Movie Review of The Painting is a Must See

The Painting is quite an interesting movie on many levels. I saw it on Netflix last night. I have a feeling I will watch it several more times. I highly recommend it to all the painters and creators of life out there.

Art Level

On the art level, the Sketchies are barely visible and constantly being haunted by the Grim Reaper. The Halfies are taunted and exiled by the Alldunns.

Isn't this true in the painting process? The sketch dies to the in-process painting, and then the half-done painting is all done. Once the painting is finished and complete, it has value because we can then turn it around for money, if we want and have the skills or resources to make that happen.

Making art is a violent process when looked at from this perspective. Our goal, as artists, is to complete the work. Each layer of the process must give way to the next. Many deaths happen along the way. Even the love we feel toward our creation and our process cannot belie the fact that we were murderers along the way, even if only with pencil, charcoal, and paint, or whatever your media of choice might be.

Human Level

As an intelligent being, you can already gather from the aforementioned, that on the human level, there is much food for thought here.

The Alldunns believe that because the Painter completed them that they are the Chosen Ones. The Sketchies and Halfies have no right to anything. The Alldunns justify their violence against the Sketchies and Alldunns because there is no value in being different and incomplete.

The Alldunns live high up in a castle. They throw extravagant parties, eat great food, dance, and make plans for annihilation of the Sketchies and Halfies. The Sketchies and Halfies are not allowed into their Kingdom, their Paradise, of richness and indulgence.

Personal Level

The movie gets to the point of all of our spiritual seeking. Each of us goes on our own hero's journey into the heart of what matters in our own life. We search for evidence of our own self-worth and long to be valued as a human being. Our personal quest for meaning often reveals that everything we thought we needed, everything we have longed for, searched for, was as Dorothy discovered, already inside us. The challenge is to love ourselves just the way we are. And furthermore, accept others for who they are.

Summary

There is so much more to this movie on so many levels.

The movie is created animation style, I think, to be able to deliver its deep message in an almost light-hearted but real way. The movie is a true work of art. Great art, points the way. It sheds light on the dark aspects of our humanity. It makes us think differently. It leads us to new vision of how our life could be.

And You?

Have you seen this movie? What are your thoughts?

Until Next Week

Brianna Rush (Mary Rush Gravelle)

Sir Kitty

• Create art
• Appreciate art
• Buy art

About the author: Brianna Rush(Mary Rush Gravelle) is an artist and writer who resides in Sedona, Arizona with her beloved cat, Sir Kitty.

What is the social function of art? Part One.

‎"In a decaying society, art, if it is truthful, must also reflect decay and, unless it wants to break faith with its social function, art must show the world as changeable and help to change it." -- Ernst Fischer


My friend, Jean Eisenhower, posted the above quote on her Facebook wall.


Do you agree or disagree with what Fischer is saying here? I disagree. Below, I will begin an attempt to support that stance. I would love to hear what you think about the above quote.


My opinion is that the social function of art is to uplift, enlighten, and inspire. I hope that my art is able to do that for others. I want to create beauty so that the viewer will be reminded of the beauty that is all around them, if only for one fleeting moment. A sight of beauty can touch one so deeply and penetrate through layers of discord. A glimpse of beauty can heal our aching and longing for a better world. And hopefully, inspire action to create a better world.


I recently watched the movie, Local Color, about the director's encounter with Russian painter, Nikolai Seroff. Seroff's strong opinion throughout the movie validated my own experience of thinking about art. He also thought that art's purpose was to uplift mankind. In the movie, we get to see another opposing opinion through many heated discussions between a friend of Seroff's and himself. The director is an 18 year old at the time of his encounter with Seroff so most of what Seroff was philosophizing about was a little over his head at the time. I think every artist should see this movie.  It is thought provoking and teaches some of Seroff's painting techniques. Most of the discussions were about the differing opinions of the value of representational art vs. abstract expressionistic art.  Whether an artist paints representational or abstractly does not matter to me. I think what one can gather from the movie is more about the heart of art and what the artist is trying to convey with his art. Just listening to the trailer for this movie is inspiring: http://www.localcolormovie.com/. You can read a blog post that I enjoyed reading about the movie here: http://ericmerrell.wordpress.com/2008/09/27/local-color-the-movie/.


Stay tuned as I unfold further thoughts on this subject. Please join the conversation. I would love to hear your ideas.


Pictured above: © Mary A. Gravelle, Oh the Possibilities, 12 x 16 inches, acrylic on canvas, original is sold. Fine art prints can be purchased.

Where does art belong?

I just watched this movie, The Art of the Steal, on netflix.

Description:

The Art of the Steal

2009NR 101 minutes

A gripping tale of intrigue and mystery in the art world, this film traces the history of the Barnes collection of Post-Impressionist paintings, which was worth billions and became the subject of a power struggle after the 1951 death of the owner. Dr. Albert Barnes collected 181 Renoirs, 69 Cézannes, 59 Matisses, 46 Picassos and many other valuable paintings. But the political wrangling over the collection eventually led to its division.

Questions: Where does art belong? Does it belong in a museum or in private collections or both? Should an art collector's wishes be granted after death and according to the will? Or should the art, especially in the case of great art as was the Barnes Collection, belong to the public after the death of the collector? Should the art collection become the property of the rich and powerful and even that of charitable organizations?