SCAN MAGAZINE SPRING 2022
A RTS
LETTING GO
CORNER
SALOME
Isabella Tallman-Jones Fourth-year, illustration
This piece was inspired by the illustrative works of Aubrey Beardsley for Oscar Wilde’s biblical play: “Salome.” I really admired Beardsley’s pattern and line work and his sweeping, all-encompassing compositions. In addition to the visual elements he employs, the story was a heavy influence on the direction I wanted to take with this piece. In the play, Salome (the protagonist) can’t come to terms with letting go of her desire for John the Baptist. In this piece, however, Salome is transformed and is experiencing her own alternative ending, one where she resigns being rejected by the prophet instead of enacting vengeance. By letting go, both John and Salome avoid being executed as they were in the original story. Salome can finally free herself from her own obsessions and desires. She lets go of her desire to possess in exchange for a physical transformation, a manifestation of her ability to rise above her pain and transcend it.
