Film No. 43 (2014) June 16th. 6:30 PM PARADISO Northbridge.
Tim's Vermeer
Watching Tim's Vermeer, I couldn't decide where my greatest fascination lay. Was it in the sheer persistence and dogged determination of Tim Jenison or was it in the deed that his persistence was channelled towards; the theory that a 17th century Dutch painter was less of an artist than history would have us believe?
Wealthy inventor and technologist Tim Jenison has a theory. He believes Vermeer "cheated" when he painted his perfect scenes. To prove his theory, this well made documentary, traces the 1,800 odd days (mid 2008 to early 2013)of Jenison re-creating Vermeer's world in a warehouse in San Antonio with a particular focus on Vermeer's The Music Lesson.
In 80 minutes we experience a microcosm of the challenges Jenison confronts to get to his end-point. It is here that the clever artistry of this doco is on show; we never feel as if anything relevant is missed. Every ounce of Jenison's sweat and determination is wrung out of the screen and dripped onto our collective laps'. But I couldn't help but feel I was watching a wealthy boy playing with new toys that only he and very few others could indulge in.
Anyway, to answer my initial question, I think I was more fascinated with Vermeer and what he really got up to in the 17th century. But without Jenison's prodding I would never have even thought about an extraordinarily famous painter who painted in a manner more akin to colouring by numbers. Well that was Tim's theory. 8GUMS.
In 80 minutes we experience a microcosm of the challenges Jenison confronts to get to his end-point. It is here that the clever artistry of this doco is on show; we never feel as if anything relevant is missed. Every ounce of Jenison's sweat and determination is wrung out of the screen and dripped onto our collective laps'. But I couldn't help but feel I was watching a wealthy boy playing with new toys that only he and very few others could indulge in.
Anyway, to answer my initial question, I think I was more fascinated with Vermeer and what he really got up to in the 17th century. But without Jenison's prodding I would never have even thought about an extraordinarily famous painter who painted in a manner more akin to colouring by numbers. Well that was Tim's theory. 8GUMS.
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