SIBLINGS: TRIPTYCH RESEARCH

I chose the idea of presenting the Siblings piece as a triptych for a couple of reasons. Primarily because it would give each of the boys a screen and it suited the purpose of the piece. But I also because I liked the idea of trying out working on three screens and getting them to interact. Another reason though was that I had enjoyed some of the triptych work I had seen and the power of them to tell stories and different sides of people and characters.

One inspiration was Francis Bacon's triptychs. They really help demonstrate the interpretation of character and different perspectives as well as how they allowing for storytelling through their panels. A greta example is his studies of Lucien Freud the different perspectives of Freud allowing insight into his character and telling a story.

The striking and visceral quality of Bacon's Three studies for figures at base of an execution again allows a fantastic insight into a narrative and interpretations of character.

Hieronymus Bosch's The garden of Earthly Delights is another great example of storytelling through a triptych. It is  designed to be read left to right and depicts God presenting Eve to Adam, people socialising and finally damnation.

I also loved and was fascinated by the religious associations and undertones of using triptychs due to their history and use in religion. They were typically used as altarpieces in christian churches with one larger centerpiece and two smaller side panels. Through these religious associations they hey give a gravitas and power to the stories and characters they are representing and here again allow for a narrative as well as messages and values to be conveyed. 

Hans Hemlin's Earthly vanity and divine salvation is an excellent example. From my fascination and inspiration from montage editing and Eisenstein's "collision of images" to create meaning through juxtaposing images to create ideas you can see Hemling clearly does this below.

There are a great many other triptych images throughout history portraying bible stories and parables that use the three panels of the triptych to create meaning and tell story. I guess they are a very old form of what today we see expanded in graphic novels and in times where literacy was high they were excellent in communicating to the masses.

Finally triptychs have also been used in photography. The example below from three shots of Twiggy is great for showing the many faces of one character and therefore creating a greater understanding of their character and the multi-facted natures of personality that one image would not allow. This is very close to the idea that I want to create through my Siblings piece. One snapshot is not enough to judge a character many different viewpoints and perspectives are needed to get a true understanding of people.