Graham Rawle: Womans World

During the cut and paste workshop I was introduced to an extract of Graham Rawle's book Woman's World. The collaged novel is made up of extracts of  text and images from Woman's magazines from 1960's. The novel's narrative was heavily influenced by the articles and text that were found in the magazines which in turn aids in accurately portraying the Woman's role in 1960's suburbia. By using a mixture of whole and part extracts from the magazines of the time the narrative and language used mirrors that of the themes and thoughts towards Women in 1960's. It creates a very english approach, almost parodying old fashioned beliefs and ideas, by concentrating on the fact that the 1960's idolises feminine identity.

Graham Rawle's collection of Woman's Magazines from his website.

There are three main characters, Norma Fontaine, Roy and Mary however although you hear everything through Norma's voice the novel ultimately is one big internal monologue from the three different perspectives. Roy's notion of what is feminine is physically constructed from different elements which is mirrored in the narrative through the woman's magazines in how they feel women are constructed from undergarments through to makeup, and again further portrayed in how the whole novel is constructed. 

Cut outs of magazines used in the novel.

The aspect that I like the most about Graham Rawle's work is that his source material is getting ruined and he is destroying them as he cuts out the extracts. He literally is taking the past and put into the present which is something that would not have been able to be done without the use of his technique. Certain elements that add to the 1960's appeal would not have been possible for examples the typography and serif used is typical of magazines of that time. 

The cut and paste aspect of Grapham Rawle's work is really effective. As I have said before he would not have been able to achieve the same effect without using his technique which is really effective. I have been told as well that he never permanently fixed the words down to the paper, it was never glued down. He lays it out and then uses a slab of non-reflective glass to take a picture of the page without there being shadows or curling of the paper. Then the words are free to move again, and he uses some extracts repeatedly throughout the novel. The cut and paste technique also creates an almost sinister and mysterious effect, looking almost like a ransom note. This effect I think is purposely done to mirror the message of the novel. As the narrative is taken from the glossy feminine magazines from 1960's the words are very stylised and polished and girly, however the cut and paste effect makes the first look of the pages look sinister, this is portrayed in the narrative of the collaged novel in the way that Norma Fontaine, who uses the glossy magazines as a step by step guide to living her life, slowly realises that the real world is a much more dangerous and sinister place itself. 

The finished pages of Graham Rawle's Book

At the end of my Image workshop I was set the challenge of creating 100 A6 collages. I really like Graham Rawle's technique and it is something that I would really like to look into and discover for myself. I am going to try and adapt his technique and use it in my own work. I was compelled to by the book and I recommend it to everyone! Such a brilliant read.