Directed by: Teller.
Featuring: Tim Jenison, Penn Jillette, Teller.
What
constitutes art? What is it about great paintings that makes them great? Is it
the image itself? The themes of the painting – what it means? Is it the process
by which it was created? And if someone can recreate a painting exactly as the
original artist did, does that in any way diminish the achievement of that
artist? The fascinating documentary Tim’s Vermeer asks these questions. Tim
Jenison is a rather eccentric mechanical genius – who has spent his life
designing different devices for filmmaking and other industries who became
fascinated by paintings – especially the work of Dutch master Vermeer. Namely,
he wanted to know how Vermeer achieved the unique look of his paintings – which
look almost like photographs. He became even more interested when he discovered
that when Vermeer’s paintings were x-rayed, there were no pencil sketches
beneath the paint. Did Vermeer simply freehand some of the greatest paintings
in history? There are lots of theories about how Vermeer achieved his paintings
– with many believing that he used different lens and mirrors – to project an
image onto his canvas so he could paint what he saw – but until Jenison came
along, no one could quite explain how he did it. Jenison thinks he has found
the process Vermeer used – and for more than a year, he slaved away trying to
recreate one of Vermeer’s paintings to prove his theory correct. In the end,
you have to admit its pretty convincing.
The
film was directed by Teller – and his more talkative partner Penn walks us
through the various processes that people believe Vermeer did – and then talks
to Jenison about his rather ingenious, if somewhat insane goal of creating his
own Vermeer. The early parts of the documentary are the most fascinating – as
we learn about Vermeer and Jenison, and we see Jenison’s early “test runs” –
working off black and white photographs – to recreate the images, even if, as
Jenison himself admits, he’s not much of an artist. When the movie settles down
in its back half, to Jenison meticulously trying to recreate a famous Vermeer
painting it gets a little dull. Filmmakers have always struggled with a way to
make painting in the movies seem cinematic and exciting – but the truth remains
there isn’t much they can do – it’s always going to be an artist alone with his
easel, canvas and paint slaving away.
Some
have taken offense to Jenison’s suggestion of how Vermeer achieved his
paintings look, and feel it’s disrespectful to try and recreate one. That if
someone who has little artistic ability like Jenison can do the same thing that
Vermeer did, than that somehow diminishes Vermeer’s achievement. That’s not the
feeling I got from the movie. I think what director Teller is really trying to
show in the movie is not necessarily the art itself – but the process by which
art is created. Great artists – whether they are painters or filmmakers or
actors or yes, magicians – have a way of making what they do appear effortless
– but the reality is to be truly great, you have to work hard it. Like many
people say they worked for years to become an “overnight success”, the truth is
that a lot of effort goes into making something look effortless. If Vermeer
really did use the process Jenison thinks he did – and there’s no real way of
proving it – than he didn’t do it because it was “easier” or even less time
consuming. He did it because he wanted his paintings to look a certain way –
and he found a way, using the technology of his time, to achieve what he
wanted. Even Jenison admits that any artistic value that his copy of Vermeer
has belongs to Vermeer himself, and not Jenison. He was the one who came up
with the image.
Tim’s
Vermeer is ultimately the kind of documentary that to me is more fascinating to
talk about than it is to watch. The film is only 84 minutes long, but even that feels like
it’s a little too long – with a few too many scenes of Jenison doing the same
thing over and over again. I think that’s part of Teller’s point – he wants to
convey the effort that goes into creating the painting, and in that he
succeeds. It’s just not always that interesting to watch. But overall it’s a
fascinating little documentary about the artistic process.
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