In the week 4 lecture, we discussed Metropolis, the birth of sci-fi, and developing essay topic ideas.
Metropolis (1927, Dir. Fritz Lang)
Metropolis was described by Huw as the 'Birth of Sci-fi', which I'm inclined to agree with as someone with a prior love for this film. As one of the last silent films of this era (following the Jazz Singer), the mass scale of the production design (or Art Direction) is particularly important.
Key information:
- German Expressionism
- Adapted from Thea von Harbou's 1925 novel
- Many segments of the film have now decayed due to the natural deterioration of celluloid.
- Rather than painted, Metropolis consists of constructed sets.
- Took 7 months of filming time and 21 million euros to create
"The film was born from my first sight of skyscrapers in new York in October 1924."
- Fritz Lang on Metropolis
This film will be discussed to a greater extent in my review.
Exploring the essay topic
Following the previous weeks focuses on the 'Art Timeline' (Padlet), there was a focus on objects and their semiotic meanings.
Huw discussed the evolution of Desert Boots (Article found on NOW, week 4) and their cultural impact. For example, Rod Stewart's iconic donning of the footwear in the band The Faces.
We were also encouraged to look at '100 Objects', a series by the BBC exploring their archive of objects during their 100 year anniversary.
Other important spaces of inspiration (for objects, domestic and commercial):
- City of caves (In the Nottingham Contemporary)
- Bonnington gallery
- The Tudor tailor - missing persons:who were the typical Tudors? At the society of artists friar lane
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