Wigs and Candles

To close their 5th season dedicated to artists and films about their lives, Gaby and Andreina discuss the 2018 film Van Gogh: At Eternity’s Gate. Directed by Julien Schnabel and starring Willem Dafoe as Vincent Van Gogh, the movie is a visually arresting and moving depiction of the painter’s last years. In their discussion, Gaby and Andreina discuss the representation of the artist’s imagination and subjectivity in film, Julien Schnabel’s rich directorial approach, and their connection to Van Gogh and his art. ***Spoiler alert! While reviewing this film, we go through key scenes and may reveal the ending, so be warned of spoilers!*** Links and sources: Interview with director Julian Schnabel at the TIFF 2018 [https://youtu.be/9gJeMG1p5aQ?si=r-ysgnscYc7LHo3G] Interview with Willem Dafoe [https://youtu.be/hRcScR758j8?si=gua-Ljhc5wkwMVo1] Interview with Oscar Isaac [https://youtu.be/W_U9BkiF9bw?si=gpq0tjM2jtbGSLO0] John Berger, The Sense of Sight [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3270689] Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear [https://courtauld.ac.uk/highlights/self-portrait-with-bandaged-ear/], Vincent van Gogh Van Gogh Museum [https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/art-and-stories/art/vincent-van-gogh]

In this episode, Andreina and Gabriela learn more about the French sculptor Camille Claudel [https://nmwa.org/art/artists/camille-claudel/] (1864-1943), through two films: Camille Claudel (1988) and Camille Claudel 1915 (2013). An artistic prodigy from a very young age, Claudel gained recognition and acclaim as an artist during her lifetime. However, in the popular imagination, she is most often remembered as Auguste Rodin's lover. Andreina and Gabriela discuss how Camille Claudel is portrayed in the two movies and how her dimension as a female artist and woman in a male-dominated art practice is conveyed: do the films give us a good sense of who she was as an artist? Join us in this third episode of our series of discussions about artists and their art in film. Links and sources: Abstract of article “Camille Claudel: trajectory of a psychosis [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23674536/]” The Art Institute of Chicago: Member Lecture: Camille Claudel [https://youtu.be/C2zZe47xXRU?feature=shared] Camille Claudel through Five Works [https://www.artic.edu/articles/1069/camille-claudel-through-five-works] Camille Claudel, Bust of Rodin [https://www.musee-rodin.fr/en/resources/rodin-and-artists/camille-claudel#group_1667] August Rodin, Thought (Camille Claudel) [https://rodinmuseum.org/collection/object/103422]

In this episode, Gaby and Andreina learn more about the French artist Camille Claudel [https://nmwa.org/art/artists/camille-claudel/](1864-1943) by watching two films portraying different times in her life: Camille Claudel (1988) and Camille Claudel 1915 (2013). Claudel became one of the most acclaimed sculptors of her time through prodigious ability and drive. However, in popular imagination, she is most often remembered as August Rodin's lover, a secondary character in the history of one of France's greatest artists. Gaby and Andreina discuss how Camille Claudel is portrayed in both films and how the artistic dimension of her life is represented: Do these two films succeed in portraying Claudel in all her dimensions, including as a woman and an artist? Listen to this special episode, the third in our series dedicated to artists and their art in film. Links and sources: Abstract of the article “Camille Claudel: trajectory of a psychosis [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23674536/]” The Art Institute of Chicago: Member Lecture: Camille Claudel [https://youtu.be/C2zZe47xXRU?feature=shared] Camille Claudel through Five Works [https://www.artic.edu/articles/1069/camille-claudel-through-five-works] Camille Claudel, Bust of Rodin [https://www.musee-rodin.fr/en/resources/rodin-and-artists/camille-claudel#group_1667] August Rodin, Thought (Camille Claudel) [https://rodinmuseum.org/collection/object/103422]

Gaby and Andreina continue their exploration of art through period film and discuss the film Mr. Turner. Directed by Mike Leigh and starring Timothy Spall as the English romantic painter J. M. W. Turner, the movie tells the story of the painter during the last 50 years of his life when he was at the peak of his artistic abilities. Gaby and Andreina discuss Timothy Spall's portrayal of the painter and how the tone and style of the movie shape our perception of Turner's art. Links and sources: J. M. W. Turner [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._M._W._Turner] Untold Lives Blog: Hannah Danby – JMW Turner’s housekeeper [https://blogs.bl.uk/untoldlives/2021/03/hannah-danby-jmw-turners-housekeeper.html] The Art of the Sublime [https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/the-sublime#:~:text=The%20sublime%20has%20long%20been,relation%20to%20the%20natural%20landscape.] J.M.W. Turner RA (1775 - 1851) [https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/name/j-m-w-turner-ra]

In this first episode of the 5th season of Wigs and Candles, Andreina and Gaby discuss the film Hilma, a biographical movie about the Swedish painter Hilma af Klint. Gaby and Andreina talk about Klint's career as a female painter in the 19th and early 20th centuries and her unusual approach to art and spiritual painting, a genre to which she greatly contributed. Touching on themes of what it is to live a creative life and follow your artistic calling and dreams as a woman, Gaby and Andreina open the season with a film that deeply touched their hearts. Links and sources: Art historian Julia Voss on Hilma af Klint [https://youtu.be/HhxfDUkJF48?si=MlPrD9CV8aCl7rfi] See the Guggenheim Museum’s Most Popular Show Ever [https://galeriemagazine.com/hilma-af-klint-guggenheim-most-popular/] Hilma af Klint Foundation [https://hilmaafklint.se/]