JVS TRANSMEDIA STORYTELLING ART PROJECT: THE STORY "The Magic Painting"

The Magic Painting

Once upon a time there were three siblings visiting their grandparents’ house. Their names were Alice, Anahí and Alexis. They decided to play hide and seek because after doing nothing interesting, they were bored.

Anahí chose to hide at the attic. Alexis, who was looking for they sisters, found first Alice and then, both started looking for their sister. They found her because they heard her screaming. They went upstairs and spotted her, who was shocked. They asked her what was happening.

Very excited, Alice started telling them that there was something, very strange in a painting, that she had found. The two kids did not understand. They asked her to explain and to be calm. She took a big breath and started saying that when she was trying to hide behind a painting that was at the attic, her hand penetrated into a weird dimension.

Alice showed their siblings the painting that caused her that strange feeling. All of the kids looked at it. They talked about the beauty and calm that it contained.  She approached her hand and it disappeared into the painting, suddenly she all was dragged into the strange dimension.

The other two kids stared at each other in amazement and they got closer to look carefully at the painting, where they saw their sister. In a flash they were dragged into it. Afterwards the siblings were in that strange new world.

The siblings looked at each other with concern because they could not understand how they had gotten to this place. The two girls started crying with despair because they wanted to get back to their grandpas’ house. Even do Alexis was worried, he tried to keep his sisters calm, but without much success.  He told his sisters that there was a person, and maybe he could help them, the man was standing next to the bridge, which they had seen in the painting. The girls stopped crying. They approached the man cautiously, who nicely with a big smile told them that he was the right person to help them.

The kids told the man what had happened and how worried they were because they did not know how come back, where they came from. The man introduced himself, telling the kids who he was. He also explained the kids, where they were. It was incredible for the kids to assimilate that they were in the 19^th century with Claude Monet a great painter in that time.

Claude Monet asked the siblings if they wanted to know more about the Impressionism period that he was living in. He promised that after that he could help them to come back to their time.

The kids, of course, were impressed and they told Monet that they did want to know Monet’ friends, information, and facts of that time. In this point, Monet took the kids to a famous cafe, where he and his friends used to gather and spend time together.

Monet introduced the kids some important painters such as: Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas, Auguste Renoir, Paul Cezanne and Alfred Sisley, who were famous for their works. Then, the writers such as: Marcel Proust and Octave Mirbeau. Finally, composers such as: Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel.

When the kids had met all Monet’s friends, they walked back to the bridge where they started that journey through the past. They were walking when they saw a play being developed in an open theatre. Alice asked Monet if the playwright there were friends of him. Monet told the kids that maybe the people, who where on stage, were their friends. They took a look and Monet saw their friends, who were interested in the kids because their strange clothes.  

Monet introduced the kids, known playwright, Ludovic Halévy and Jacques Offenbach, who asked the kids why they wearing these clothes. They said that they came from 2012 year. After that, Monet and the kids retook the way back to the bridge. The kids were talking about that great experience, when Monet asked them to do his a favor and go to his house. Monet thought that maybe they refused to go, but they were pleased to know his house and with luck, one of his current work.

Monet asked the kids to use all their imagination in a painting, in the place where they would like to be back. He provided them all the materials and with his help, the kids began painting their grandpas’ attic. After some time they finish their painting, which was amazing, with all the attic details. Monet congratulated them for their masterpiece. They realized how tired they were, that they fell asleep.

Suddenly, Alice opened her eyes and she discovered two things: that they were back at the attic, and second, she was holding their painting; her siblings were there, too. With a lot of emotion, she woke up her siblings. They opened their eyes and to their amazement, they were back at their grandpas’ house.

They talked about their wonderful experience, and Alexis proposed their sister to look for another thing that might take them to another time in art. The girls disappointed to his idea. They wanted to share that magic experience with their grandparents and had dinner with them. Maybe in another time, they would like to visit the attic, again.