I remember grumbling a while ago about just how movie posters these days aren't so great to look at, which is a little strange now that I come to think of it because the really good ones nearly always seem to have fairly compelling images associated with their promo material. And it's odd I forgot about it for so long, but the above poster for the 1998 adaptation of Great Expectations is just one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. I haven't watched the film in nearly ten years, but Alfonso Cuarón had an amazing eye for what his film had to look like- all green and gold and sunlight in gloomy houses- which is why I wasn't all that surprised this January when I was told that the paintings were by an actual artist by the name of Francesco Clemente. Being ignorant and curious, I googled him. And I think I've actually found my first true modern art love. I'm no competent critic, but it's odd, his work, if I were to be pretentious about it, just seems to me to connect in a way that nothing I've previously seen as modern art really does. I'm all for art generating controversy and debate, we'd be in a sad state if it didn't, but the feeling I get every time I look at the pictures is a little like the one I get after listening to Air for three hours. And even though I'm not a huge fan of Cezanne or Matisse, which is who he reminds me of a bit, it's just the oddness added to the mix that's been nailing it for me for the last five months.
(I'd suggest going and looking at the paintings for Great Expectations on the film's official site since they're on some form of flash player, and at the rest of Francesco Clemente's work on artnet and other google-reachable places)
House of Cards, 2001
Senza Titolo (untitled), 1983-84
Salman Rushdie, 2006 
7 comments:
Ooh, love those paintings. And Great Expectations.
Wow, that was a substantial comment. "I love fill-in-the-blank". I'm so unoriginal. But i do. Love the paintings and the book/movie, that is.
Francesco Clemente is one of New York's greats! And his daughter Chiara is quite stylish and pops up on the party pages all the time.
So now everything arty shows up here eh?
I never watched Great Expectations, because I loved the book, and knew I'd find something to complain about.
It isn't really arty, it was just the poster that set it off. He also spends substantial amounts of time working in Madras, according to his bio.
Re: the arty stuff- it's here because I don't want to put anything new on the other whiny blog. I could also get a bit mushy and admit that the conversation that led to my discovery of Francesco Clemente was the one that triggered the setting up of this blog.
Mushy eh? Hee hee.
Ooh good stuff!
I remember watching Great Expectations as a kid and falling madly in love with gwyneth paltrow. the water fountain scenes! didn't know it was an alfonso cuaron movie though...
i want to see that movie!
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