Art (on) Film Series Kicks Off

Director Julie Taymor providing some guidance to Salma Hayec in the film Frida.

The Art (on) Film series contains six films and a special discussion, all of which examine how Art is portrayed by the movie camera and what is compelling about the lives of artists and art collectors.  The first film in the series is Girl with a Pearl Earring, which depicts a possible muse of the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, plays this week at both the County and Ambler Theaters.

The concept of muses and where Art is conceived is a theme that runs throughout the whole series.  As is the idea of the angst-filled artist or collector struggling against criticism and personal torments.  These topics will be discussed in depth at our special film forum The Mystique of Art on March 31st and April 1st.  We are extremely lucky to have local artist Mavis Smith and Michener Art Museum Curator Erika Jaeger-Smith leading these forums and helping to plumb deeper into the questions the series raises.

How do artists deal with the blank canvas and creating something from nothing?

Are the personal torments of artists exaggerated by Hollywood to heighten the drama?

What is the relationship between the Artist and the Art Collector/Patron?

What is the collector’s responsibility to share his/her collection with the public?

The other films in the series, which are spread out over the next couple months, provide unique answers to these questions from a broad range of styles and genres.  Both Frida and Pollock look at the struggling artist in a narrative manner, analyzing their creative processes and demons.  The Art of the Steal, Herb and Dorothy, and Rivers and Tides use the documentary medium to explore their subjects and their interactions with the Art World. Each of these six films presents a unique view of how Art is conceived, collected, and shared and each one uses the medium of film to bring these sensational stories to a new, vibrant life.

We hope that you will join us for these films and special film forums and join in the conversation with us as we look to understand what makes the capture of Art and Artists on film so enthralling. We invite you to add your own questions/thoughts in the comments section below and to continue this discussion throughout the series.