characters may seem uncanny because of their almost human like features (especially Roy and the little yellow guy).

Bruce Nauman - 'Clown Torture'

• Use of repetition to cause discomfort.
• Installation containing 4 different screens, with 4 different types of clowns makes the experience noisy.
• 'Clown' and 'torture' may be seen as juxtaposing words, something the viewer sees before entering the installation.

Clown Torture by Bruce Nauman, 1987 from clemence grieco on Vimeo.