“Picasso & Braque go to the Movies” is unlike the other films we have watched thus far. First off, this film talked about the influence of cinema on painting, rather than just photography. The film had clips of very old movies that inspired Picasso and Braque. Also, those who were interviewed were film makers, critics, historians, and artists. There was no single host of the show like all of the other films we have viewed thus far. These qualities along with a great topic create a very interesting film. So far, this is my favorite film we have viewed. The five most effective ways that Arne Glimcher delivers information in this film are through interviews, old film clips, paintings by Picasso and Braque, the work of those interviewed in the film, and comparisons of Picasso and Braque. I found the interviews most effective followed by the old film clips, paintings by Picasso and Braque, the comparison between Picasso and Braque’s artwork, and finally the work of the artists interviewed in the film.
The “mountain climbers” are Picasso and Braque. A poet named Guillaume Apollinaire introduced the two artists. They worked together, but on separate paintings. It was said that Picasso did not finish a single painting without Braque looking at it first and vice versa. This story is unlike anything we have seen thus far because instead of two artists competing, Picasso and Braque are working together like a team of mountain climbers. Da Vinci and Michelangelo are compared and contrasted and considered competitors. Goya and David were weighed against one another. Picasso and Braque complimented each other.
Martin Scorsese is an award winning and world renowned film maker known for his use of film rather than digital. Chuck Close is an artist known for his photorealist works (Wikipedia). Julian Schnabel is both an artist and a filmmaker. Eric Fischl and Lucas Samaras are both artists as well. All of these artists are interviewed in the film and provide insight about numerous aspects of cubism and cinema. Many of these men are inspired by early cinema or cubism. Also, many of these artists are pioneers in their respective fields. In my opinion, Martin Scorsese’s final words in the film gave the most insight. He stated that Picasso and Braque tore “down the conventions of representation”. These two men did not stick with the norm and paint exactly what they saw. They changed the art world and put their own spin on things. Scorsese also said that “cubism is not a style, it was a revolution that instigated a profoundly radical change of artistic form. In fact...a radical change of vision itself.” These words helped me understand cubism even more. It makes much more sense now. Before, I looked at cubism and thought that it was weird and hard to understand. Now, I realize that when you piece each section together and see what the artist is saying, it really is just a different, more interesting way of looking at something rather simple.
Question: Do you enjoy the fact that these two artists produced paintings that look a lot alike? Or does this bother you?
No comments:
Post a Comment