Karin Sabin
Staff Writer
How does one express the relationship between the creator and his or her masterpiece?
The short film “Vitality and Archetype,” which premiered at the fifth annual Malibu Film Festival on Sept. 18, seeks to portray this process on screen. “Vitality and Archetype” is a two-man show; it was directed, written and produced by Michael A. Ryan and stars Leigh J. McCloskey.
This Mar Motion Picture takes place in McCloskey’s Malibu home and studio.
“Vitality and Archetype” evokes emotion through its color, soundtrack and unique explosion of images.
Only 12 minutes long, this documentary packs quite a punch and is wonderfully concise.
Ryan, the director, calls it a “film of its own. The camera is going into the mind of the artist and hits at the very soul of creativity.”
The title of the film lends itself well to the lively and vigorous process involved in imaginative creation.
There are no words spoken in this short film. It begins in black and white with focus on a man who is deep in thought. The film is highly visual, accompanied by classical music. This works well, because often in the creative process, between the spark of the idea and its development, there are no spoken words; it’s all in the mind. In this way, the film’s imaginative basis is truly authentic.
The film is riveting due to the color and the imagination it displays. The artist chooses not a canvas or a wall for a mural, but a floor. The focal point of the film is a vast ceramic floor that an artist has painted with thousands of pictures and images.
As the camera guides the viewer over the floor, the tendency is to feel overwhelmed. Shapes and swirls abound. The images can barely be made out because the scenes are so elaborate and the camera sweeps past so quickly.
The majority of the shapes depicted on the floor masterpiece are ambiguous, letting the audience members draw their own conclusions.
Most of the objects depicted are non-distinguishable; the art suggests more than it tells.
The camera shots move to the pace of the music, sweeping majestically over the vastness of the floor. The artist’s vivid paintings are like an entire universe captured on the floor, an explosion of the cosmos.
The jewel of the movie is the transparent overlapping of frames with other scenes. Using special effects, Ryan layers the scenes and images over one another. It is a stunning effect created by the director.
After experiencing the artist’s masterpiece, the words “Tabula Rasa” appear on the screen.
The film then works backwards, explaining the beginning of the process. It flashes back to when the artist first rolls up the carpet to expose the ugly and empty white floor. This highlights the striking contrast between the beauty that was made and the ordinary with which McCloskey started.
It is significant that Ryan started with the end product before going back to explore the big question: how.
The best part of the film occurs when the viewers witness the artist’s work progress. The artist splatters paint on the floor to the beat of African drums. This was the most exciting and climatic portion of the documentary. The camera zoomed in on the brushstrokes as McCloskey painted to the rhythm of the music.
The only weakness of the film is poor transitioning from scene to scene. At one point, the music abruptly stopped mid-play and jumped to a new scene and musical score.
Fading to black first or fading out the music would have helped the audience adjust and would have allowed the transition to flow. This lack of transition just left the audience feeling jarred.
This film tried to capture and portray the creative process, and it achieved this with literally flying colors.
It was brief enough to lend itself well to the actual creative process, from the spark of the idea to the finished product. I enjoyed the movement from black and white solitude in the beginning, to color with swirling images and pounding music.
“Vitality and Archetype” achieved a brief and powerful look into the concept of imagination.
09-23-2004
