Stories Cut from Paper
Beatrice Coron begins by talking about how she arrived at her decision to pursue her passions as an artist. She explains her many years of travel and odd jobs, until at almost 40, she started papercutting. She chose paper because it was lightweight, easy to find, cheap, and versatile. She chose silhouette because it is very efficient and focuses on the essential of the image. Then she talks about the influence of being a bilingual individual on her artwork series, "Spelling Spider," which shows identical words in English and French. Next, she talks about her work with papercutting scrolls and the influence of her years as a traveler. On scrolls, working and seeing only a small portion of the work at a time, she cut out an architecture of diverse windows, "to have a look at different worlds." As a traveler, Coron is used to feeling like an outsider and uses art to explore how things are
happening, the images and expressions that lie with each. She explains that many of her architectures are based on "if." She explores fantastical ideas like balloon houses, or shows the inner circles of the earth to view "common roots" acting to "catch dreams" or as a "safety net." Then Coron discusses her other influences: she tells "non-sugar-coated" stories of history, responds to current events, or depicts other individual's "mindscapes." After this Coron scrolls through many of her works, simply giving a title. Then she discusses her running; she says it is parallel to her papercutting and now has run ultra-marathons. Running gives her energy, she explains, showing a video of a three week "papercutting marathon" in which she created two 13 feet long panels illustrating many individual's journeys between the borders of heaven and hell. She continues on to discuss more of her projects. One was a set of social identities, cut from paper and hung away from the wall, in which people could walk behind them and "try them on." Another was her "Fashion Statement" at the Center for Book Arts in New York City. Even though this item is in fact a wearable dress, she displays it as a books because it has quotes all over it and you can read it, and the "definition of artist book is very generous." Coron continues with her involvement in public art, saying she has always loved it. In New York City she installed a stainless steel artist book dedicated to emergency workers and firemen. In the Bronx, she installed cut glass in a station, connecting reading to the subway. Another project was in San Jose, which Coron again used glass but it is inlaid in to the architectural glass; it shows the development of the area through changing vegetables in concentric circles. She continued the theme outside with a collection of book titles with fruit in them in cement along the pathway, leading to a bibliotree: a sculpture with the roots of languages as a trunk and branches of library material. Coron also did more work in subways, turning rails into flowers and creating escape through a poster.
As she concludes, she says that despite the combination of papercutting and other things, the result is always the same. It is to tell a story. She claims that she herself does not know the stories, because they have so many possibilities. She says every viewer is a narrator of the story because of her eclectic inspirations and our own stories. Coron closes with an emphasis on the importance of stories as a way to make sense of the world, through using imagination to reconnect and understand.
The purpose of this TedTalk was for Beatrice Coron to communicate to the audience her background, creative process, and how she uses art of a simple medium to tell complex stories. She is attempting to strike interest not only in her own work, but in the abilities of the arts as a whole. The speech is structured to begin with an introduction to who Beatrice Coron is, where she is from, and this leads into her decisions that influenced her progression as an artist. She begins with her own story. Next, she delves into the art making process and how she finds stories to tell; this is a lot of the substance in the speech. It explains what exactly she does, the how, and the why. Then she tapers into discussing her finished pieces and panels, some with explanation, some without, eventually leading to her work in public art. This she explains in great detail showing reason behind every decision and emphasizing the role of art among the people. She brings everything together by talking about the motivation behind it all: stories. Coron initially establishes her credibility as she walks in, a papercut cape draped on her shoulders- a clear (and gorgeous) illustration of her expertise in this art. Removing this, she
appears smaller and humbled, dressed simply in all black, but establishes a connection to the audience right away with her words. By telling a personal narrative, she draws in attention and creates this relationship, thus encouraging a sense of trust. Her relaxed tone and comments begging for a laugh allow for the audience to feel comfortable as well, making them more inclined to pay attention. Her authority is furthered as she goes on, discussing her many accomplishments in her field, and with photographs of each unique piece. Coron's argument about art's efficiency in storytelling is backed by these technical accomplishments. The presentation is loaded with evidence of the thoughtfulness and meaning of each papercutting, though it does not serve as proof unless the audience is able to understand such. However, by adding examples of different symbols, Coron makes it obvious the abilities that papercut and art lends to a storyteller. Coron also appeals and connects to the audience emotionally, which was part of establishing credibility. Her discussion of exploration and "feeling like an outsider" was directly aimed at the internal emotions of those in the audience. By understanding, her talk becomes much more authentic and memorable to the audience. Using this format and utilizing examples, Coron is able to inform the audience about her own process and (could arguably say persuade the audience on) the effectiveness of papercutting and art as storytelling.
I chose to watch this TedTalk because I have worked with papercutting in the past. I was originally intrigued by Coron's beautiful artwork, which I know from experience, is incredibly difficult to produce. I began to wonder if I would share some of the same ideas or mindsets about art with this artist. I was drawn in by her personal narrative and was kept interested by the message. Art can be shared visually, crossing language barriers, and can be interpreted by each individual to tell a unique story. It can hold multiple stories. It is a way to illustrate not just personal stories, but that of others. It offers a road to understanding each other, to empathy, and to better storytelling.
