Category Archives: Films

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Philippe Petit: The Truth

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Well I have been going back to the beginning of our blog, reading every post and commenting on all of them that I feel I have something to say, and I found that everyone mention Philippe Petit’s betrayal of his friends after he achieved his dream.  I have some news for you.  He did not really cut ties with his friends after he walked between the towers, in fact for the filming of “Man on Wire”, it was Petit himself that had brought all of them back together on the same day to do the filming for the documentary.  I was thoroughly shocked when I had saw the movie and see Petit’s choice to leave behind his friends but only now after reading everyone’s blog posts have I decided to look into it.  According to information on pyschologytoday.com he never really abandoned his friends and instead the reason the film portrayed it as such was to make it carry more meaning even if it distorts reality.

If you really think about it, the way the producer created it, he offered a greater story, as many of us had left questioning ourselves about how far are we willing to go to accomplish our dream and what can possibly happen to us after we do?  It is a relief to know that Petit was not really the Petit depicted in the film, of course he was still driven with passion and his friends did sacrifice a lot of their time to get Petit to be able to do the walk, but Petit did not take them all for granted and leave them in the dust.

Wasteland Reaction

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In the beginning of the film, I was expecting the photographer to go to a looked-down-apon place where people use illegal drugs and have terrible working conditions. However, when I saw people saying that they are proud of their jobs, I was surprised. They seemed like regular people living close to poverty. The “wasteland” had quite a number of happy people. It was no challenge for the photographer to entice them to make art. It was cool how recyclable materials were turned int a photo. When the photos went to an auction, I thought the auctioneer was going to say 10 pounds, but he continued to say 10,000 pounds. I guess the photographer went all the way to England to make a good profit, and it got the workers in the “wasteland” excited. Like Professor Drabik said, there are such crazy people that do these crazy things and luckily we have crazy people who give us the opportunity to find out about these crazy events.

Wasteland Reaction

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When I first heard the name of the documentary “Wasteland” I was initially was expecting the film to somehow relate to the poem by T.S. Eliot “The Wasteland”. I was surprised to find out that the film was actually centered on a man who makes art out of recyclable waste. This documentary was by far one of the most emotionally charged and eye-opening films we have watched this year. Firstly, I felt extremely humbled by the fact that many of these catadores take such pride and enjoy what they are doing, sorting through trash, when there are people who grumble at throwing a trash bag down the trash shoot. Also, the lives of each catadore displayed the resilience and strength behind each of these individuals and their journey at times had me near tears of sadness and joy. Furthermore, Vik Muniz’s artistic concept with this project was not only beautiful, but the effect he had on the people he chose to involve was equally beautiful. I really respected him for making the art a collaborative effort and not treating the catadores as charity cases. It was amazing to see Muniz fuse his passion of artistic expression with a humanitarian impact. By just allowing these individuals to participate in his project he not only gave each of them a huge boost to their self-esteems and pride, but also gave them the financial stability they needed. Muniz truly helped to transform their lives and influenced them to strive for more in their lives while still carrying pride for their career as a catadore.

A Flashback to Petit (A Video-Game Story)

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So, this past week, one of my favorite videogame franchises, Assassin’s Creed, released the newest installment in the series: Assassin’s Creed Unity. I was understandably excited and, as soon as I sat down to play it, my first instinct was to explore the absolutely breath-taking rendition of Paris that the game was set in. These were some of the best graphics I had ever seen ever! Ubisoft, the franchise’s developer, is known for constructing the settings as close to real life as possible, using the actual blueprints.

A rendition of Notre Dame in Assassin's Creed: Unity.

A rendition of Notre Dame in Assassin’s Creed: Unity.

Now, as anyone familiar with Assassin’s Creed will know, the game involves a lot of climbing, clambering and parkour. As I was traversing the rooftops of Paris, I spotted a particularly high cathedral; only when I had gotten to the top of one of its two towers, did I realize that this was none other than the great Notre Dame cathedral itself! This virtual rendition had taken almost close to two years to construct and was one of the most accurate models in the entire game! As my character sat atop the tower, another thought raced across my mind: these two towers was one of the places that Phillipe Petit, on his wire-walking adventures, had crossed. Although I have never visited Paris, this beautiful rendition of Notre Dame had given me an entirely new perspective on one of Petit’s walks; there was an intense sensation of wonder to the entire moment and led me to appreciate not just the amazing hard work that the designers of the game had put into creating such a historical structure, but of the history that was attached to this building that we, the players, were allowed to experience.

