Travel Fellowship Application

Tyler Sutton

The history, art, and architecture of the city of Venice have always fascinated me. A visit to Venice, the absorption of the history of Venice and the Venetian culture would greatly enhance my story telling ability as well as technical artistic ability.

The rise of the Republic of Venice, it's trials and tribulations, my stories for animation projects would practically create themselves. The rise and fall of the Doge, the intrigue of the masquerades of the Renaissance with the distinctive Venetian masks, and the horrors of the black plague beset upon an island city are rich and fertile grounds for the creation of complex and interesting plots. Great writes such as Shakespeare and Anne Rice found inspiration in the ancient city. Even in the two days I spent in Venice my mind raced with ideas for stories and plots.

On the technical side, all of my various interests would be piqued in Venice. In the field of industrial design I could learn a great deal from the classic Venetian glass smiths. One of the longest running companies in the world is a Venetian glass company that has been in constant operation since 1295. The beauty and craftsmanship of Venetian glass is world renowned.  The forms, color, and texture of Venetian glass work would help me better understand form and function in 3D space, improving my ability to craft designs for dimensional objects.

In the field of architecture, Venice is a veritable goldmine. There is nothing quite like the city of Venice. An illustrious mixture of Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical-Moderne architecture is a muse unto itself. One is simply left in awe when stepping onto Piazza San Marco. During the Southern Renaissance, Venice was the center of world trade and it shows in the Arabesque and Near Eastern flourishes that left its mark on Venice's architecture. I have a great interest in architecture, filling my sketchbooks with designs of hypothetical structures and I believe a fellowship in Venice would have a grand impact on my ideas concerning architecture.

In painting, Venice was one of the hearts of the Italian Renaissance, next only to Florence. Home of Cenaletto, Titian, Bellini, and Veronese, Venice left its mark on the world of fine art.  One cannot spend time around such work and not gain some technical enhancement from it.

All these interests and more would be immensely enhanced by a fellowship to the beautiful, ancient city of the Lion (the Lion is the symbol of Venice) but my purpose there would be to create a work of narrative animation. A piece of animated narrative, colored by such a city, would be something unique and bold. Creating a world based on Venice, its history and culture and the character of its population, would entail a great deal of research, documenting, sketching, and photographing as well as socializing with the native people.

I am already familiar with the layout of Venice on a basic level and the language barrier is not much of an issue due to most Venetians speaking English. Cost is an issue as Venice is considered to have a relatively high cost of living. Housing is extremely costly in the old city though inland housing is much cheaper albeit with the subsequent need for transportation into the old city which is an additional cost. A one bedroom apartment in the old city is about seven-hundred dollars a month in rent. Utilities are approximately two-hundred dollars a month. An “inexpensive” restaurant is approximately twelve dollars a meal for one. A Coka-Cola is two dollars and fifty cents. (All prices equivalent dollars in Euros) Thus Venice is an expensive place but the rewards are undoubtedly worth it.