#Shirley: Visions Of Reality

[mtonino]

Cinediario 2023 - ottobre

Shirley: Visions of Reality (2013) Gustav Deutsch

[vidioten]

Shirley: Visions Of Reality (2013), Gustav Deutsch.

[biokam]

Shutter Island, Martin Scorsese vs The Kiss, Gustav Klimt.

Midsommar, Ari Aster vs Head of a Bacchante, Annie Louisa Swynnerton.

Shirley: Visions of Reality, Gustav Deutsch vs New York Movie, Edward Hopper.

Us, Jordan Peele vs Not to Be Reproduced, René Magritte.

The Truman Show, Peter Weir vs Architecture Au Clair De Lune, René Magritte.

Gothic, Ken Russell vs The Nightmare, Henry Fuseli.

Mad Max: Fury Road, George Millr vs Los Elefantes, Salvador Dalí.

Frozen, Jennifer Lee & Chris Buck vs The Swing, Jean-Honoré Fragonard.

The Neon Demon, Nicolas Winding Refn vs Gard Blue, James Turrell.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Jim Sharman vs American Gothic, Grant Wood

MOVIES VS PAINTINGS, Part III.

Shutter Island, Martin Scorsese vs The Kiss, Gustav Klimt.

Midsommar, Ari Aster vs Head of a Bacchante, Annie Louisa Swynnerton.

Shirley: Visions of Reality, Gustav Deutsch vs New York Movie, Edward Hopper.

Us, Jordan Peele vs Not to Be Reproduced, René Magritte.

The Truman Show, Peter Weir vs Architecture Au Clair De Lune, René Magritte.

Gothic, Ken Russell vs The Nightmare, Henry Fuseli.

Mad Max: Fury Road, George Miller vs Los Elefantes, Salvador Dalí.

Frozen, Jennifer Lee & Chris Buck vs The Swing, Jean-Honoré Fragonard.

The Neon Demon, Nicolas Winding Refn vs Gard Blue, James Turrell.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Jim Sharman vs American Gothic, Grant Wood.

[journalofanobody]

Gustav Deutsch • SHIRLEY Visions of Reality 2013

[mrhaitch]

What do you like most about Haitch's writing? and is it the same as what you think is the most technical/skilful?

I ask because I'm looking to her writing as a good example to base some practice on atm. And though i asked her about other authors a while ago and have read a lot of them since then (ursula leguin, nk jemisin and diana gabaldon to name a few) I haven't loved them as much as I've loved Haitch's. I can't place my finger on **why** I love it so much though, and it's not just the subject matter, and I wondered if I could have your insight, Mr.Creative-Writing-Professor.

Haitch, as a writer, is both precise and sincere. I think one compliment I gave her a little while ago, that she still seems to glow over, is her skill with phrasing. If I tell you to go look at the opening paragraph to Shirley Jackson's 'Haunting of Hill House's you'll see what I mean, as that's precisely what I'm talking about:

"No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against the hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone."

In my opinion, that is one of the most sublime, perfect paragraphs ever written. Shakespeare would eviscerate himself with his quill if he'd seen it. Haitch's work, at times, reaches similar heights.

Other authors who have this gift included Ray Bradbury. Look at this short line from Something Wicked This Way Comes:

"God, how we get our fingers in each other's clay. That's friendship, each playing the potter to see what shapes we can make of each other."

Are there some creative choices that I disagree with? One or two - a tendency to smoosh words together that frequently lands but sometimes doesn't. Every author has their quirks, though (I have a tendency towards broken sentences, especially when I write quickly).

All this is to say the beating heart of Haitch's work is a clarity of vision and intent, backed up with crisp eloquence.

[virgin-martyr]

This is the gothic irony of Jackson’s fiction: escape is an illusion for her heroines. Merricat destroys every vestige of patriarchal order, yet on that razed ground Constance is still a prisoner, perhaps more narrowly confined than before. Eleanor has already lived through the reality of giving up everything to nurture a dependent; this is the horror Constance faces as well. With more power than Eleanor, Merricat reshapes Blackwood Farm to fit her vision, starting the fire in her father’s room that guts the upper floor and front rooms so that the only livable space is the back kitchen opening out into the garden. Merricat destroys the patriarchal façade of the house, leaving the nurturing, matriarchal space behind. By the novel’s end she physically embodies Jackson’s idea of a picnic: her clothing ruined, she dresses in a checked tablecloth of which her sister Constance says, ‘I believe the one you are wearing now was used for summer breakfasts on the lawn many years ago. Red and white check would never be used in the dining room of course’ (Castle 200). The outfit, then, suggests the same opposition between inside and outside, hellish and heavenly, formal and informal eating that Jackson establishes in Hill House.

