Jeff Wall Pawnshop 2008

HOURS TUESDAY – SATURDAY, 11 AM – 7 PM

There are very, very few films that I can think of that have actually created true cinema. Last Year In Marienbad, perhaps, is about the closest I can feel. It approaches a notion of real, true cinematic intelligence. It is not a slave [...]]]> Artist and filmmaker Peter Greenaway said the following of ‘L’année dernière à Marienbad’

There are very, very few films that I can think of that have actually created true cinema. Last Year In Marienbad, perhaps, is about the closest I can feel. It approaches a notion of real, true cinematic intelligence. It is not a slave to text. It is not a slave to narrative. It deconstructs all these phenomena and creates a product which is truly and absolutely cinematic because it cannot exist in any other form. Whereas the majority of cinema can always be explained in other mediums, which is a true indication, I feel, that it hasn’t yet reached that essential autonomy. It points the way cinema might have gone – I think it’s too late now, the most interesting figures have all turned to other things, other routes

Indeed Greenaway has also turned to ‘other routes’ with his art project ‘Nine Classical Paintings Revisited’. Last summer he exposed the piece “The Wedding at Cana: A Vision by Peter Greenaway” at the Venice Biennale. The New York Times review can be found here:

The Wedding at Cana - A Vision by Peter Greenaway

David Lynch Galeries Lafayette Paris

“A lot of people have assumed my paintings are influenced by or based on films, but it’s not that literal. I’ve directly referenced only one film still in my [...]]]>
Frieze Magazine runs an ongoing series asking artists and filmmakers to list the movies that have influenced their practice. Below is an excerpt from Peter Doig’s segment:

“A lot of people have assumed my paintings are influenced by or based on films, but it’s not that literal. I’ve directly referenced only one film still in my work, a figure in a canoe on a lake taken from Friday the 13th (1980, directed by Sean S. Cunningham). Of course, all artists are interested in film – I don’t know one that doesn’t have an opinion about music or movies. Cinema is, after all, the most important art form of our time.”

Peter Doig - Canoe Lake

UNTITLED (ET IN ARCADIA EGO)

UNTITLED (IN THE GARDEN, ET IN ARCADIA EGO)

Why do shadows recur so often in my writing, photos and paintings? Not wanting to delve too far into my own psyche, I can only say that I was undoubtedly impressed as a child by film noir (especially Bogart films such as The Maltese Falcon, Key Largo) and Hitchcock films, and [...]]]>

Hitchcock's 'Shadow of Doubt'

Why do shadows recur so often in my writing, photos and paintings? Not wanting to delve too far into my own psyche, I can only say that I was undoubtedly impressed as a child by film noir (especially Bogart films such as The Maltese Falcon, Key Largo) and Hitchcock films, and I still am. The portrayal of the otherworldly side of society and the darker side of human nature was powerfully conveyed on the big screen by extensive use of lighting effects and shadow. Night scenes with single-source lighting and long shadows were especially effective and suspenseful. I find that shadows provide an outline of form, but to me they are transient, vague and often hallucinatory. These qualities allow the shadow to serve as metaphors for a range of dramatic feelings and emotions. The ambiguity of the shadow is another critical element and one reason they feature in my thoughts and creative work. I lived in Europe for several years and loved the forests, spending invaluable time in Switzerland and Germany walking amongst the trees. European forests often have a gothic feel, a dark brooding and mysterious quality which is incredibly enticing. The German expressionists and film directors such as Hitchcock used this to great atmospheric effect. There are ultimately very few pictures I create which do not have a tree, or part of a tree, in there somewhere. In many of my paintings I search for classic frames of reference, often using forests as backdrops or street-lights to illuminate critical elements in a scene. Those elements within the composition are usually carefully constructed but almost always are based on one of many spontaneous ink sketches I produce in my spare time (ie. late at night). The use of shadows can heighten both the perspective or depth of a scene and its mood. And not infrequently, a shadow will take centre stage and provide the focal point of a painting.
Author: Beric Henderson

Brief Encounter by Gregory Crewdson

Bad Route by Miguel Calderon