Anna Bruno’s blog
Metaphorically suspended between art and fairy tale. Storytelling with the Arts
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Introduction to the Fairy Tale: The Deep Link Between Art, Muses, and Metaphor
We wonder: is it possible to live metaphorically suspended between Art and Fairy Tale? Can we be guided by the inspiration of our inner muses? For a long time, we have drifted away from the simple language of metaphors. We did this in our daily interactions without even noticing. Yet, that language had a great power. It made anyone’s imagination soar: adults, teenagers, and children alike.
The origins of metaphor in human history
Indeed, metaphor runs free through human history. It started when nomadic humans crossed the earth to forage for food. Back then, they knew little to nothing about the earth, so they feared it. Therefore, they began to contemplate and admire it.
They soon understood that the contemplation of Nature would give them the right life experiences. It would also give them the knowledge needed to ease their fears. In short, they would descend into the deepest and darkest parts of themselves. There, their potential and talents would reveal themselves as if by magic.
Not only that. They would convert fear and anger into empathetic, creative, and spiritual resources. They would manage to look at everything with more Joy, Love, and Beauty. In short, they would finally find harmony and balance. The need to tell others about the meaning of life became unstoppable. They decided to do so using a simple and everyday language: the metaphor, through Art and Fairy Tale…
Technology and the Detachment from Nature
And what about us today? What value do we give to metaphor today? Do we still share that same educational and healing vision of metaphor? Are we still aware of its importance?
Of course, we too—the generation of the technology era—often use metaphorical language. In fact, we might even say that technology has identified itself with metaphor—even though we do not seem to be fully aware of it. However, it has disrupted its original mission. Or perhaps metaphor has completely enslaved itself to technology, letting itself be used to better direct and channel interests, desires, and behaviors toward the artificial and the compulsive.
And so, rather than playing a vital role in human evolution, the technology-metaphor loop has ended up keeping those who overuse it in a state of perpetual early, desiring adolescence, blocking their natural developmental stages right there.
The educational and healing mission of the fairy tale
Today’s dominant culture of consumerism keeps metaphor away from its original mission. It degrades metaphor into an efficient tool for manipulation. Flexible by nature, metaphor has fallen prey to fake alchemists for material gain.
Yet, tired and frustrated, metaphor still pops up out of pure instinct. It speaks with its healthy, simple, yet complex language, suspended between Art, Fairy Tale, and Myth. The logical adult mind often rejects it. However, young children are always ready to welcome it kindly, free from judgments.
Metaphor never stops fighting to keep its purest mission alive. Some disciplines still use it in its beneficial sense. We see this in high-quality Literature, Poetry, Visual Art, Theater, Psychology, and Cinema. Thanks to these arts, metaphor still resists. It waits for the day when it can bring humanity back to its inner balance and the Common Good.
Storytelling with the Arts: the Museion project
Modern society loves false myths and efficiency. To counter this, I choose to tell stories. My goal is to protect metaphors and their deep meanings for the soul. I do this through storytelling with the arts. Art and Fairy Tale entered my life during childhood. They taught me to lose myself, only to find myself again.
My book, “Toward Art, Muses, and Harmony… (Museion: Storytelling with the Arts)”, unpacks the word museum. This project makes the museum alive, spiritual, and human. Alan, a nine-year-old boy, is the main character. He heals his loneliness through imagination. His inner friend, Eidola, helps him. Together, Alan and Eidola take the reader on a magical journey into the world of Art and artists.
Hereunder the excerpt of the audiobook:
My deepest thanks for all the production work carried out so far:
Yolanda Zerboni: creator of the illustrations for this first fairy tale and of the characters who will also accompany us in the following stories. Painter. She lives and works in Rome.
Francesca Crini: graphic designer for this fairy tale, as well as illustrator and graphic designer for the upcoming stories. Artist specialized in mandalas. She lives and works in Ostia Antica.
Véronique Méquio: editor for the French fairy tales and texts. Narrator of the French version of the audiobooks. She lives and works in Paris.
Andrea Manchée: translator and editor for the English texts. Narrator of the English version of the audiobooks. Opera singer. She lives and works in Rome.
Corrado Patriarca: narrator of the Italian versions of the fairy tales, and editor (audio mixing) for the various audiobook versions. Psychotherapist who uses metaphor as an essential tool for healing the soul. Director and actor, he leads reading groups for professionals and amateurs. He organizes psychodrama encounters. He lives and works in Rome.
