ART IMITATES LIFE…

As a film noir-influenced artist, I feel it’s important to acknowledge the huge influence the German Expressionist silent films have had on early film noir cinema. Films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Metropolis, and The Student of Prague, are some examples of the types of films the 1940’s filmmakers of America and abroad, including Hitchcock, drew their inspiration from. As well, it is relevant to understand how the German Expressionist films came about, and what prompted these filmmakers to create the somber mood and plot lines, bizarre camera angles, and harshly contrasted lighting that portrayed such an overall picture of a dark and foreboding atmosphere.

The recurring themes of crime, fantasy, and paranoia in these films reflected the German Expressionist movement that was born out of a broken and disillusioned pre and post-war Germany. The art movement and its films continue to inspire; and one has only to view the work of directors David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino, Guy Ritchie, and the Coen brothers, among others, to feel its impact.

Most artists create within the context of and sometimes in spite of their environment. Daily our brains are bombarded with subliminal imagery that for an artist, will eventually find its way to the canvas or keyboard. The art of film noir has been one such subconscious theme in my work since I first began painting. 

I have always been drawn to and aware of how powerful the interplay of light and shadow can be on a piece of art. In its truest form the use of light is exemplified by the works of the old masters, particularly my personal favorite, Caravaggio, whom I won’t elaborate on here, because he has received enough press the past few years, interestingly concerning the topic of homicide, which is not surprising for many different reasons, which I will also not get into here, but makes for an interesting side story.

In addition to visual aesthetics, as a noir artist, I seek to incorporate into my compositions some of the strongly emotional archetypal story lines of film noir, infusing enough mystery in the hope that the observer will be pulled into the painting enough to experience it on a personal level. For a viewer to draw his or her own conclusions about my creative source of inspiration, apart from what I claim as my source, is for me the highest compliment.

The untitled painting above is a work in progress. My inspiration is Nosferatu, (1929, directed by F.W. Murnau), but in the interest of artistic integrity, I will leave that open to debate and subjective interpretation.