Der Schrei der Natur commonly known as The Scream, is a series of 4 compositions created using various media by the expressionist Edvard Munch. Each of the 4 compositions depicted an agonized figure against a landscape with a tumultuous orange sky. Painted onto the frame of one of the compositions was a quote rendered from a diary entry which described his inspiration for the compositions. "I was walking down the road with two friends when the sun set; suddenly, the sky turned as red as blood. I stopped and leaned against the fence, feeling unspeakably tired. Tongues of fire and blood stretched over the bluish black fjord. My friends went on walking, while I lagged behind, shivering with fear. Then I heard the enormous infinite scream of nature." --- Edvard Munch. Modern interpretations of Munch’s work suggests that the scream of nature that he mentioned previously may have described the cries of the animals in the slaughterhouse and the shrieks of the people residing within the asylum nearby. The ominous compositions may provide a glimpse of his inner troubles and feelings of anxiety and isolation. I chose to adapt the series because it is one of the most recognizable works of art in the world described as "an icon of modern art, a Mona Lisa for our time." ---Arthur Lubow. The compositions emphasizes not on the traditional technical skills but on the expression of emotion through the use of colour and line, a revolutionary approach at the time.

 

I began the creative process by searching for famous paintings to find a composition to adapt and reinterpret. After finding the composition I wanted to work with I reviewed other adaptations of the artwork in order to find inspiration for my own adaptation. I found a pop culture rendition of The Scream involving the Joker and the Batman and was inspired to create my own pop culture rendition using iconic characters that reflect a part of my own life. As an avid gamer and a fan of the Mario series, I decided to use the characters from the game in my modern adaptation of The Scream. I then sketched out a few ideas involving different characters and colour schemes. I choose to use the character of Princess Peach, depicting a scene just before Princess Peach’s many abductions at the hands of Bowser. When I created the composition I decided to follow the original concept and use the bridge as a background. But I later decided that a balcony better suited the character and changed the image accordingly to depict a scene where Princess Peach is abducted from her castle.

 

Visual dichotomies contrast 2 ideas, a technique used in this assignment when comparing the original composition with my adaptation. The Scream created in the late 1800s was reinterpreted as a modern day digital painting involving characters from pop culture contrasting the old and the new. I used postmodernist techniques such as appropriation and recontextualization by incorporating familiar objects/subjects into my compositions (e.g. characters from the popular adventure game series, Mario) to generate new meaning as a reinterpretation of an iconic composition.

 

Although both figures in the two compositions express a feeling of despair, my adaptation of The Scream has a comedic element whereas the original composition has a much darker intent. My adaptation depicted Princess Peach, the modern damsel in distress character in Mario games, a popular adventure series with bright colours, upbeat music and cute characters. The adaption depicts one of Princess Peach’s many abductions at the hands of Bowser. Infact, her abductions are so numerous you begin to wonder how a princess could possibly be kidnapped so often adding a comedic element to the composition.  At the end of the day, Mario will always come to rescue Peach. Therefore, the adaptation has a brighter atmosphere than the original composition because you know that there will be a happy ending to this despairing scene. To further convey this idea I used brighter and bolder colours in my composition. The Scream on the other hand is ominous because you know so little about the people in the scene. The darker colours used to paint the foreground and the tumultuous reds and oranges in the background creates a sense of general unease. My adaptation is greatly influenced by pop culture because I am constantly exposed to it in the modern day, In the age of technological advancement, video and computer games have become a large part of many people’s lives, including my own. Therefore, as a reflection of my own life, I decided to create a composition using the characters from the popular Mario series.