Art From the Waste Land

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The documentary “Waste Land” was enlightening. It showed a side to product consumption that I had never considered before. Moreso than anything, it showed an entire community of people whose very lifelines came from the landfill of Jardim Gramacho. The documentary followed Vik Muniz’s expedition to create art out of the landfill of Jardim Gramacho and how it impacted the people that lived there. My favorite part of the documentary had to be when Vik, along with the people, actually crafted the pieces of art using recyclable materials. It was an inspiring moment and left me awe-struck.

Another deeply fascinating part of the documentary was its portrayal of the people that made their livings off of picking recyclable materials. The portrait that is painted of this community shows a strong, proud group of people; they live a simple life and are satisfied with it. Vik postulates that this might come from denial and from not knowing any better. Regardless, it was a very heartfelt moment in the documentary when Tiao and his people were at the museum; their words, especially Irma’s, moved me.

“Waste Land” was an extremely enjoyable watch and was full of deep, emotional moments that truly appealed to the viewer. Loved it!

P.S: “99 is not 100!” should be a motto for the recycling movement!

The Waste Land

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This documentary felt complete to me. Since it was a documentary the ending wasn’t planned, and could’ve gone any way that life wanted to take it.

Even though I wasn’t there for the beginning of the film, I was still able to see the transformations of the workers. Vik Muniz was able to change the lives of these people by allowing them to work for it and seeing the fruits of their labor. He knew about their life stories, and could just have easily raised money for them, instead he connected with them and used his talents as well as theirs to bring change. He gave them the hope and recognition by bringing their stories to light. The work the catadores did weren’t the ones that were greatly sought after but they still made money through their humble works. Vik was able to see them as equals even when the people of their own communities didn’t. When they would take the public transportation home, people would turn their noses up and look down on them because they smelled from a day’s worth of hard work. They all had the drive to do something better with their lives, but not through the easy way out. The catadores wanted a better lives for themselves and saw that they could accomplish something through hard work.

–Chloe Chai

Waste Land

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An image from “Avenida Brasil”at Jardim Gramacho

I was initially introduced to Jardim Gramacho through a Brazilian soap opera Avenida Brazil. It was through this telenovela and through Waste Land that I discovered the human input at the dumpster. One would think that this is an atrocious, pitiful job to have; it is a shame for all of Rio de Janeiro. However, I was amazed by how much pride the pecadores take in their input at the dumpster. The pecadores are proud to be helping their city and the environment. It seems that by recycling the garbage the pecadores cannot possibly improve the situation very much, but in reality they are responsible for most of the rubbish from Rio de Janeiro and surrounding areas. As the elderly pecador said, “99 is not 100” and by joining in this common effort to recycle, each of the individuals matters.

Vik Muniz emphasized the importance of each individual at the dumpster through his portraits. These portraits were a collective job, just like the dumpster. They reflect the human input at the dumpster and in art. Often when looking at an art piece one forgets the human input involved. However, Vik Muniz highlighted the importance of every individual in the process of making art. I marvel at how he said that “I didn’t do it, we did it!” Art is a collective job; it involves the artist(s), the subject and the audience.

Vik’s work at Jardim Gramacho is remarkable in every way and his input in the lives of the people is wonderful. He is a true artist and a true idol because not only did he create a wonderful work of art, he changed lives with his pieces. I believe that the highest reward of any artist is that his/her work makes a CHANGE. In this manner, Muniz is a complete artist and I am very proud that artists like Vik exist during our time period.

This movie moved me very much because I realized that any job is a noble job, whether it is sorting garbage or creating art. One must always accept their importance as an individual in the world and further they can accomplish wonderful things!

P.S. I really hope that the man whose portrait was sold in London will further become the president of Brazil because I certainly loathe the current corrupt presidency in the nation.

-Angelika

The Waste Land

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By far, the best and most eye-opening documentary screening we’ve had thus far. This was not just about the amazing art that was made, this was about the people. Behind each work of art, there was a human being. Each of them had a unique character, personality, and a story behind each portrait. It was amazing to see how each of their lives were changed even though the conditions they were in didn’t necessarily change. One of the most important lessons that Vik Muniz wanted to accomplish with this project was for each of the individuals to see the work of art and to not think to themselves that, “Wow, Vik Muniz did this”, but rather, “Wow, we did this…I did this.” Vik wanted them to realize that this was all done through their hard work and created with their hands. I thought that that was really powerful. It was also extremely humbling to see how Vik became so involved with each of the people he worked with. All in all, it’s amazing to see how even art made of garbage can have the potential to change someone’s life in so many ways.

