Samantha Oakes
Professor Kadas
Picture Palace by TIFF
A new exhibition called Picture Palace by TIFF curated by Cameron Bailey
In Toronto, Ontario. It is an interactive space that will educate film buffs and will
also give the opportunity for them to make art themselves. The whole exhibition
is all about movies, the type of sets, the behind the scenes equipment, people
are also able to use some equipment to create there own piece.
Between social media and the cinema, Cameron Bailey says “A lot of the
mystery has been stripped away from the art we experience” Picture Palace is
described by the National Post as “larger-than-life” and “takes us back to basics
and the beginning of film history” everything is transparent to the world on how
the visual effects are created in movies and the lives of the actors are on display
as well. Bailey wants people “to play in the world of film and remind them of the
pleasure of it … and how cinema connects to this new world where there are
pictures all around us”, allowing people to gain first-hand knowledge on how this
form of art is created. The exhibition gives the opportunity to “make, edit and
share” their creations, Each corner of the exhibition is a different experience like
learning how a camera works, creating sound effects, experimenting with lighting
effects as well as a photo booth that allows them experimentation of filters and
photo camera effects.
I chose this exhibition because it is very much out of my comfort zone of
art. Like any other person, I love movies, I love the multitude of art forms that can
create movies, as well as the worlds that movies bring to life on screen. I have an
interest in behind the scenes of movies, live action movies as well as the different
types of animated movies. I find the process of how movies are made
fascinating, how each step can take so much time in order to get that one perfect
shot or the perfect run through. What I find most interesting about the exhibition
is the active role the viewer can have with the art, not only can I learn more about
how movies are made but also about how movie equipment is used.
The Picture Palace is significant to me because it shows movies in a
different light. I believe people don’t usually think of movies as an art form for the
most part, and though this exhibition makes me think more about art than
specifical entertainment. The separate pieces in the process that create movies
really shows how much time and energy that goes into these movies. What is
also fascinating is that the exhibition shows the history of movies and the history
of how equipment has changed along with how movies themselves have
changed.
Between social media and the cinema, the mystery in movies has faded
with time and normal processes that used to be secret are now in the open for
the public to view, everything is transparent to the world on how the visual effects
are created in movies and the lives of the actors are on display as well. Picture
Palace is extraordinary and is able to essentially take us back in time to when the
film first began, the exhibition allows people play with the art form and
experiment and create their own experience while at the same time remind
people of the fun and how film can connect anyone and everyone. This exhibition
allows people to gain first-hand knowledge of how this form of art is created. The
multitude of art forms that can be created with movies, as well as the worlds that
movies bring to life on screen are what I believe fascinates people and push
them to create films and explore new avenues of art through this medium. The
process of how movies are made is fascinating, how each step can take so much
time in order to get that one perfect shot or the perfect run through. I believe
people don’t usually think of movies as an art form for the most part, and though
this exhibition makes me think more about art than specifical entertainment. The
separate pieces in the process that create movies really shows how much time
and energy that goes into these movies.
Comparing this to my own artwork is a bit hard since Fibers and movies
have a considerably sizable difference. Fiber art as a fine art, there isn’t much
interactive-ness between the audience and the work of art, though it can engage
an audience it doesn’t have the effect as a movie can. Movies are boundless, the
reach movies have spread widely and have such a broad effect on people on
what feelings the audience will experience. As technology evolves the
experience will also change, currently there are movies that you use a headset
and will actually be inside the movie and each person will have a different
experience through that movie, there is also a movie that is entirely first person
and though it may not be the first one the use of newer and arguably better
technology makes the experience totally different and new. Trying to apply
anything to my fiber art could be difficult and a process to figure out. I primarily
have done environmental art and more specifically dealing with the ocean and
the creatures that inhabit the ocean, think of ways to use film to incorporate into
my own art I could simply make a video to some extent. I think what would be
more fun for me and possibly more interesting to the viewer is to somehow have
some type of installation with my fiber work but also have a projection of either
something natural like the ocean itself or a stop motion animation of a weaving
that would mimic the movement of the ocean.
Works Cited
Ahsan, Sadaf. “TIFF's Latest Exhibition Connects Cinematic History with Social
Media.” National Post, 1 Mar. 2019,
nationalpost.com/entertainment/movies/tiffs-latest-exhibition-connects-cine
matic-history-with-social-media.
Simonpillai, Radheyan. “TIFF Bridges Selfie and Film Culture with Picture
Palace.” NOW Magazine, 27 Feb. 2019,
nowtoronto.com/movies/features/tiff-picture-palace-selfie-culture/.
“TIFF Picture Palace.” TIFF, www.tiff.net/events/tiff-picture-palace.