Jen Cadwallader, excerpt from “Picnicking at Hill House: Shirley Jackson’s Gothic Vision of Heaven”

[mtonino]

Shirley: Visions of reality (2013) Gustav Deutsch

Room in New York, Edward Hopper, 1932

[foxofsunholt]

NOT RELATED TO FOS but just want to ask for my own fun:

I am very interested in knowing what your favourite novel/book series are! Please reply or send in asks with them—I’m always interested in recs! Doesn’t matter what genre or type of novel; I like everything, I assure you lol

Please let me know what your favourite books are ❤️

Under the cut are some recent liked reads of mine:

FIRSTLY… use your libraries. truly the best places in the world. 90% of what I read was from a library and the other 10% was books I bought years ago and finally decided to read

The Spear Cuts Through Water — Two men shepherd a dying god through the lands to help overthrow a tyrannical regime. One pet love letter to oral history, one part gay love story, one part creative epic fantasy. This novel is stylish, artsy and not for everyone but for the people that it’s for!!! it’s for you!!! The story is told in layers: YOU, the reader in second person, the story itself, the ghosts of the people inside of the story. I think to see if this is for you, reading the first couple of pages is a good indication of the style and prose and if you’d like it. (I paired it with the audiobook and enjoyed reading both in tandem)

Know My Name — a memoir by Chanel Miller—certainly read the description and check TWs for this. because the subject is not easy but I sobbed so hard during this. Not just for her pain but for her joy. If you’re interested in memoirs, I recommend this one! (I also enjoyed Tara Westover’s “Educated”, which i read years ago). Honestly reading this book I kept thinking THIS IS A MUST READ, THIS IS A MUST READ–heartbreaking, poignant, cathartic. It’s long, but if the subject matter interests you at all, i’d say give it a try!

Chain Gang All-Stars — Fight to the death to earn your freedom from prison! I’ve read some reviews of this book that call the allegory heavy-handed, but I didn’t mind that at all. A novel obviously about the prison industrial complex in America, Chain Gang All Stars made me rethink how I view compassion, and personally seek out and research the prison abolition movement. This novel isn’t perfect, but it did for me exactly what the author was intending. I also couldn’t put it down. The Audiobook is great, it has multiple narrators! If you’re interested in thought-provoking speculative fiction…

Project Hail Mary — A man wakes up on a spaceship with no recollection of why he’s there—learning that he needs to save the world. I didn’t like this as much as everything else on this list but I think it’s a more easy recommendation. I had a lot of fun with this book and found it to be an engaging read all around. This is the only Weir I’ve read, and I don’t think I’ll be seeking out The Martian anytime soon if that says anything about the novel (I did really like it I swear lol)

ANYTHING SHIRLEY JACKSON — I read We Have Always Lived in the Castle and Haunting of Hill House and loved both a lot. Not the sort of books if you like plot, but if you’re into creepy atmosphere and characterization…i think there might just be a reason Shirley Jackson is a classic. The way she bends reality, seeds chilling aspects and weaves horror around settings is very sharp. I recommend We Have Always Lived In The Castle more (it’s short!) and it’s great as audiobook or physical

JUNJI ITO…king — I read Uzumaki and re-read a lot of his short stories and Gyo. KING. The visions of his art haunted me. If possible, I recommend reading these physically, as the act of turning the page on to whatever unspeakable horror awaits you is incomparable. If you like body horror at all, even a little, this is a mangaka I think you should try as if you haven’t already lol

Our Wives Under The Sea — God. What can I say about this? A story about grief, a story about watching your loved ones change beyond recognition. Body horror. Sapphic. Beautiful prose. Tragic. Loved all of it.

Metamorphosis — Yes the Kafka one. Yes I liked it. Yes I related a lot to being turned into a burdensome, ugly roach.

