Meme to meet you
Jan Svankmajer, a Czech filmmaker
and artist whose work spans several media. He is a self-labeled surrealist known
for his animations and
features, and has been called one of the most distinctive and influential
contemporary Czech filmmakers.
Svankmajer was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1934,
coincidentally the very same year that the Czech Surrealist Group was formed,
an organization with which he is very involved. In his 63 years in what is now
the capitalist Czech Republic, he has seen the come and go of six different
political regimes and their corresponding, often conflicting ideologies. While
his work is noticeably political in content, Svankmajer is quick to point out
that he maintains an inherent commentary and perspective which is not tied to
any particular school of thought. There is a universality to his films which
speaks to people from all cultures and beliefs.
"Animators tend to construct a closed world for
themselves, like pigeon fanciers or rabbit breeders." Svankmajer stated in
an interview, "I never call myself an animated filmmaker because I am
interested not in animation techniques or creating a complete illusion, but in
bringing life to everyday objects."
And bring life to everyday objects is exactly what Svankmajer
does. One could almost make a dictionary of objects as symbols in Svankmajer's
films, something akin to Freud's Interpretation of Dreams. From fish
to rolling pins, to keys, stones and wardrobe closets, objects usually trapped
in the banality of life take on new meanings as metaphors for emotions and
ideas.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_%C5%A0vankmajer
https://www.awn.com/mag/issue2.3/issue2.3pages/2.3jacksonsvankmajer.html
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