We often separate science and technology from art as if they never influenced on one another; maybe we keep forgetting that artists are humans who are also affected by such phenomena. We can get a clearer portrait of the influence of science and technology in art on films, I think that's when it comes obvious that something has changed, tut painters, poets, musicians, even dancers respond to what is happening in the world. A great example to explain this are the railroads: Soon after their success, painters like J.M.W Turner responded with beautiful paintings with the trains as their main character; poets like Jones Very and Emily Dickinson started writing about them; films started showing railroads on movies, even made them a crucial part of the story; even photographers were devoted them!
Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times is a great example on how the industrialization, science and technology affect arts too:
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| One of my new favourite photographs |
I love to think about art in relation to science and technology. Painting IS a technology, based partly on chemical reactions. When those reactions don't work properly, you get messy situations like Albert Pinkham Ryder's paintings, which are very difficult to preserve. I love Ryder's vision, but he had no idea what he was doing technically.
ReplyDelete"Modern Times" is incredible. My friend Robert Kennedy, who is in my online cultural discussion group, calls it his favorite film of all time.