Artist Statement: Historical Story

In “Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions” Daniel Wallace tells the story of a young man at his father’s deathbed, trying to discover the truth about who his father really was after a lifetime of hearing his tall tales. First frustrated and feeling like he doesn’t know his father at all, he comes to discover that the myths his father had created of his life are actually based on real experiences, and are perhaps more telling of his father’s life and character than reality could be. In “Vivian, Fort Barnewll,” Ethan Canin reflects on a picture of his mother hanging blankets in their yard. But when he actually sees the picture again, he realizes first that she was not actually hanging blankets, and looking closer reveals that the woman in the picture is actually his grandmother. Both of these stories explore history and memory and highlight some of the thoughts I’ve had over this past week in class and working on the historical story. I’ve thought about history, how we hear and remember it, and how it affects us. 

In our historical story, we try to explore some themes of love and commitment, of escapism and facing reality. It’s based—but not necessarily confined to—true experiences from the life of Danny’s great-grandfather, who worked on-set of MGM’s 1935 adaptation of Anna Karenina. His wife was having—and would continue to have—serious health an emotional problems after the birth of their first child. In the script, he comes more to terms with his situations from a diner conversation with star Greta Garbo and drawing some inspiration from the film.

In reality, that conversation never actually happened. But Danny’s grandfather did love his wife and spent his life caring for her despite the struggles. In telling the story, we pin to a specific moment in time at least part of Charles’ coming to terms with reality. It could be that when we represent fully developed character arcs, with all their epiphanies and realizations, so tidily in stories that we do a bit of injustice to what for many is the real struggle—the slow, gradual, two-steps-forward-one-step-back kind of growth that is constantly challenged and doubted throughout the course of a life. But I think this “life concentrate” still has value and is worthy of being told. We learn in “Big Fish” that there is much value to be gained from stories, whether they are embellished or condensed. Morals and lessons are tied to but not restricted by real-life experiences. But this kind of thing tends to happen whether we want it to or not. It’s always going to be impossible to tell a story and represent 100% what an event was actually like. But looking into our pasts, we will remember the things that have most meaning for us and take from them the lessons we need to shape our futures.