"Look back in anger" by John Osborn

Description

Based on the book & theater play “Look back in anger“ by 

we had to produce an artwork with ALL the words of the book.

By making a dress, out of the pages from the book, I tried to reflact the key story of the story:

One of the main characters in the story called Jimmy Porter was always restricting the two girls Alison (his wife) and Helena (became his new girlfriend later on). 

That’s why I decided to make a corset, to visalize the two women which get restricted by Jimmy’s character. 

I looked into a lot of 1950s dresses and came across this type of dress with the corsage.

Background information:

The play is about the young post war England and all the problems they had to deal with, during that time. The ribbon of the corset is red, it is the same colour, which is on the front cover of the book and stands for the time of revolution.

Images from the movie:

Jimmy and Alison

Just when Alison & Jimmy are playing the game of the squirrel and the bear they can forget their worries and just be in love.

Alison and her dad:

Cliff and Alison:

The theater room:

Jimmy and Helena:

Alison and Helena:


font research from the 50s:

Sketchbook work:

Inspiration:

Armut rockt. Jolis Paons Ästhetik der Falte:

Starting off with my own creation: The paper are the pages of the book.

making holes for the ribbon:

stapling part:

Presenting day:

Emmas work:


After the open day I kept on working...I need to find a better solution how to use the text in my dress: Here
- White font = Alisons & Helenas text
- Red font= Jimmys text (because he restricts the woman all the time)
- Yellow font= Cliffs text ( he is the supporting character in the story)



I placed the red text in the most important parts of the woman
the heart because both of the girls fell in love with him and the belly because Alison was pregnant and lost her baby in the end.




Paper Research, which is the right paper for Screenprinting?


Next step> inspiration for a better skirt:
I found this image in a magazine and because the play was alway on a sunday and the characters were always reading sunday newspapers I decided to use newspapers as well:

First version of the dress



Second idea
the play is always on a Sunday were the characters are reading Sunday newspapers

Further process with hand-drawn illustrations:

- Objects from the book:

> squirrel & bear

>Sunday newspaper

> iron

> broken heart

> unborn Baby

> Letter to say good bye

> Music

> Trumpet

Making process of the final paperdress.
The Corset is the text from the ladys from the book. And the red parts is the text from Jimmy who is always restricting the 2 woman that's why it goies trough the dress like little sharpe pieces.
Song: Incubus
To see this movie in bigger klick here.


The third idea
projecting the main text from the characters on to my model Skye Thomas.
The red text is Jimmys text which comes from all sides and focus on the heart area.
The black & white text is Alisons & Helenas text.