Skyfall Art

The new James Bond film, Skyfall was probably the best Bond film I've seen in a long time. It was fun, self-conscious about it's own Bond movie conventions (with lines like, "somebody usually dies"), and probably more more beautifully filmed than any Bond film in recent memory. The dramatic lighting of the final showdown reminded me of some of the incredible shots in Apocalypse Now. For that matter - they also reminded me of Turner's paintings. This painting "The Fighting Temeraire" by J.M.W. Turner makes an appearance in the Skyfall scene pictured above:

There's also an incredible Friedrich-esque Scottish landscape in the film:

Caspar David Friedrich, "Evening Landscape with Two Men", 1830

My own photo of the Scottish highlands from August, 2012:

Spaced Out

There seems to be a real outer-space trend in movies and music lately:


Other Lives, "For 12"


Wolf Parade, "Yulia"


Another Earth


Melancholia


Tree of Life

Recent inspiration

Autumn in Colorado.

Field recording.

The music of Arvo Pärt

The Island (2006) directed by Pavel Lungin

"Into Great Silence" by Philip Gröning, 2005 - a documentary about Carthusian monks.

Another Earth

We saw this movie recently and really enjoyed it - it is the kind of movie you think about days later. Worth seeing if it is playing in your area.

Suspiria

I don't watch many horror movies, but it is October and that means it is time to watch Suspiria (1977) by Dario Argento again. The sets, the lighting, the soundtrack, and the overall stylization of the movie makes this horror movie more watchable than most. Photos here by OfScotland.

'Give Us Today Our Daily Terror'

My art appreciation students are writing interesting essays about Martijn Hendriks 'Give Us Today Our Daily Terror' -in which the artist edits out every bird from Hitchcock’s The Birds.





read an interview with the artist about the work here.

Jeremy Blake films at Ubuweb

"Liquid Villa", 2000



"Guccinam", 2000

Jeremy Blake, Century 21, 2004

These films are available to watch or download at Ubuweb. I played "Century 21" on my tv when we had friends over the other day and it instantly turned the monitor into a colorful morphing painting. It was a nice way to transform a black rectangular box into something aesthetically pleasing but not as distracting as something with sound or a narrative. I've mentioned Blake's work previously - they are rewarding and beautiful films (including parts of Punch Drunk Love and Beck's Round the Bend video). Ubuweb describes "Guccinam" as being, "Like a slow-burn acid trip, Blake's kaleidoscopic morphings are gorgeous and mesmerizing - digital wallpaper at its best."

Slow Motion Thunderstorm

Art and Film Friday; Vol. 10 - Donnie Darko

Caspar David Friedrich, Sunset, 1830

Chris Johanson @ Art Brussels - photo by flickr member anthonyeykmans

Still from Donnie Darko - more here.

Greg Crewdson

Art and Film Fridays; Vol. 8 - The Virgin Suicides

Still from the Virgin Suicides, more here.

Sunset Now, 2008 by Adam Parker Smith - via vvork.

Still from the Virgin Suicides

Xiaoze Xie. May - June 2005, Zhongshan #2. Oil on canvas. 2006. 27 x 45 inches.

Still from the Virgin Suicides

Morandi, Still Life (Natura morta), 1954, Oil on canvas, 35.6 x 46.4 cm

Still from the Virgin Suicides

Edith Liddell - younger sister of Alice Liddell - photograph by Lewis Carroll

Still from the Virgin Suicides

Barbara Takenaga, Manifold, 2008, acrylic on wood panel, 24 x 20 inches.
Ross Bleckner, Pathways

Still from the Virgin Suicides

David Hockney, Portrait of Nick Wilder

Still from the Virgin Suicides

The Caryatid Porch of the Erechtheion, Athens, 421–407 BC

Still from the Virgin Suicides

Pablo Picasso, Femme aux Bras Croises, 1901

Art and Film Friday; Vol. 7 - Children of Men

Still from Children of Men - more here.

Tilo Baumgartel, Hol´s der Geier, 2008, 30x40cm, Öl auf Leinwand

Still from Children of Men

Ryan McGinley, Smoke & Silhouette, 2007

Still from Children of MenJames McNeill Whistler, Nocturne in Blue and Silver: The Lagoon, Venice, 1879–80, Oil on canvas

James McNeill Whistler, Nocturne: Blue and Silver—Battersea Reach, 1872–78, Oil on canvas

Art and Film Friday; Vol. 5 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

This week I'm putting stills from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind by Michel Gondry with the work of several painters. While Matt Bollinger's work isn't exactly similar in terms of subject matter, the color use is very similar to that found in the film. The other artist comparisons are a little more direct.

Stills from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Matt Bollinger, My Face is a Veil (after Suspicion), oil on canvas, 37” x 47 1/2”, 2007

Matt Bollinger, Collective (Act II), oil on canvas, 20" x 24", 2007

Matt Bollinger, The Glass Heart Clinking, watercolor and gouache, 22” x 29 3/4”, 2007

Still from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Francis Bacon, Untitled (Study for Portrait Looking Right), Oil on Canvas, 14x12", 1962

Still from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Gerhard Richter, Ice I, Oil on Canvas, 200 cm x 160 cm, 1989