This is the story of Peter and the Wolf and Alex. (Boys will be boys.)
This is the story of Peter and the Wolf and Alex. (Boys will be boys.)
2019
Recordings from Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, text from Peter and the Wolf, letterpress, screenprinting
Artist book, edition of 5, 3 ½ x 7 ½ x ½ inches
This is the story of Peter and the Wolf. As viewers turn through the pages, this classic children’s tale is recounted amongst an abstract scenery of letterpressed dingbats. However, every few pages the viewer will find a vellum insert with a sound wave and a caption, all taken from Stanley Kubrick’s film, A Clockwork Orange. Ranging from the sounds of the main character, Alex, enjoying a car chase with his friends, to him violently assaulting a couple in their home, to the final ending credits song of Gene Kelly’s Singing in the Rain, these cuts of sound infiltrate the childhood narrative. Yet, as the viewer continues reading, the dystopian fascist society Kubrick creates has much more in common with Peter than we might originally imagine. Both Peter, as the innocent boy archetype filled with enthusiasm and gusto to hunt the Wolf, and Alex, a violent lusty nihilistic teen act upon others to their fancy, without care of concern for anything beyond their own desire. The tragedy that befalls the other characters like the Wolf or nameless women are unremarkable occurrences, used to further display the cunning or will of Alex/Peter. Boys will be boys.