Roaming (graphic novel) — Not a story where a lot (or anything) happens. But I found this relatable and able to capture that age of girlhood with expert precision. Not much happens, really nothing happens; just a snapshot and fragment of this price of these girls lives. They are immature, messy, weird. (I also really enjoyed It Happened One Summer and one of my favourite movies is Only Yesterday so that should tell you a lot about my tastes in slow, character snapshot pieces). The art is lovely, of course

Eileen — Stinky, miserable, unlikeable Eileen Dunlop becomes obsessed with mysterious, attractive Rebecca. This one very aggressively I have to say ITS NOT FOR EVERYONE. I can’t even explain why I liked it so much, but I as so absorbed into the setting. I had the feeling of being transported into Eileen’s cold, gloomy New England. Eileen is gross, putrid, hard to read and nothing happens at all until the end. But also i loved it. I can’t explain this one. I don’t even recommend it but definitely check TWs. Now it’s a movie starring Anne Hathaway and I finally got to say “the book was better”

Bluest Eye — CHECK TW FOR THIS ONE I’ve loved Toni Morrison since highschool, but I never actually finished any of her novels. This being her debut novel is so shocking; it was poetic, devastating, uncomfortable. Another book I don’t exactly recommend because of its graphic nature, and how sharply and uncomfortably certain scenes are written, but so much was so poignant—I have a lot of this book highlighted and to share:

I recommend reading the Author’s Note, the description and the TWs and see if it interests you! I think Toni Morrison explains herself and her intentions well in the author’s note. (I need to get around to Morrison’s other work, but for some reason I started in chronological order)

I’m going to stop here because I’m realizing I like a lot of “weird” books that I know are probably not widely liked but akfjkskd WHAT CAN I SAY I LIKE A WEIRD LITTLE FREAK

Other notables: I read a lot of Grady Hendrix and I don’t LOVE love him, but reliably I do have fun. I couldn’t even stomach the scene (YOU KNOW THE SCENE) in my best friend’s exorcism—i’d recommend him for some intro to horror! I liked How to Sell a Haunted House but my friend didn’t so there’s that too.

I read this around when it was published but I will never shut up about In The Dream House (another memoir) so good. so strong. so beautiful. AH.

I also started the Locked Tomb series and I only didn’t put it on this list because I’ve only read Gideon so far but I liked it a lot also.

I’m very excited to do more reading this year. Mostly I’ve been getting through the popular titles…as you can see…. But i’m hoping to read more fantasy and sci-fi this year! it’s just unfortunate they’re so long 😭

[thepastisalreadywritten]

10 Masterworks of Painting that inspired iconic movie scenes: 🎨

1. “The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt — “Shutter Island” directed by Martin Scorsese

2. “Nighthawks” by Edward Hopper — “Pennies from Heaven” directed by Herbert Ross

3. “Prisoners' Round” by Vincent van Gogh — “A Clockwork Orange” directed by Stanley Kubrick

4. “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli — “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen” directed by Terry Gilliam

5. “Morning Sun” by Edward Hopper — “Shirley: Visions of Reality” directed by Gustav Deutsch

6. “The Tower of Babel” by Pieter Bruegel the Elder — “Metropolis” directed by Fritz Lang

7. “The Elephants” by Salvador Dalí — “Mad Max: Fury Road” directed by George Miller

8. “Wheatfield” with Crows by Vincent van Gogh —;“Dreams” directed by Akira Kurosawa

9. “The Empire of Lights” by René Magritte — “The Exorcist” directed by William Friedkin

10. “The Scream” by Edvard Munch — “Scream” directed by Wes Craven

[mtonino]

Shirley: Visions of reality (2013) Gustav Deutsch

[eliaswyler]

THE BASICS:

FULL NAME: Elias Brian Wyler

NICKNAMES: Ellie, to close friends

AGE & BIRTHDAY: 37 & May 11, 1987

BIRTHDAY PLACE: Honolulu, HI

GENDER IDENTITY: Cis man, he/him

SEXUALITY: Heterosexual

MARITAL STATUS: Married (technically), but separated

ZODIAC: ☼ Taurus ☾ Aries ↑ Aries

+ TRAITS: Empathetic, Spontaneous, Sensual, Practical

- TRAITS: Pretentious, Stubborn, Cynical, Unreliable

NEIGHBORHOOD: Cardinal Hill

OCCUPATION: Fisherman & Charter Guide @ Finest Catch

PERSONALITY:

His good days are good and his bad days are the worst -- Elias leads a life with no middle ground. He tends to exist on a high frequency, abundant energy transformed into a tunnel vision focus for errant hobbies, often shirking basic responsibilities and bailing on those closest to him. He's little talk and all action, impulsivity and passion creating a colorful reputation in his wake. Even when he's deemed pretentious and cynical, he still takes pride in the fact that no one could ever call him lukewarm.

BIOGRAPHY:

Elias would tell you that he was born on the run (most likely while sitting in a nondescript bar, fishing cherries out of a Dirty Shirley), but that's not quite the truth. It sounds like it, on the first telling, when he carries on to list everywhere he lived between the ages of zero and eighteen; Hawaii, Georgia, Italy, Japan, Washington, