Metropolis by Fritz Lang

A scene from Metropolis

Metropolis was first released in 1927 and has since gained a cult following. The filmed is based somewhere in the mid 21st Century, which at the time was considerably far into the future.

An original poster.

The film depicts a distopian mega-city state, were society is divided into two classes, the workers and the thinkers. These groups of people are interdependent, i.e. need each other in order for their state to function. The main characters, Freder (the son of the Master of Metropolis) and Maria (who is a teacher to the children of the workers) try to find a way by which both groups of people could come to work with each other in a more respective manner.

The film itself is more than 70 years old. However, it still remains one of the most iconic films in German Expressionist cinema. 

Even though films are, technically speaking, moving images the fact that this film has remained so popular shows a distinctive amount of permanence. The subject of different groups of people within a society finding it hard to find a way to conform with each other, is still a relevant topic in today's world. Through this timelessness, a particular type of stillness can be seen when observing its impact on popular culture. 

In the Harlot of Babylon Sequence, were the Robot, which has taken the form of Maria, is portraying the infamous Harlot of Babylon. her positioning on top of the mound of the Seven Deadly Sins has an aura of permanence. You'd just think that she is to remain in that same position forever. Like she is just a work of art placed there for viewers to marvel at. It is because of this factor I wish to use Metropolis as a main source of inspiration for my project.

Reference:

Review of Metropolis [online] 
Written by; Roger Ebert
http://www.ebertfest.com/four/metropolis_silent_rev.htm
(accessed January 2014)

Metropolis – A Film Review and Analysis of the Restored Classic

Alexander Mercouris

http://mercouris.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/metropolis-a-film-review-and-analysis-of-the-restored-classic/ 
(accessed January 2014)

Gustav Klimt's Golden phase

Minerva or Pallas Athena 1898

Klimt's most famous pieces of work are those from his gold phase. The main source of influence for these paintings came from the Byzantine mosaic work which he saw in Ravvena and Venice. These mosaics employed the use of gold tiles. Byzantine art usually portrays historical, religious or regal themes. The subjects' poses  are similar to those employed by Klimt. 

Klimt's paintings proved to be critically and financially successful during his lifetime.  The figures in these paintings all appear to be permanent fixtures, never moving from their captured pose. The colours used in these painting convey warmth and almost narrate some untold story captured within the paintings.

Basilica di San Marco-Venice is famous for its Byzantine-style mosaic ceilings.

The topics he chose to paint are truly timeless ones. They are not depictions of current affairs, like a war or a country's political situation, Klimt's paintings depict, above all, beauty, romance and sexual allure. These are themes that can be understood by almost everyone, regardless of race, era or creed.

I chose to use Klimt as a main source of inspiration for my project as I see a sort of surrealistic stillness in his work. His subjects are all given a regal aura because of the way they are placed within the painting. His art from this period is his most famous, however I will be trying to focus on the lesser known (though still famous) pieces of his work.

Pallas Athene of Gustav Klimt: Eyes of a Goddess

Patrick Hunt

[online]

http://traumwerk.stanford.edu/philolog/2006/07/gustav_klimts_pallas_athene_of.html
accessed January 2014

Pallas Athene 1898
Klimt Museum
[online]
http://www.klimt.com/en/gallery/early-works/klimt-pallas-athene-1898.ihtml
accessed January 2014

Vivienne Westwood's designs and their relation with the topic Stillness.

The super-elevated gillie' platform shoes made famous for being responsible for sending Naomi Campbell flying during a catwalk show. (source)

Vivienne Westwood is by far one of my favourite designers. Her creations have all been influential in the world of fashion. She has never remained entirely faithful to one particular style, other than ensuring her designs are eccentric and unconventional. 

The products of her eccentric ideas means that some of her designs have become iconic masterpieces that still influence high-street fashion today. Her Pirate boots are one of the most popular of these a fore mentioned inspirations. They are comfortable to wear but visually intriguing to the customer.

Most of her designs are inspired by historical eras. You can see this in any of her catwalk collections. 

An Outfit taken from A/W 13

The famous "Pirate boots" which have been reinterpretated multiple times by various high-street retailers.


Most of her designs are inspired by historical eras. You can see this in any of her catwalk collections. She has always made her love of history and art evident in her designs. 

"When you explore the past you enter the future, I believe that designers always create a virtual reality: the create clothes for a place that does not quite exist, somewhere better." 
-Vivienne Westwood interwiewed by Luke Leitch

Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren were key players in the punk movement, responsible for designing the clothes of the Sex Pistols during their active years. Soon after the beginning of the Punk movement, their designs became commonplace, high-street retailers began mimicking their originally risque designs. Stripping away the style's outre reputation. 

  I have chosen to use her work as a source of inspiration for my project as I find her designs extremely surreal. As for their relationship with the topic of stillness, some of her designs have become a fixture in everyday clothing. Whenever one goes into a retailer it is possible to see clothing influenced by her designs. Be it in the fabric's pattern or the cut of the garment evidence of inspiration can be seen.

