Film Noir: Reminiscent Works.

21-11-2006

Works reminiscent of different aspects of Film Noir

There are many common characteristics of the genre of film noir. This can range from the five features of noir to the lighting schemes. This exhibition is to attempt to capture elements of film noir in six pieces of art. Each piece in the exhibition compliments or contrasts another to give a whole sense of unity to the show.

Level 3: Poetry and Dream: Surrealism and Film: René Clair – Entr’acte (1924)

Entr’acte translates from French to ‘between the acts’. The name is a comical take on the interlude plays that come in between scenes where actors need to change or scenery needs to be adjusted. The film itself, twenty-four minutes in length, is an attack of surrealistic madness which blends together in a unique style to create a short piece of avant-garde chaos. The film contains scenes of urban life, a ballet dancer from below and a paper boat sailing across the rooftops, giving an idea what to expect. The lighting is done is a way to exaggerate emotion and to strengthen the mood of the scene, much like in film noir. The surrealists themselves admired detective stories (such as the criminal Fantômas) so there is homage to that within the film. It shows image manipulation that serves to create a very subjective sequence of seemingly unrelated scenes that come together to form some sense of everyday life. Some of the blending techniques, lighting techniques, scene switching, etc was incorporated by film noir directors and cinematographers that came a decade or two after this short film. This piece is the one that stands out in the exhibition in that it is a very surreal film that blends all the other aspects of the following pieces together to form something very close and yet very different to film noir.

 

Level 3: Poetry and Dream: Realisms: Meredith Frampton – Portrait of a Young Woman (1935)

 

This work, much in the same style as earlier artists such as Gainsborough and Van Dyck who also painted tradition full length portraits of women. The angle of the piece seems to a bit confusing with some of the areas painted from above and some painted from straight on, which adds to the subtle surreal element. The vase designed by Frampton emulates the physique of the woman and colours of the dress. It could be seen as a critique on metaphorically objectifying women. The string bass is also in the idealistic figure shape for a woman.

    Film noir came a few years after this painting, but the fashion hints that film noir and the painting are from similar periods in time. The painting really captures the elegance of the femme fatale through the very soft curves and colours. She is portrayed very gracefully but with a hint of fire signified by the confident pose and expression on the face. Really the only thing separating this painting from the film noir femme fatale would be a hat of some kind.

Level 5: States of Flux: Machine Eye: Lewis W. Hine - Workers in Tenements (1912)

Acting as a contrast to the Meredith Frampton painting, this shows another type of female in film noir, the housewife. Although not from the same era, the picture helps to demonstrate more the state of mind of the housewife character rather than what it was literally like for her. A very humbling overtone is shown in the picture which is demonstrated by the figures in retracted positions with their heads looking down. The lighting serves to create awkward shadows and illuminate certain objects to bring some kind of unity and dramatic appeal to the photograph. The housewife character in film noir is usually obedient of the husband and not as glamorous as the other types of single females. She is there to serve in the background, and is not as lit up.

Level 5: States of Flux: Machine Eye: Dorothea Lange – San Francisco (1933)

This is a complementary piece to the Meredith Frampton piece and the Lewis Hine piece. The men in the photograph are at an outdoor meeting in San Francisco. This shows the look of a typical male lead character in a film noir. This time, a hat is included as well as a long coat over a suit. The lighting is even similar to noir, coming in at dramatic angles to help achieve a mood. The men’s eyes are covered to give a certain mystery to them that film noir captures in the story. The ambiguousness of the character is stressed by having the character in partly darkness. We can sense some desperation in the character by the tightness of his hands and upright stance. The lead in a film noir is often a strong willed man on the outside but inside is always fighting with demons. The photo helps to compliment the characterization of the femme fatale and housewife of the former pieces by showing a strong, but desperate man.

Level 3: Material Gestures: Room 2: Jackson Pollock – Yellow Islands

Yellow Islands is a very fluid and intuitive painting that shows a wild abstract scene. This chaotic piece is not exactly something you will see in a noir literally like the three pieces above. However, it does share many characteristics of noir. If we take a film noir’s point of view, we could interpret the piece to represent different things. The chaos of the piece itself can be representing the chaos of the urban city life and settings in noir. High contrasts are something that can be seen literally in both noir and this painting. In 1947, Jackson Pollock said “When I am painting, I am not much aware of what is taking place”, much like the characters in noir. The dripping black in the centre is the blood from the murder which all the chaos seems to revolve around. The entire puzzle is masking the real culprit which the detective has to find. Everything is connected even though it seems hard to see where one thing starts and another thing ends which corresponds to the messy but structured storylines of noir.

Level 3: Poetry and Dream: Juan Muñoz Room: Juan Muñoz – Raincoat Drawing

Raincoat Drawing is one of around forty drawings of empty rooms. The arrangement resembles a set in a play or film so is ideal for noir. The setting is not quite as extravagant as typical noir indoor setting but it helps to contrast against the overly busy outdoor setting. This is quite the opposite of the Pollock piece in which interpretation is the most important factor. The piece is quite calming with not much going on except for in the painting with a rather sinister looking tree and possible figures on the left of it. The high contrast of the room to the furniture also adds a ghostly uneasiness like the tension that is built in noir. ‘If the drawings succeed in conveying an emotion, it’s because they might give the sense that something has happened or is going to happen’, Muñoz said. ‘Either you’re too early or too late. It's always the wrong moment.’ This sums up the menacing tinge in the air in this seemingly peaceful scene.

Many aspects of noir have been explored in this exhibition. The characterization of the femme fatale, housewife and lead male, the surrealistic film making style and dramatic lighting effects, chaos of the city and disturbing overtones have all been touched on. Of course it is impossible to capture noir in a series of six paintings or to analyse the six pieces only in relation to noir, but they do seem to have similarities in their features.