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How has your understanding of art changed?

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serious crayons:
We've spent months analyzing the artistic aspects of the movie and story. Discussing symbols and subtexts and subtle details. So I'm wondering, has this experience changed your appreciation and/or understanding of other art -- or perhaps affected the way you are creative in your own life?

I feel as if we've taken the equivalent of a graduate seminar in film and/or literature. Have you find other places to apply that knowledge? (In this case, I'm talking about applying it in a creative sense, not in the sense of deciding to make a change in your love life or whatever.)  Although most people practice some form of creativity, I realize not everybody's creative outlets can easily absorb the lessons of BBM (it might not be readily applicable to gardening or pottery, for example). But most people read, watch movies, go to art museums. How has your outlook changed? I don't mean, how has BBM ruined you for all other movies. I mean, what do you look for in movies now that you might not have noticed or thought about before?

For example, I have tried to glean ideas from Annie Proulx's writing to use in my own work. If I'm writing something that seems a bit sentimental, I now think, "No problem! I'll just put in a scene of someone peeing on a small child!"  :laugh: ... Kidding. But I do feel as if I've learned lessons from her. Maybe I would know to use "sweet, salty stink" rather than "sweet, salty fragrance" now.

And seeing how incredibly complex and subtle and beautifully designed the movie is, I look for those nuances in other art now. Often fruitlessly, it's true, and I'm probably more impatient than I used to be when I don't find them. But it's nice to know where to look. I've seen several good movies lately, and I think I actually liked them even better than I would have because I could notice things I might not have before.

Front-Ranger:
I agree with you. I now demand that my own work, and all that I read, stand up to the standard set by Annie Proulx and Brokeback Mountain!! I don't waste my time on anything that doesn't have a chance of at least echoing it.

nakymaton:

--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on November 09, 2006, 10:38:31 pm ---I now demand that my own work, and all that I read, stand up to the standard set by Annie Proulx and Brokeback Mountain!! I don't waste my time on anything that doesn't have a chance of at least echoing it.

--- End quote ---

Me too. Unfortunately, that has contributed to my already bad problems with writer's block.  :-X  I won't write anything except in private blog posts or on message boards. Good thing that I don't make a living writing, unlike some of you.

Sometimes works that went through 60 or so revisions are dangerous models...

Front-Ranger:

--- Quote from: goadra on November 09, 2006, 11:28:27 pm ---One person recently compared the shots of Alma at the Riverton kitchen table to Vermeer. Lovely food for thought.

--- End quote ---
Yes, I can see that! Where is that comparison, I missed it! Another thing about Vermeer and the other artists of his era is that they were the first ones to paint everyday scenes and in that way they were like Proulx whose subjects are rural uneducated everyday people. Also, Vermeer painted still lifes frought with symbolism. One thing I would like to do sometime is look at the movie paying attention to everything that's on the table and the counter in each scene. From what we have noticed already, (i.e. Wonder Bread) I'm sure it would be enlightening.

Penthesilea:

--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on November 10, 2006, 02:10:13 pm ---Yes, I can see that! Where is that comparison, I missed it! Another thing about Vermeer
--- End quote ---

Lee, there was a thread about settings inspired by Vermeer's work. From my memory:
For example the Twist house: the pale light, the faint colors, the washed-out white. There was also an interview with a crew member from BBM, someone connected to the cinematography and/or locations research. He said that the resemblance between those scenes and Vermeer was deliberate, not by chance. That they used Vermeer as inspiration.
And there were pictures either added or linked at this thread, to compare the settings of the Twist house with matching Vanmeer paintings. The resemblance was unmistakable.

But for the life of me I can't remember where ti find this thread. I even don't know if it was on BetterMost or imdb. I'd like to re-read it, too. Maybe someone else remembers it?



Edit: (four weeks later - duh, I'm not very fast  ;))

There's a major mistake in this post. The artist I was referring to was Hammershoi, not Vermeer. The settings were inspired by Hammershoi's work. Interestingly, Hammershoi is also called "The Danish Vermeer" (according to German wikipedia).

Here are two examples of Hammershoi's paintings. In both I see the same bleakness as in the Twist ranch interiour. And it struck me that in various paintings of Hammershoi empty chairs are around. Think of the Twist kitchen. Many empty chairs there. Another similarity to H.'s paintings.

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