Bauhaus

Poster for a Bauhaus exhibition (source)

The Bauhaus was the first institute to teach art and design in a modern way. It was founded by Walter Groupius in Weimar, Germany. The school aimed to teach its students a new artistic style  Throughout all artistic disciplines, the Bauhaus encouraged innovative design that would be timeless.

A characteristic of Bauhaus design is its simplicity and lack of over decoration. The institute was the first to employ minimalism on such a grand scale. You could say that the Bauhaus was, in a way, a continuation of the de Stijl movement.

The Wassily Chair by Marcel Breuer (source)

    

Bauhaus design has left a major influence on design. Street signs, modern architecture and graphics have all been inspired by the Bauhaus. Because of this, you could see Bauhaus design as not being a moving fade. Its designs were popular and remain popular to this day. Their style does not seem outdated like a Baroque armchair would. 

Their designs still appear modern after 80 years since the closing down of the school. The timelessness of their designs can be seen as being still, as they will not become outdated anytime soon.

De Stijl

De Stijl (Dutch for 'The Style') was formed in the early 20th century by Theo van Doesburg and other artists, designers and architect. Originally, it was restricted to art but was then translated into Design. A famous example of De Stijl architecture is the Schroeder house in Utrecht, The Netherlands which was designed by Gerit Rietveld. Sadly this was the only building completely realized to the principles of the De Stijl movement during the period in which the movement was active.

Floor plan of the Rietveld Schroeder House (source)

The members of this moment strived to seek purity of the highest level. To create a new form of design that would be universally understood and would not become outdated over time. They stripped away any unneeded details and left only the basics: vertical and horizontal lines, black, white and the 3 primary colours. Their work has no intricate carved wood work or bombastic stone work. Instead, it engages the viewer to think about what they would be seeing

van Doesberg font. (source)

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The lack of intricate detailing and excessive decoration prevents their design pieces from becoming old and stuffy in the future. Work by De Stijl still appears contemporary, even today. Because of this it has a timelessness that prevents it from appearing outdate. This timelessness can be translated as as stillness.

Bram Stoker's Dracula

Synopsis:

Bram Stoker's Dracula by Francis Ford Coppola is based on the Victorian novel of the same title. It tells the story of the immortal Count Dracula who has recently purchased homes all over London. The Count procures Jonathan Harker as his attorney after his original one succumbed to a mental disorder following his visit to Transylvania.

Original poster (source)

Count Dracula was once a "Warrior of God" who traveled to the Holy Land on crusades in order to defend it. While away on one of these journeys, his wife, Elisabeta (Winona Ryder) hears false news of his death. Upon hearing this she commits suicide immediately after.

When Dracula returns to find that the love of his life is dead, he feels that God has cheated on him. He turns to Satan and vampirism, vowing to wait until Mina returns to him again.


Relation to the topic: Stilness

Many shots in this film are clearly inspired by various paintings. The character of Lucy, herself, is a walking Pre-Raphaelite painting. In this way, many shots evoke a sense of stillness. 

The stillness of the count's castle is reflected in its permanence. The character of Dracula himself is a fixture in time, never moving on from the loss of his dearly beloved.


Bibliography

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/bram-stokers-dracula-1992
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bram_Stoker's_Dracula
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103874/

The Viennese Secession

The Austrian Secession was founded in 1895 by Gustav Klimt, Koloman Moser, Josef Hoffmann, Joseph Maria Olbrich, Max Kurzweil, amongst others.The movement was inspired by the Berlin and Munich Secessions. Their main objectiv was to create an entirely new art form. The movement didn’t maintain any conscious artistic similarities. Their styles and subject matter varied though, naturally, maintained some similarities. 

Melt by Oskar Kokoschka (source)

The mantra of the group was to create so called 'new art'. They wanted to break away from the stuffy traditions upheld by mainstream Austrian Society at the time. They wanted to create art that didn't just reflect reality, they wanted art that had emotion, a story of its own. 


The members of the Austrian Secession mostly drew their inspiration from movements contemporary to their time.The movement was greatly influenced with Japanese art which were popular amongst artists at the time. However, Gustav Klimt was greatly inpressed by the Byzantine mosaic work he saw at Ravenna in Italy.

The Tree of Life by Gustav Klimt (source)

Relationship to the topic: Stillness

The ornamentation present in Klimt's work gives his creations a sense if decadent timelessness. His subjects are usually caught in poses that do not give any illusions of captured movement. His subjects appear to be serene and at peace with nature, to be in unity with their surroundings. They are not at war or in conflict with other subjects of the paintings. The peacefulness that can be seen in his paintings can be translated as stillness.


