The Use of Visual Arts in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - Essay Example

The Use of Visual Arts in "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (2005) http disney.go.com/disneypictures/narnia/ "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" directed by Andrew Adamson is a movie based on the first book of the children's novels of C.S. Lewis. It is a story about four children; Susan, Peter, Edmund and Lucy, who were sent to Professor Kirke's house because of the war. One day, Lucy accidentally discovered Narnia through the wardrobe while playing 'hide and seek' with her brothers and sister. When the four finally came to Narnia together, they learned that they were fulfilling a prophecy to restore Narnia back to Aslan and defeat the White Witch. They later became the kings and queens of Narnia for sometime until one day they chanced at the lamp post and returned to the professor's house through the wardrobe and back to childhood. When I first watched the movie, what struck me were the frozen figures of animals and other beings. These pieces of sculpture were used by the director and the makers of the film to enhance the beauty and effect of the scene. Along with it are the magnificent castle of the White Witch and her throne as well as her crown. They were all made of crystal and all pointing upwards displaying magnitude and power. The stark contrast of darkness and winter to that of sunshine and warmth is made possible by the choice of color of the background and the lighting effects. Under the witch's reign, Narnia was in a sad and terrifying atmosphere. However, in the camp of Aslan there was so much sunshine and color, such as the multicolored tents, drapes and costumes. These created an atmosphere of positive emotions and hope. The second time I watched the movie, I tried to go beyond the story and looked at the visual images instead. The same feeling of gloom was brought about by the dark and wintry scenes and colors, and then of hope and gladness when the snow melted and the sun shone through. It was another experience different from just simply watching and following the storyline. Visual arts truly enhances and aids in the development of other art forms like the film. ARTIST REPORT WORKSHEET Artist 1: JOAN MIR (1893-1983) Artist 2: SALVADOR DALI (1904-1989) 1. Artist 1 Work 1 Work 2 Work 3 Work 4 Work 5 Joan Mir (1893 - 1983) http://www.mcs. csuhayward.edu/ malek/Miro9.html Carnival of Harlequin http://www.mcs .csuhayward.edu/ malek/Miro9.html Chiffres e Constellations http://www.mcs. csuhayward.edu/ malek/Miro9.html The Farm (La masia) http://www.mcs .csuhayward.edu/ malek/Miro9.html Horse, Pipe, and Red Flower http://www.mcs .csuhayward.edu/ malek/Miro9.html PersonageThrowing a Stone at a Bird Artist 2 Work 1 Work 2 Work 3 Work 4 Work 5 Salvador Dali (1904-1989 http://www.virtualdalicom/14DutchInterior http://www.virtualdali.com/27BarcelonaMannequin http://www.virtualdali.com/37CannibalismInAutumn http://www.virtualdalicom/57RockAndRoll http://www.virtualdali.com/82FigureInspiredByTheAdam.html 2. In the beginnings of his career Miro dabbled in different painting styles that were fashionable at the turn of the century like Fauvism and Cubism. From 1924 on, he joined the circle of the Surrealist theorist Andre Breton then his painting style took a turn to Surrealism. On the other hand, Dali also joined the surrealists, led by former Dadaist Andre Breton and then became a leader of the Surrealist Movement. But as the war approached, the apolitical Dali clashed with the Surrealists and was "expelled" from the surrealist group during a "trial" in 1934. He did however, exhibit works in international surrealist exhibitions throughout the decade but by 1940, Dali had moved into a new type of painting with a preoccupation with science and religion. www.brittanica.com http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/artist_bio_109.html 3. Miro visited the Netherlands in 1928 and began a series of paintings inspired by Dutch masters. That year he also executed his first papiers colls (pasted papers) and collages. In 1929 he started his experiments in lithography, and his first etchings date from 1933. During the early 1930s he made Surrealist sculptures incorporating painted stones and found objects. Also in 1936 Mir was included in the exhibitions Cubism and Abstract Art and Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. The following year he was commissioned to create a monumental work for the Paris World's Fair. In 1941, he began working in ceramics with Josep Llorns y Artigas and started to concentrate on prints; from 1954 to 1958 he worked almost exclusively in these two mediums. In 1959, he resumed painting, initiating a series of mural-sized canvases. During the 1960s he began to work intensively in sculpture. On the other hand, as an artist, Salvador Dali was not limited to a particular style or media. The body of his work, from early impressionist paintings through his transitional surrealist works, and into his classical period, reveals a constantly growing and evolving artist. Dali worked in all media, leaving behind a wealth of oils, watercolors, drawings, graphics, and sculptures, films, photographs, performance pieces, jewels and objects of all descriptions. As important, he left for posterity the permission to explore all aspects of one's own life and to give them artistic expression. Whether working from pure inspiration or on a commissioned illustration, Dali's matchless insight and symbolic complexity are apparent. Above all, Dali was a superb draftsman. http://www.mcs.csuhayward.edu/malek/Miro9.html http://www.virtualdali.com/#biography 4. Mir received early encouragement from the dealer Jos Dalmau, who gave him his first solo show at his gallery in Barcelona in 1918. In 1917 he met Francis Picabia. In 1920 Mir made his first trip to Paris, where