Who Can Create Art?

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I believe that the film Wasteland answers an important question that was brought up in class: “Who can actually create art?” Of course there is the stereotypical answer that anybody can create art. However, I believe that question can be refined to focus on the creation of influential and lasting art. I believe that the answer to that question comes down to artistic privilege. In other words, only those who are artistically skilled enough to incur change, cause disruption, or gain precedence (politically, socially or even economically) can create influential art. I believe that is the reason why certain pieces of public art are cherished over others. This is why childish graffiti is painted over by the city and why The Charging Bull is still standing. It is also why Vik Muniz’s art, portraying the catadores, became globally famous.

Muniz said something that stood out to me. He claimed that he reached a point in his career where he’d like to give back to his roots. The only way he knew how to do that was through his art. This statement depicts his great understanding of art and the artistic process. He realizes that he has the ability to cause social change via his own artwork. By depicting the catadores in an unconventional piece of art, portraying them via the same garbage that makes up their livelihoods, Muniz was able to make them known worldwide. Muniz himself commented on the extent of his artistic skill and privilege. He notes that he wants to focus on a modern twist on art, and break away from the contemporary, depicting his confidence in his skill.

It Piles Up!

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I did a little research to see where the trash from New York City goes. Most of our trash is sent to landfills in Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, as well as upstate New York. But they can and often do go as far as Ohio and South Carolina and points further west and south as well. It costs New York City $300 million each year to dispose of this waste. So next time when you throw something out, think about this. Maybe, just maybe, that material you are trying to throw out can be use in many crazy different ways, like how Vik created art.

Source:

  1. http://www.nytimes.com/video/nyregion/100000003131953/where-does-our-trash-go.html (3:13 to 3:24)
  2. http://nyc.sierraclub.org/2012/08/new-york-city-trash-where-does-it-all-go/

 

~Christopher Chong

P.S. The Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island closed in 2001, and is now on its way to become a new park.

 

99 is not 100

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Ahh yes, something my father would always say to me.

The Waste Land was probably one of the best documentary films I’ve watch. Little did I know that the host of the 2014 FIFA World Cup has such a background to it. And little did anyone in our class know either! Vik is a truly talented man for being able to create art out of garbage, something we wouldn’t expect. In fact, his art is probably one of the most moving thing some people have ever seen. For the catadores, some of them realize who they are for the first time (I think it was Suelem). My favorite character was perhaps the elderly Valter, of whom kept reminding everyone that 99 is not 100, and that 1 single soda can can make a difference. There was one thing I was wondering. Was Vik trying to expose the complete other side of the spectrum, of people who work in dumps to raise global awareness? Or was he just trying to create art from an angle that rarely people expect? Nonetheless, Vik was able to be part of the catadores, and was able to put himself as equal then to stand over and authorize the process. This reminds me of a show in Britain called Art Attack (not from Canada as I said in our meeting after watching the film). At one point during the show, the host would take random items and create a piece of art from it, similar to what Vik did.

 

~Christopher Chong

 

Reaction to The Waste Land

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One of the most unique documentaries I have ever watched. This documentary was exposing a huge part of life in the world that I have never been aware of. Whenever I throw out anything, I never give it a second thought about where this is going, who is dealing with my trash, or who is making money off of it. At first, I saw the movie in disgust because of all the trash, and I did not understand why people would go through such hard conditions to pick up dirty things for a living. However, as the documentary went on, I realized how desperate those people are and all they want to do is to support themselves and their family.

It was really interesting to show the world that dirty things can come together to create something beautiful. My favorite part of the documentary was when they gave the picture that was made of garbage to the pickers and they felt proud of it. One of the workers said that she used to be embarrassed about how she was a picker and she did not wanted others to know, but now she proudly tells them that she was a picker and that was the reason why she was part of the famous portrait.

