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The young James Ensor at Mardi Gras, from the film installation Skeletons Warming Themselves
During the warm summer months in the U.S., the season usually brings the release of summer blockbuster movies from Hollywood filmmakers. Star Trek (2009), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) are just a few of the films in this summer's lineup. The Kimbell Art Museum also has a special collection of film releases for all to see this summer. This is the opening week of Butchers, Dragons, Gods & Skeletons: Film Installations by Philip Haas Inspired by Works in the Collection. The world-renowned museum commissioned the Angel and Insects (1995) director for an unprecedented Kimbell exhibition that features five short films inspired by select pieces from the permanent collection. Artists that influenced the director's film installations include Annibale Carracci, James Ensor, and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. Haas' imagery and subtle interpretation of the artwork through film make this exhibit a must-see this summer.
Summer film installation releases
Before entering the first film gallery, viewers will come upon The Butcher Shop, early 1580s by Annibale Carracci, in which one of the butchers is captured looking directly at the viewer while doing his work. Inside the gallery are two screens that face each other. One screen reveals the butchers talking and laughing with one another while working in their shop. The other screen reveals Carracci painting and giving direction to his subjects. The poignant scene is set to the wonderful music of composer Angelo Badalamenti. Haas invites the viewer into a moment that was captured in time by Carracci.
Each film installation also transports you to ancient times, cultures, and places. Haas incorporates magnificent historical, architectural elements into the films and galleries. Greek columns and elongated walls direct your eye to the unbelievable portrayal of the large fresco ceiling for the film installation of Apollo and the Continents based on Giovanni Battista Tiepolo's sketch for Apollo and the Continents, C. 1739. Furthermore, the film for Arhat Taming the Dragon takes place in a beautiful wooden shrine. The inspiration for the film was the Arhat Taming the Dragon Chinese hanging scroll from the Yuan dynasty, early 14th century. Haas amazingly filmed the piece vertically by placing the camera on it's side which resulted in the angle of the film complementing the vertical shape of the scroll. The film screen is surrounded by the wooden shrine. During the film, there are shots of the wooden shrine. Seeing the wooden shrine in the gallery surround the wooden shrine on screen is a remarkable sight. Therefore, great works of art and film unite harmoniously in this exhibition, but the film installations are truly one and the same in this union--great works of art.
Butchers, Dragons, Gods, & Skeletons: Film Installations by Philip Haas Inspired by the Works in the Collection is on exhibit at the Kimbell Art Museum July 18-October 25, 2009. The exhibition is free and is organized by the Kimbell Art Museum.
by Jeralan Minnick
dallasmuseumexaminer@gmail.com
For more information visit: www.kimbellartmuseum.org/haas
Film installation images courtesy of Kimbell Art Museum
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