The Color of Pomegranates (still), 1968– Soviet film written and directed by Sergei Parajanov
Yes, the above photo is a man with a peacock's beak in his mouth...
Last night, performance artist Marina Abramović (I heard about her from this performance piece performed at MoMA some years ago) and architect Daniel Libeskind shared four films they liked as part of a conversation series called Le Conversazioni: Films of My Life.
The
concept is simple: Each person picks four films that have impacted them
in some way, watch a clip from said film (along with the audience), and then discuss it
with the other person, who has not seen the film.
Honestly,
I had no idea what to expect. Perhaps I expected some far out, artsy
fartsy talk on films chosen by two artists, one of whom from my prior
knowledge is kind of weird, and maybe crazy? I mean who would sit in a chair
at MoMA for 750 hours straight! If that's not real commitment to your
art I don't know what is... Ok, but back to the point, yes, some of the films were a bit far out but in a great way.
I
haven't heard of or seen any of these films (go figure!) but it was
really cool to just sit back and have absolutely no clue as to what
you're watching. In seconds, I was captivated. I mean who wouldn't be
with an opener like a man holding a peacock as he would a pipe.
Since I can hardly remember any of the titles of the films we watched (since, you know, they weren't, like, American-friendly--like no hablo italiano!) I remember the one English title (of course), The Color of Pomegranates (1968)-- the images in this film were some of the strangest I've seen
(per above), but they were also some of the most beautiful. This was
Marina's pick of course.
Mr. Daniel Libeskind was more down to earth but wasn't too far behind, as one of his picks was the French film Eyes Without a Face (1960) where basically we get all close and personal with a woman's
face being surgically removed for the doctor's sadistic pleasure (or was
it anguish?). Thanks, Daniel.
(WARNING: Graphic images. For the brave...)
Anyway, all of this is to say watch some random shit and prepare to have your mind blown.
"The pomegranate is a magical fruit. The seeds inside of a pomegranate reflect the same number as the days in a year: 365," says Marina Abramović. Boom. Dropping some real fruit knowledge on us.
Marina, thank you for the pomegranate and exposing me to images like the one above.
Daniel, thanks for scarring me for life. I appreciated every minute.
If you had to pick four films that have impacted your life, what would your picks be?
-Sophia
