According to an article in nytimes, "art appreciation is a female predilection". How can they say that? Well, we spot a larger number of women buying art in comparison to men at art galleries. And it's not just another desire to browse, shop and possess that brings them to art galleries. These women are dead serious. If you happen to overhear their conversations, you fathom that they get the esoteric symbolism and all the subtle undercurrents conveyed by the artist.
And this is where I'm at pains. Call me uncouth but for the life of me, I don't get art exhibits - expressionistic or abstract. So, for example, if you show me a modern art sketch of a horse drinking out of a can of OJ in a rather dismal setting, I will see a horse drinking out of a can of OJ in a rather dismal setting and not the evils of consumerism on our nutrition and well-being.(Duh.) So I live in the happy realization that maybe I'm one of the un-art-initiated and that's why I generally steer away from art galleries and exhibits.
But then not all art is for everyone and come on, the Museum of Modern Art in New York is now projecting video games as serious works of art. Of course, it has given rise to a heated philosophical debate among art aficionados, but at least we can safely conclude that anything can be art, as long as it renders us a personal vision inspired by life or our own perceived reality.
Which brings me to an art form that is close to my heart. Movie posters. Um, yes, I'm a movie buff and browsing through movie posters generally means either looking through them or stopping to interpret the movie's essence and decide whether it's worth anticipating for. Ok, there are these soul-less posters that just throw the core essentials that sell a movie at you - the actors and actresses you like, a picturesque setting, the movie title and the release date. And chances are, you will still go watch the movie and come back and rave about how it was all that it promised.
But there are some movie posters that go way beyond.
These are the ones that stuck...that so simplistically captured not only the gist of the movie but also the feeling that one has after watching that movie. These movie posters to me became art - that one visual that elevates the movie beyond its recurrent theme and socio-cultural subtext to be eternally etched in one's mind as a miniature of the movie.
So without further rantings, I give to you a list of movie posters that, for me, have made the cut and remained with me for reasons I can't completely decipher.
In no particular order, they are:
1. A Clockwork Orange:
I remember what a demonic cult classic this movie was and naturally, with all the peer pressure, I had to see it for myself. First glance at this poster and I knew it's going to hit me straight in my guts. The disturbia in the movie's quite evident. I was raptured by the piercingly sinister eyes of the knife-bearer and then I spot the eyeball. As expected, I couldn't go past the first fifteen minutes of this movie and that eyeball continues to haunt me.
2. Shawshank Redemption:
What you see in this image is a man with his arms stretched outwards standing in the rain, his liberated spirit, looking up at the falling rain, full of hope. What you don't expect is to see a movie about a man in prison. This poster, to me, is a spiritual experience, much like the movie that could be easily mistaken for a dreary prison drama from its title, but instead offers us a much deeper connotation of life - of the importance of slowing down and reflecting, of hope and of the human spirit. Maybe, I'm biased towards the movie but the truth is that this is the visual that I carry within me to represent this beautiful masterpiece.
3. Trois Couleurs - Rouge
Ah, the inner limbo of Irene Jacob is unmistakable in her expression in this beautiful picture, which is also one of the central themes of the movie. The clever use of a similar poster within the movie in the form of a giant billboard located at a city crossroad and the way the other characters react when they look at the billboard for the first time is also what makes it a strikingly captivating movie poster. The color red, of course, is symbolic of the multifaceted meditations on love and fate.
4. Anatomy of a Murder:
The simplicity of this poster is what wins it for me. The cutout body - I mean you can't get more symbolic.
5. E.T.:
This stunning poster shows us the coming into contact of E.T and Elliot in a starfield backdrop. Interestingly, this was inspired by Michelangelo's "The Creation of Adams", alluding to the portrayal of E.T as Jesus Christ and Elliott as the one in need of guidance and salvation. But as kids, we could only link it with the desire for a cool friend from the outer space. Whichever way. It works.
6.V for Vendetta:
What brilliance of color composition! The menacing dark shadow of V looms over the entire city with his sole intent of revolution symbolized through a dagger. Revolution is also portrayed though the use of a tilted angle and a color composition of red, black and sepia.
7. American Beauty:
The poster takes a bite at the fantasies that can stem out of an unchangeable but safe, surburban life. The image, in the face of it, seems fairly innocent. And then you read the tagline, "Look closer." And you just know that there will be a seedy disclosure, unfolding slowly, much like the petals of a rose.
8. Rosemary's Baby
One word. Creepyyyy...Just look at the details. That cold, eerie shade of green. Mia Farrow's vacant face superimposed over a silhouette of a baby carriage. A baby carriage seemingly on the foot of a hill, unattended. And lean closer towards the darkness and you see a tagline, "Pray for Rosemary's Baby." I got goosebumps.
