Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Juan Pablo Etcheverry

A good follow up to the last post is this beautiful stop-motion animation, Minotauromaquia (2004), by Juan Pablo Etcheverry. The film explores the creative demons/inspiration of the one-and-only Pablo Picasso! Using the fitting metaphor of the Minotaur and the Labyrinth, Juan starts with young Picasso as he paints Les Demoiselles D'avignon, and then quickly delves into the crevices of the artist's psyche. An old Picasso resides in the bullring/maze of the Minotaur, trying to find his way out after stealing the creativity from the Man-beast. All the motifs from Picasso's creations appear out of the shadows of the twisting corridors, prompting him this way and that, but it's not that simple as the blood-thirsty, anthropomorphic image of the psyche's dark side hunts him down. From concept to final frame, Juan himself has conquered the Minotaur with this impressive short film, and seeing Picasso's paintings realized in 3D left me wanting more. After watching Simon Schama's Power of Art, Juan literally shows what Simon says of Picasso: "...Picasso connects with our worst nightmares. He's saying, “Here's where the world's horror comes from; the dark pit of our psyche." This is a nice homage to the artist's creativity, and his vision which would shape the art of the Modern era. That is the Power of Animation.
(thanks to Ticklebooth and Milk and Cookie's for this one!)

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