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.