he met Pablo Picasso. In Paris he associated with the poets Max Jacob, Pierre Reverdy, and Tristan Tzara and participated in Dada [more] activities. Dalmau organized Mir's first solo show in Paris, at the Galerie la Licorne in 1921. His work was included in the Salon d'Automne of 1923. In 1924 Mir joined the Surrealist group. He visited the Netherlands in 1928 and began a series of paintings inspired by Dutch masters. On the other hand, in the late 1920s, two events brought about the development of Dali's mature artistic style: his discovery of Sigmund Freud's writings on the erotic significance of subconscious imagery; and his affiliation with the Paris Surrealists, a group of artists and writers who sought to establish the "greater reality" of man's subconscious over his reason. www.brittanica.com http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/artist_bio_109.html 5. At the age of 14, Miro went to business school in Barcelona and also attended La Lonja's Escuela Superior de Artes Industriales y Bellas Artes in the same city. Upon completing three years of art studies, he took a position as a clerk. After suffering a nervous breakdown, he abandoned business and resumed his art studies, attending Francesc Gal's Escola d'Art in Barcelona from 1912 to 1915. On the other hand, the young Dali attended the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid. In the late 1930s, Dal switched to painting in a more academic style under the influence of the Renaissance painter Raphael, and as a consequence he was expelled from the Surrealist movement. http://www.mcs.csuhayward.edu/malek/Miro9.html http://www.virtualdali.com/#biography 6. Miro was a prolific print maker. He worked in etchings and lithographs. And Miro is among those modern artists like Picasso or Chagall whose works were also published in large print editions targeted at a larger audience. Thus original Miro art is available even for art lovers with a limited budget. On the other hand, whether working from pure inspiration or on a commissioned illustration, Dali's matchless insight and symbolic complexity are apparent. Above all, Dali was a superb draftsman. His excellence as a creative artist will always set a standard for the art of the twentieth century. http://www.mcs.csuhayward.edu/malek/Miro9.html http://www.virtualdali.com/#biography 7. Joan Miro and Salvador Dali are two major artists of Spain during their time. The two artists are paired because they have similarities in many ways. Both were from Spain, studied Fine Arts in Spain, were contemporaries and were involved in Surrealism. http://www.mcs.csuhayward.edu/malek/Miro9.html http://www.virtualdali.com/#biography www.brittanica.com http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/artist_bio_109.html Feminist Art The Dinner Party and The Doll house are works of arts of women artists who have risen above the patriarchal world. The female genitalia that Judy Chicago artistically decorated the plates in The Dinner Party not only alarmed the men but the women as well. There were conflicting responses to her art work. Some were offended, put off, and afraid. According to Amelia Jones, as quoted by Marcy Sheiner, "Female sexuality became an obvious focus of exploration since sexuality has historically been the site of women's oppression." Judy Chicago's goal in creating The Dinner Party "was to produce something 'so far beyond judgment that it will enter the cultural pool and never be erased from history, as has been erased before.'" Thus, her work indeed has made an impact in the art world that up to the present it is still being discussed and has been given a place in the system. She has proven that the woman has a place in art and is as good, if not better, artist as man is. On the other hand, The Doll House of Laurie Simmons, though not as vulgar and adventurous as Chicago's The Dinner Party, has found its place in the history of art and made an impact on the viewers and critics. She did some "animating a dollhouse world suffused with nostalgia and colored by an adult's memories, longings and regrets." Her photographs filled with childhood memories and media constructions of gender roles and have an "eerie, dreamlike quality. It is in a way, critiquing her own milieu on the "value placed on consumption, designer objects, and domestic space in inflated and absurd proportions." She has put depth and meaning to the seemingly cute and innocent features of a child's play thing. The message has been transmitted clearly too. The Red Library Laurie Simmons and We Won't Play Nature to Your Culture by Barbara Kruger are two art pieces that depict the stereotyping of women. In the Red Library, woman is depicted as the typical librarian, efficient, submissive to her job's expectations and "she has become one with her task; even her dress, hair and skin match the dcor." This has displaced a woman in the background, just one of the things, lost in the world she is in - devoid of identity. We Won't Play Nature to Your Culture shows the face of a woman whose eyes are covered with dried leaves. She is like the woman in the Red Library where she blends with the background, just one of those things. An important feature of this portrayal is that she is even devoid of seeing, apart from being seen. The stereotyping of women is still very much present in America today despite the massive amount of feminist movement, criticism, media information, and the like. Woman remains to be the weaker sex, always coming next after man, often marginalized. Feminists have still a long way to go before fully attaining their place in the world. http://marcysheiner.tripod.com/DinnerParty.htm http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/simmons/index.html http://www.absolutearts.com/artsnews/2000/04/26/26890.html http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/kruger/index.html Read More