You see, my Wi-Fi is incredibly moody. When it gets in these moods, it is rather difficult to watch one of the assigned films on my laptop. The constant buffering is excruciatingly annoying, as well as time consuming, and seriously affects my 'creative flow'. Art and technology, it seems, can be frustrating at times.
In the film, there was several references to the relationship between films and paintings. Thanks to the innovation of the Lumiere brothers (on Thomas Edison's invention), motion pictures were finally view-able to the masses. Movement was able to be captured, unlike any painting had done before. Pablo Picasso was a big fan of going to the cinema, and what he witnessed became the foundation for much of his art. Art Historian, Natasha Staller, described, " ... Picasso was intoxicated with all forms of popular culture around him. This was a lifelong obsession, a lifelong love."
The Spaniard experimented with capturing movement in a unique way on his canvases. From fans, to dancers, Picasso was able to portray the relationship between still life and motion in his restructured, collage-like representations.
Another relationship detailed in the film was the competitive friendship between Picasso and French artist, Georges Braque. The two painters were introduced to each other in Paris in 1907, but a mutual acquaintance, who happened to be a poet (interestingly, the film also touched briefly on the relationship between poets and painters and noted that they often challenged each other to create something new). Braque was described as somewhat of an introvert, while Picasso was much more social, however, their bond became quite close and they often relied on each other. It was stated that they would not complete most of their paintings until the other had seen it.
artist, Coosje van Bruggen quoted Braque in the film, " ... [we] spoke with each other nearly in code... if you listen to our talks, you wouldn't understand it. It was only understandable for the two of us. And in retrospect, we have nothing to say - it all went into our paintings."
Braque and Picasso both had a similar style in the era of Cubism. The images were essentially flat, but were able to tell the story of a simple concept and an incredibly complex format.
Perhaps most importantly, was the relationship between technology and art. Motion pictures became their own art form during the early 1900's. Instead of just recording images and events, they were manipulated through variances in speed and position, even tinting (before colorized film was possible). Once the technology became easier to use, films were developed into stories for pure, visual entertainment, much like the paintings of the past. There was a contrast between some paintings by Picasso & Braque vs. film. Where films were viewed as popular, detailed records, the Cubism paintings of the time were often seen as 'unpleasant' and even though they appeared to be unstructured, this film pointed out that the style showed the history of art completely restructured.
As for my relationship with Wi-Fi, I continue to resent it. I suppose it's my own fault for becoming so dependent on it, but 3 hours to watch a constantly buffering, 1 hour film is a bit absurd. But, I am not afraid of commitment. I will just have to work harder on my skills of patience, I suppose.
I wonder if there is a support group for those in similar technological relationships...
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