Waste Land

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I had no idea what to expect going into this film, but this was a pleasant surprise, as it went beyond the works of art by Vik. What made this documentary so entertaining and powerful were the relationships formed between Vik, Fabio and the pickers. Early on in the film, it seemed as though Vik was only going to Rio de Janeiro to accomplish a new challenge, but once he was there, it was clear that that was not the main reason he went there. Instead, Vik and Fabio formed strong relationships with many of these people and then went out of their way to help improve their current situation. During the early interviews with pickers, they seemed very happy and content with working in the garbage, once they had gotten used to it. However, as the film progressed, it became clear that they dreaded their job and wished to never have to return. I was initially very skeptical of how the association would use the money from the portraits because Erika’s intro mentioned that their jobs were taken away soon after; however, they actually put that money to great use. They not only set up programs to help young kids, so they would not end up in a similar situation, but also created training programs for their workers when they found out they would soon be losing their jobs.

Philippe Petit: The Human Definition of Dream

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Philippe Petit definitely must be one of the most driven men in history.  His entire life from the point he saw the construction of the towers in a paper in the dentist office, to his achievement of walking across the towers, was consumed by the desire to just do it.  It is impressive how much practice he had done on other great public places knowing just what the consequences would be such as getting arrested.  The sad thing is that he could not do it alone and he essentially just used all of his friends throughout the entire process.  His girlfriend had even mentioned that she had to put her own dreams aside while she was in the relationship.  She had to help him realize his own dream before hers and then after the success and fulfillment of that dream he left her for someone else.

This was not only what happened to her but also to all of his closest friends.  All of them had contributed to Petit’s success and realization of his dream but all were essentially abandoned after the completion of his dream.  While he was granted amnesty for his act that was considered to be illegal, his friends were all kicked out of the United States and were not allowed to come back.  Petit did not even do anything to make amends with his friends.  It truly was sad to watch one of his long time friends start to cry during the documentary, because of the memories that are all now almost faded.  A big part of his life was to be able to help his friend accomplish his dream and then once it was done it was all over for him, the friendship and this big role.

I also can not imagine how Philippe reacted at the end of it all.  I understand he still performs publicly his art of tightroping but there is nothing else to really strive for.  After accomplishing such an immense dream, what else is there really to do in life?  It seems he has made peace with it but I can not imagine how he would be able to view his life in the same way as he did before his walk between the towers.

Robert Frank Photos

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I am glad that Professor Grazyna Drabik posted five of Robert Frank’s photos on the blog. The photos show how different parts of the country look. New Mexico looks like if it is largely made up of deserts. In Chicago, musicians line up for a political rally. It looks like an elevator’s glass doors closed right in front R. Frank, but the people inside are indifferent and do not express any concern for him. A person looks ready to go to a rodeo, but it is hard for me to imagine having a rodeo in New York City. Lastly, a photo shows that the woman looking at Frank looks like she is trying to ignore him while everyone else is paying attention to a Hollywood premier and looks interested in it. This shows that many individuals do not enjoy one another’s presence and that they rather watch a show for entertainment. However, It is important that people get along well with one another.

“The Americans”

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As the polar opposite of an avid photographer I can not possibly truly appreciate the work of Robert Frank in his work “The Americans.”  However, I can truly equate his reaching for his goal much like the way Philippe Petit pursued his.  Of course Frank’s work was much less dangerous, but it still showed his great commitment to his work.

He was very influenced by his origins in Europe.  Growing up under in Europe during the time of Naziism, he experienced oppression from the government.  Luckily his art was able to provide him some comfort and when he traveled to America he was hoping to experience the freedom the United States promises to any prospective immigrant.  When he got here however he was shown a different side of the United States that many citizens were not able to see because essentially their eyes grew blind to it.  There still was a lot of oppression just not on all, but some.  Racism, classism, and sexism were rampant, and his work “The Americans” had shown this and displayed America in this light.  It makes sense why there was an uproar of this title.  It was bold, and painted the world’s newest growing superpower in a negative light, somewhat jeopardizing its credibility on an international scale.  This much like the opera reflects the power and influence of a piece of art on politics and society.

An American Journey: In Robert Frank’s Footsteps

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For the most part, I enjoyed the documentary about Robert Frank and his composition of the book that shaped the future of photography, The Americans. I think that the director made some interesting choices in the actual composition of the film. As many people had said on the night of the viewing, the actual shots were kind of blurry and sometimes a little jarring or dizzying. I agree, some of the shots gave me a headache, but I don’t think that they were put in carelessly or unintentionally. I felt like they were used in order to mimic (or maybe commemorate?) the photography of Robert Frank. After all, the photos that he used in The Americans were certainly jarring and not necessarily pretty to look at all of the time. More importantly, they were raw. Although they weren’t clean-cut, they exposed pieces of American culture that definitely needed to be seen. Similarly, I believe that the film was intentionally shot this way to emulate Frank’s style.

