Tim's Vermeer (2013)
Directed by Penn (Jilette) and Teller
Tim Jenison is an inventor/engineer of sorts who made his living crafting advances in television/video technology. Jenison's success enabled him to focus on some odd things late in life including the theory that seventeenth-century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer perhaps used an intricate series of mirrors and camera obscura to create his incredibly photo-realistic paintings. In order to try and prove that Vermeer utilized technology to create his masterful works of art, Jenison sets out to try and recreate The Music Lesson, one of Vermeer's paintings.
From 2008 to 2013, Jenison intricately recreated what he believed to be Vermeer's set-up and then spent over 130 days painting his recreation of Vermeer. While comedians Penn and Teller do an adequate enough job directing Tim's Vermeer, even at only 80 minutes, the film drags a bit. While Jenison's stamina throughout his journey is admirable, there's only so much of intricate painting you can watch before the yawns start coming. That said, Tim's Vermeer opened my eyes up to something that I never even had heard of before and actually made me want to find a Vermeer painting and closely examine it. Maybe I will someday, but until then the intriguing notions brought to the surface in Tim's Vermeer will have to suffice.
The RyMickey Rating: C+
No comments:
Post a Comment