9. Pulp Fiction
Seems like a round-up of everything sleazy. Uma Thurman's icy stare, the cigarettes, the cheap paperback, the pricetag and the gun. Takes you back to the jarring 90s and still so contemporary.
10. Blow-Up
I'm kind of a fan of Michelangelo Antonioni movies because they're such a tease - so new-wave and so damn incoherent that at times, you feel like you're losing your mind. And on repeat watches, you realize what a fleeting mirage they really are. The inspiration behind this iconic poster is the celebrity-obsessed mania that we, as a culture, are afflicted with. The themes that immediately come to mind when you see this poster is voyeurism. However, if you look closely, you also notice that the unsuspecting voyeur (the photographer) has entangled himself in the lure of beauty to become the one who's being watched.
I'm sure I've offended a lot of people by missing like a whole generation of kick-ass movie posters in my list but I wanted to keep it small :). And these posters to me not only have a high recall value but also that out-of-the-box, artsy touch. Feel free to slam some more awesome poster artwork in my face in your comments below.
Image Source: www.movieposter.com
And this is where I'm at pains. Call me uncouth but for the life of me, I don't get art exhibits - expressionistic or abstract. So, for example, if you show me a modern art sketch of a horse drinking out of a can of OJ in a rather dismal setting, I will see a horse drinking out of a can of OJ in a rather dismal setting and not the evils of consumerism on our nutrition and well-being.(Duh.) So I live in the happy realization that maybe I'm one of the un-art-initiated and that's why I generally steer away from art galleries and exhibits.
But then not all art is for everyone and come on, the Museum of Modern Art in New York is now projecting video games as serious works of art. Of course, it has given rise to a heated philosophical debate among art aficionados, but at least we can safely conclude that anything can be art, as long as it renders us a personal vision inspired by life or our own perceived reality.
Which brings me to an art form that is close to my heart. Movie posters. Um, yes, I'm a movie buff and browsing through movie posters generally means either looking through them or stopping to interpret the movie's essence and decide whether it's worth anticipating for. Ok, there are these soul-less posters that just throw the core essentials that sell a movie at you - the actors and actresses you like, a picturesque setting, the movie title and the release date. And chances are, you will still go watch the movie and come back and rave about how it was all that it promised.
But there are some movie posters that go way beyond.
These are the ones that stuck...that so simplistically captured not only the gist of the movie but also the feeling that one has after watching that movie. These movie posters to me became art - that one visual that elevates the movie beyond its recurrent theme and socio-cultural subtext to be eternally etched in one's mind as a miniature of the movie.
So without further rantings, I give to you a list of movie posters that, for me, have made the cut and remained with me for reasons I can't completely decipher.
In no particular order, they are:
1. A Clockwork Orange:
I remember what a demonic cult classic this movie was and naturally, with all the peer pressure, I had to see it for myself. First glance at this poster and I knew it's going to hit me straight in my guts. The disturbia in the movie's quite evident. I was raptured by the piercingly sinister eyes of the knife-bearer and then I spot the eyeball. As expected, I couldn't go past the first fifteen minutes of this movie and that eyeball continues to haunt me.
2. Shawshank Redemption:
3. Trois Couleurs - Rouge
Ah, the inner limbo of Irene Jacob is unmistakable in her expression in this beautiful picture, which is also one of the central themes of the movie. The clever use of a similar poster within the movie in the form of a giant billboard located at a city crossroad and the way the other characters react when they look at the billboard for the first time is also what makes it a strikingly captivating movie poster. The color red, of course, is symbolic of the multifaceted meditations on love and fate.
4. Anatomy of a Murder:
5. E.T.:
6.V for Vendetta:
7. American Beauty:
8. Rosemary's Baby
9. Pulp Fiction
Seems like a round-up of everything sleazy. Uma Thurman's icy stare, the cigarettes, the cheap paperback, the pricetag and the gun. Takes you back to the jarring 90s and still so contemporary.
10. Blow-Up
I'm kind of a fan of Michelangelo Antonioni movies because they're such a tease - so new-wave and so damn incoherent that at times, you feel like you're losing your mind. And on repeat watches, you realize what a fleeting mirage they really are. The inspiration behind this iconic poster is the celebrity-obsessed mania that we, as a culture, are afflicted with. The themes that immediately come to mind when you see this poster is voyeurism. However, if you look closely, you also notice that the unsuspecting voyeur (the photographer) has entangled himself in the lure of beauty to become the one who's being watched.
I'm sure I've offended a lot of people by missing like a whole generation of kick-ass movie posters in my list but I wanted to keep it small :). And these posters to me not only have a high recall value but also that out-of-the-box, artsy touch. Feel free to slam some more awesome poster artwork in my face in your comments below.
Image Source: www.movieposter.com
Nice article Shalini. I think you just missed one..Reservoir Dogs
ReplyDeleteThanks Kabir! Oh yes, that was good too :-).
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