A couple of weekends ago I went to the National Gallery. Mostly to see the building, which I ride by most days. Is that wrong? It's full of light and glass but the corridors take ages to walk across. And the art was... not so inspiring. Traditional. But for one thing. Shards of this piece stuck in my brain and I can't shake them off.
Eve Sussman's 89 Seconds in Alcazar recreates an iconic Velazquez painting, often called the best work of Western painting. Mathematical formulas let art historians dissect the painting to show its mastery of geometry and measurable visual rhythm.
I loved this video. It treated the painting as both a work (a job, an effort by a man) and as a tiny point in the larger expanse of life.
From the bright exposure of the Modern Gallery, you enter a room that is completely dark. It takes more than thirty seconds for your eyes to readjust themselves. Against the 15-foot wall is projected a dwarf stoking a fire. Then whispering. Then a little girl in a ridiculous wedding-cake of a dress. Then the famous painting crystallizes for an instant. But the dog rolls onto its back. The painter moves his brush. People move on.
"Capturing the enticing mystery of Las Meninas, [Sussman] lets us glimpse the intricate dance of chance that might have led up to this moment. In place of Velázquez's horizontal quarters and vertical sevenths, Sussman parses human relationships. A chamberlain whispers to the king; a dwarf tends the fire; a lady-in-waiting bows to the queen. Instead of Velázquez's triangles within triangles, we get groupings that form, dissolve, and re-form as if by accident, design, or some implacable royal protocol. In the absence of Velázquez's luscious brushwork, we get the velvety atmosphere of high-definition video. Finally, in addition to mimicking the multiple yet equal focal points of Velázquez, Sussman takes you into the room in the Alcázar, the Spanish summer royal palace, where these 11 people and one dog converged that day in 1656."
--- The Village Voice
Oh my god. Before you die of pretentiousness, hear me out. This video rocks.
Eve Sussman's 89 Seconds in Alcazar recreates an iconic Velazquez painting, often called the best work of Western painting. Mathematical formulas let art historians dissect the painting to show its mastery of geometry and measurable visual rhythm.
I loved this video. It treated the painting as both a work (a job, an effort by a man) and as a tiny point in the larger expanse of life.
From the bright exposure of the Modern Gallery, you enter a room that is completely dark. It takes more than thirty seconds for your eyes to readjust themselves. Against the 15-foot wall is projected a dwarf stoking a fire. Then whispering. Then a little girl in a ridiculous wedding-cake of a dress. Then the famous painting crystallizes for an instant. But the dog rolls onto its back. The painter moves his brush. People move on.
"Capturing the enticing mystery of Las Meninas, [Sussman] lets us glimpse the intricate dance of chance that might have led up to this moment. In place of Velázquez's horizontal quarters and vertical sevenths, Sussman parses human relationships. A chamberlain whispers to the king; a dwarf tends the fire; a lady-in-waiting bows to the queen. Instead of Velázquez's triangles within triangles, we get groupings that form, dissolve, and re-form as if by accident, design, or some implacable royal protocol. In the absence of Velázquez's luscious brushwork, we get the velvety atmosphere of high-definition video. Finally, in addition to mimicking the multiple yet equal focal points of Velázquez, Sussman takes you into the room in the Alcázar, the Spanish summer royal palace, where these 11 people and one dog converged that day in 1656."
--- The Village Voice
Oh my god. Before you die of pretentiousness, hear me out. This video rocks.
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