By Marina
Correa
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| Jean-Michel Basquiat - The Film |
Works of art are explicitly made for the purpose
of simulating one’s thoughts, emotions, beliefs… through the senses interpreted
on the basis of images or objects. Perhaps, a prime reason why films on art are
made in the very first place…
I was at the screening of 2 art films on the
lives of neo-expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and the legendary Pablo
Picasso at the Times' Kala Ghoda Festival 2013, Mumbai, and was reminded that we
silently inhabit a milieu of interesting audience responses.
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| Graffiti Art by Jean-Michel Basquiat |
With Jean-Michel being credited
with bringing the African-American and Latino experience to the elite art world,
the film did touch a chord deep within. But for his untimely demise, the artist
may have left an even more expressional footprint. An ethnographer I met
said she liked watching art films, as artists express our innermost feelings;
she could also identify with the fact that Basquiat didn’t take art seriously,
but rather enjoyed it. “Such films take one’s mind away from the mundane and
give us an insight into the world of great achievers,” chipped in a young
lawyer.
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| Untitled work by Basquiat |
One cannot deny the impact of this visual
medium. Incidentally, there have been a multitude of art films, differently variegated,
both in treatment and influence; and each tends to give you a little byte to
take home. A Filipino working with an India-based NGO opines, “Art films
emphasize disconnect between an artist and his works.” Although he could never
imagine such brilliant masterpieces were created by a lonely and confused
Basquiat, the film was hugely inspiring to him.
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| 1985 Tenor by Basquiat |
Surviving
Picasso seemed
to similarly impress upon him Picasso’s debunking of how art should be and his
rather distinctive introduction of impressionism in art, which for our young
observer is the mark of a true artist.
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| Guernica by Pablo Picasso |
So what are we garnering from art films? A lot,
I can say. Of course there are the exceptions, who tend to walk away mid-way
through the screening; but holistically speaking, art house films make for intelligent
and realistic cinema; a cinema that tends to impress upon the psyche and
inspire the non-stereotype. An important reference point to the
journey of an artist, which is riddled with solving the rigours of
his inner self vs. rejoicing in his chosen medium of self-expression.
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| Pablo Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon 1907 |
I would have to say that books are my favorite as you can review them over and over again. I have many books on Rothko, Kandinsky, Frankenthaler, Picasso, Mattise etc. I love reading about their life as much as their careers. The Catalogue Raisonne for Mark Rothko is one of my best references as well as Kandinsiy's The Spiritual in Art.
ReplyDeleteI am curious to know why one has to make a choice. Art films and art books are both relevant forms of information and entertainment. Some people are more book oriented while others are more inclined to enjoy being entertained on the screen. I think when combined - they both provide a more comprehensive prespective and source of information; in response to IAnD's discussion thread "Which of the two are more impactful - Art Films or Art Books?"
ReplyDeleteFilms will have more impact than print media because they have sound and motion but they will have a smaller audience and a shorter lifespan. Print media can be seen by a larger audience over a longer period of time (generations). They can be viewed and re-viewed by the original owner of the book and then by others when the book goes into a library or is recycled through a bookstore; in response to IAnD's discussion thread "Which of the two are more impactful - Art Films or Art Books?"
ReplyDeleteIt would be a great and very well said. Thanks for this great content and i would like to know more information on this topic. Keep sharing and keep updating your post with useful information.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that of the two I prefer books. Each has their value, but something about the image printed on the page helps me connect to it on a deeper level than via the pixels of the television screen. I think that the book provides for the reader a greater emotional and intellectual investment in the topic than the screen does.
ReplyDelete