The Face Behind the Artist

Sometimes the face behind the artist is unexpected. Caroline Leaf’s animated short film, Two Sisters is a great example of this concept. In the film, an unanticipated visitor shows up at Marie and Viola’s house, wanting to meet the author of his book, which happens to be Viola. Viola is not at all what the visitor expects. Viola’s face is extremely deformed, and rather difficult to look at. Despite this, the guest still wants her to sign his book. This shows great character with the visitor. When the actual face of the author (Viola) is revealed, it doesn’t change his opinion about the book. 

When the true nature or look of an artist is revealed, our opinions about the art they have created can often change—for the negative. Especially when it’s not what we originally expected what the artist would look like. Ratatouille is another example where the look of the artist (chef) is completely different than what would be expected. Food critic Anton Ego was obviously quite shocked when it was revealed that the chef for the extraordinary meal he consumed was a rat. It can sometimes be a huge surprise who the creator of the piece of art is. As Ego said in his review “I experienced something new: an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core.” Both Ego and the mysterious visitor in Two Sisters meet the artists of the book/meal that they enjoyed. The reveal of both artists—Remy and Viola—are quite unexpected, as Remy is a rat and Viola is disfigured. If the artist is different from how a person has perceived them to look or be, they shouldn’t dismiss the art because of the differentiation.