An Astounding Conversation with Elisabeth Boylan

Courtesy of the artist

Elisabeth Boylan is a Canadian born Artist, Illustrator & Graphic Designer. Her art addresses the grace of dance with artistic flare and ease, making the dance world accessible to all. I got the honor to talk with Elisabeth about her video game and how dance influences her life.

UZOMAH: How did you come up with bringing dance and its elements to the form of video gaming?

ELISABETH: I grew up in Montréal, Quebec highly influenced by the arts and Cirque du Soleil. In 2011, collaborating with a programmer I created customizable ‘ArtCards’ for a mobile greetings app which featured my ballet-inspired artwork. At the time we were playing around with game concepts for the iPhone. Almost from the ether or maybe a creative muse inspiring me from another dimension the name ‘Big Top Ballet’ came to me. I looked up the domain with multiple extensions, they were all available and I bought them.  We were keen to make a non-violent mobile game using Unity 3D that appealed to tween girls. We teamed up with a talented female musician who custom composed a dubstep electronic track. It was a project that I was proud of and happy with as an achievement when in 2012 it reached the Number 1 Mac Music Game in the US. It generated for us notoriety as a creative team, app sales, and a stream of consulting work. 

After a decade, I decided to take this year to focus my art under my own name. Effective 2021, I finally launched an online store for my drawings and prints along with a new YouTube Channel that shares my work process.

U: Ballet is a major part of your work. What about this form of dance inspires you to make works of art surrounding it?

E: Costume and set design are the biggest drivers of my fascination and love for ballet and nouveau cirque.  In my own lifetime, there won’t be enough hours for me to explore, create and realize all that is or could be possible artistically. It’s where I find meaning and a strong desire to continue.

Trapeze Artist Vieux Montreal

U: How have the movements used in dance helped you or changed how you create art whether you use brush or pen or technology?

E: Inspired by a certain pose, I start with graphite and ink on watercolor paper. I prefer the raw drawing to remain in greyscale that I can adapt with color as an illustration in Photoshop or Illustrator on my iPad Pro to create limited edition prints or for social media posts. 

Although less frequently, if I do draw from live performance or video, I am inclined to use charcoal to capture gestures. One of my first oil paintings I sold, was ballet-inspired using black oil paint on canvas to emulate the look and feel of charcoal. 

U: How is performing ballet an artistic process for you?

E: There is an old proverb, ‘To draw bamboo, you must become bamboo’. 

Learning and doing ballet gives me more insight into each pose and my inner awareness when I draw from reference. I found ballet classes with a live pianist.  A classical pianist really enhances the experience. A big open dance space with high ceilings, arched windows, brick walls, and vinyl floor are all checkmarks for me. 

Inspired by Degas’ process, I was just inching myself closer to live sketch the senior dancers before the pandemic hit last spring. 

Equine Ballerina

U: Is there any artistic medium that you have not tried that you want to?

E: I just ordered ‘No 1 ArtGraf’ graphite kneadable putty that is on its way. I love how graphite powder is shiny and mercurial but the loose particles are easy to inhale and coat the lungs. I had an art professor who in his words ‘got carried away by the graphite’s shine’ in his work and was hospitalized for how it coated his lungs. A cautionary tale, so I am excited to try this modified version. 

In art school you end up trying and testing so many different mediums, some combinations just seem to find their artist. Although I experiment, I come back to what works for me. 

More than a medium, the exploration I would like to indulge in would be to paint live models in costume. A live portrait captures an essence that isn’t present when drawing reference from a photo image. One day later in my career, where I can choose the costume, set up lighting, pay the model, and then really have a collection of large oil-based works that are in the tradition of the old painting masters.  

U: What made you want to make a video game?

E: I love the tools to build a video game, specifically Autodesk Maya and Unity 3D. After studying at Emily Carr University of Art and Design,  I thought one of the best fits for me was to work as a concept artist for a video game studio. The problem and reality were that so much content was tailored to violent games marketed to the male demographic. When the mobile app market opened up,  my 3d, digital art, and graphic design skills allowed me to branch into app design and development. Mobile games were just taking off and profitable for a window of time for independent iOS developers. There was an ease of entry, I partnered with my programmer husband and we were especially enthusiastic about mobile development that we could do together. It was a highly idealistic and rewarding time in our relationship as creative partners.  

Heart Transplant

U: How do you feel about the relevance of beauty in contemporary art and dance?

E: The golden ratio is a visual law that governs beauty. It’s evident in nature, the most appetizing fruit has a beautiful symmetry and color. I would argue that good design is all about beauty, but contemporary art, ballet, and dance aren’t only about beauty. They are artistic expressions usually with some element of the story, message, or struggle that mirrors the human experience. Sometimes the context demands the art to be ‘ugly’ to reflect what’s needed. Whether it’s the costume, music, or environment the artist and designer are intentional about her choices. 

In my choices, I feel that there is so much trauma and asymmetric ugliness, whether the form it takes is oppression, violence, or poverty, the more beauty I can create the better my contribution in the world at this time. 

Bird of Paradise Ballerina Costume - Giclée Print

U: What are some stereotypes found in ballet that you think might be able to be broken down through your game making ballet more accessible to everyone?

E: I’m not sure we broke down any stereotypes with our game. If you can believe it was banned in the Middle East for being immoral when it was launched to the Samsung App Store in 2012 and 2013. It’s been a decade since we first started and we are considering what game or app to create next under Big Top Ballet. This question is interesting because Ballet like all live performances has been shut down due to the Coronavirus measures taken globally. The natural response following this shutdown will be for people to have a strong impulse to experience live performance again.  I think Ballet, Opera, and Theatre will have a huge resurgence post-pandemic.

As for stereotypes to participating in ballet, there may be some males and females rejecting ballet because they believe traditional femininity personified by the ‘ballerina’ archetype is a sign of passive vulnerability that they ought to steer away from if they want to emulate the independent lives of their best potential. I would encourage anyone to take a live ballet class and experience what dance does to the brain, the strength, and the awareness that comes from its practice. It’s great for posture, flexibility, and poise. At its professional level, Ballet is the epitome of the elegant complexity of mastering beauty in the human form.  Einstein referred to dancers as the ‘Athletes of God’, I can’t agree more and that’s the starting point of what I seek to capture in my work.

To find out more about Elisabeth’s art please check it out here.