Bibliography:

All that Glitters…The Life and Art of Gustav Klimt by Kitty Wiliams accessed 1.11.13

  http://www.crizmac.com/artandsoul/index.php/2011/12/06/gustav-klimt/

Custav Klimt Biography by studymode accessed 1.11.13*
http://www.studymode.com/essays/Gustav-Klimt-Biography-498087.html

Gustav Klimt by Sonja Blue accessed 1.11.13
http://members.tripod.com/sonja_blue/slash/klimt.html

Essay on Egon Schiele, Abstract Expressionist, Figure Drawing Artist by Timothy John Cody accessed 1.11.13

http://timcody.blogspot.com/2011/05/essay-on-egon-schiele-abstract.html


*a premium subscription to this website is needed to view the entire essay.

The Pre Raphaelites

The Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood was founded in 1848 by  John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and William Holman Hunt. All members of the Brotherhood had to submit to four vows which were the bases of all their art. These vows were:

“To have genuine ideas to express;

To study Nature attentively, so as to know how to express them;

To sympathise with what is direct and serious and heartfelt in previous art, 

To the exclusion of what is conventional and self-parodying and learned by rote;

And, most indispensable of all, to produce thoroughly good pictures and statues.”  

(via: http://preraphaelitesisterhood.com/what-is-pre-raphaelite-art/)

Proserpine, D.G.Rosseti (source)

Most Pre-Raphaelite work deals with themes from myth, legend or poetry. Their artistic styles varied little throughout the society’s exsistence.

Many works by the Pre-Raphaelites evoke an aura of permanence. Their paintings do not focus on dated themes such as street scenes. Their subjects were characters whose stories are still read today.

Boreas, J.W.Waterhouse (source)

Their subjects’ poses are more often than not, do not give the impression of excessive motion. In Prosperpine by Dante Gabriel Rosseti the subject, Proserpine seems to have been caught in a pensive moment. She does not maintain the regal appearence ancient Gods and Goddesses are usually portrayed with. The casualness of her pose evokes a sense of familiarity, it makes the viewer feel they are looking at a rendition of a familiar person.

from "Like a Painting" by MIles Aldridge (source)

The work Pre-Raphaelites still is a major source of inspiration for anyone working in the arts field. This can be seen very clearly on the cover of David Bowie’s album, The Man who Sold the World and the Like a Painting photoshoot with Lily Cole by Miles Aldridge which was shot for Vogue Italia in 2005. These modern interpretations just further prove that the Pre-Raphaelites had created a style which will not become leave us anytime soon. 

Album cover for "The Man who sold the World" by David Bowie (source)

Metropolis by Fritz Lang

Synopsis:

At the time of its release, Metropolis was the highest budget film ever produced by UFA. It is by far the most influential film in movie history. It employed techniques never used before to create effects that remain impressive even to a modern day viewer.

One of the original 1926 posters.
Source:http://www.moviegoods.com/movie_product_static.asp?master_movie_id=10337&sku=433585

Metropolis is set in the landscape of a futuristic dystopia. The society of their world is divided into two major classes, the Thinkers, the elite and powerful upper class and The Workers, the deprived lower class. Freder is the son of the 'Master of Metropolis', Joh Fredersen. He lives a well to do and care free life until one day Maria, an educated young woman from the City of the Workers, takes the Workers's children up to the Eternal Garden in order for them to witness to carefree life that can only be enjoyed by the children of the Thinkers. Freder is immedidiately drawn to Maria. Shortly after, Freder embarks on a journey to the City of Workers to witness the horror that is the reality of the Workers. While there, he attends a gathering lead by Maria. Shortly after this gathering, the twisted affair between Maria and Freder begins.

Upon discovering Maria's rebellious act, Fredersen decides to visit the scientist Rotwang who was working on a robot that could replace man. Fredersen urges Rotwang to make the robot in the likeness of Maria, in order to deter any further deviancy from the Workers. In order to do this, Rotwang must kidnap Maria. The Robot prompts the workers to rebel violently, rather than peacefully, as Maria had urged them to. Because of this, revolution breaks out amongst the workers and the Metropolis falls into chaos.

Relation to the Topic: Stillness.

The film itself seems like a majestic piece in early cinema history. Even though the scenes in themselves are full of movement, the upper world of the Metropolis appears as a fixture that will never be moved. This evokes a sense of stillness which conrasts greatly with the movement that goes on in the City of the Workers below.

Camera Movement:

For its time, the camera movement employed in Metropolis was seen as extremely advance. Most directors traditionally employed the use of fixed camera positions or very few. Metropolis on the other hand, made use of various angles wich were barely used prior to the film's creation.

Bibliography:

FOR THE LOVE OF FILM (NOIR) BLOGATHON: METROPOLIS (1927)—Onstage Interview With Eddie Muller, Paula Félix-Didier and Fernando Martín Peña-

http://theeveningclass.blogspot.com/2011/02/for-love-of-film-noir-blogathon.html
(Accessed 27.10.2013)

Fritz Lang: Behind the scene with a Master Science Fiction Filmmaker-

 

 

http://www.fanboy.com/2010/02/fritz-lang.html
(Accessed 27.10.2013)

Metropolis: The 2001 Restored version with Original Musical Score- 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j92E9J8uafc
(Accessed 27.10.13)