I’m especially interested in The Americans itself and our discussion about how that one, three-letter word could make as much difference as it did. Judging by the critical view point that Frank took in his exposition, I’m not surprised that people took as much offense by the title as they did. When he called it The Americans rather than Some Americans or just Americans in general, he classified an entire nation under his own viewpoint. I think that’s a dangerous thing to do in any situation. On the other hand, perhaps the title was so jarring that it really forced people to take a second look at the photos, understand what they are really about, and internalize their messages. I think that’s the most that any artist can really hope for when they put a piece out in to the world.

American Journey

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Pictures are worth a thousand words.

Taking pictures is an art, and like Robert said, you need passion AND purpose.

The documentary presented us a guy who went around and took pictures of what he saw. What I probably liked most about his photos were its complete randomness. Robert took pictures that ranged from the flag with the boy in it, to outside his hotel at Butte. And to compile it into a book and called “The Americans”, Robert Frank had to have a lot of guts, because like they said in the movie, Americans got very defensive about it. It showed the “American Dream” and the “American Nightmare”. I truly admire Seclier for taking the time to follow the footsteps and piece back everything. It is rather a tough task.

For some reason this film kind of reminded me of the book “Into The Wild” by Jon Krakauer. It follows the journey of a man who took a journey across America. Anyone else think this?

 

~Christopher Chong

An American Journey – Role of a Photographer

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The one thing that mainly stood out to me from the documentary, An American Journey: In Robert Frank’s Footsteps, was the portrayal of the role of a photographer. I believe that Frank’s printer described it well in his interview. He claimed that Frank was simply an architect, while he was Frank’s engineer. Frank, the photographer, had a design or plan for an image, and it was up to the printer to work accordingly. Although Frank had taken the pictures, his printer had to manipulate them in order to truly realize what Frank wanted to portray.

I found this idea to relate to our early conversations pertaining to the purpose of art. The role of a photographer basically runs along the lines of the role of an artist: to convey a specific message through some creative means. Analyzing further, I have noticed that most of the art we have seen (opera, dance, films) have all been collaborations. There is no one single artist, but rather a combination of different artists in order to produce a final masterpiece. This is also the case with Frank. My original thoughts about photographers were shattered, as I previously viewed them as singular artists producing single forms of art. However, upon realizing Franks’ dependency on his printer in order to produce his art, I now view photography as a collaborative effort as well.

American Journey

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This documentary seemed more focused on Philippe Séclier’s personal journey that about Robert Frank’s book. To me, it felt like Philippe decided he was going repeat Frank’s journey and decided he might as well film it. The documentary was not particularly well thought out. Many of the places Séclier visited because they were photographed in Frank’s book, The Americans, no longer existed, which made it rather insignificant to have in the documentary. Also, many of the people that were interviewed in the documentary did not know much about the book and often did not remember when Frank came around. The two best parts of the documentary were the interviews with Frank’s printer and publisher because they provided stories about the process of making this book and also the true purpose of making this book. These were really only the two interviews that provided good insight into the making of The Americans.

American Journey Review

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This movie explained the journey of Robert Frank, a photographer, when he took photos across the United States of America and put them together in a book. Robert Frank was a man born in Switzerland and raised in Germany. He wrote, well put a bunch of photos together and called it a book called “The American.” I believe he named it that way because he had captured images of people doing their common activities in different parts of the country, rather than showing a few similar photos and claiming they represent everyone. He took photos of working class people living their demotic lives, rather than experienced performers or scientists.

American Journey

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For the most part I really disliked the production of the film itself. It was literally painful to watch a film that was 75% blurred throughout the journey in Robert Franks footsteps. I guess it most likely was done on purpose, but it just doesn’t seem worth doing in a logical sense. I think that sole aspect alone would turn away many viewers.

There was one thing that stood out to me, and stuck with me throughout the film however. That one scene where it was stated that both passion and purpose are necessary. One cannot exist without the other, it just doesn’t work that way. Well, those are my short thoughts about that film.

~Pun