A Cool Association

Paul Cezanne

Bridge of the 3 Springs (detail)

1906

I was thinking of the aesthetic hideousness I find in 3D movies, mentioned previously, and I recalled seeing small sections of some of those movies without the glasses. I just put my finger on what I liked about seeing those bits: they’re cool. In fact, those fuzzy, floating veils of color remind me of Paul Cezanne watercolors (without the glimpses of white paper), which I consider a high point of aesthetic beauty.

Avatar.

When seeing a dance performance, I think sitting up high is ideal, to facilitate a greater appreciation of the depth of the stage. But, when I think of the essence of film, which is a series of images, I dislike the whole notion of 3D. The picture plane is king, for me. I like my pictures flat. This although such realism in dimentionality is vastly impressive. Thankfully, once I started watching Avatar the content took over, and I promptly forgot about the trick. Avatar is very beautiful for the thoroughness of imagination the film makers applied to it. It is full of very evocatively realized vegetation, exotic animal life, and, of course, a moving story, and action.

Two From the Archives

Every now and then I look back over old pictures and ask myself, "Which ones still look good to me." I was doing that, in recent days, and found a number of old friends. Here's a couple of them.

Manuel Macarrulla.

3 nidos (3 Nests)

Manuel Macarrulla, 2006

Oil pastels

9" X 12"

Gato (Cat)

Manuel Macarrulla, 2007

Corlored pencils

9" X 12"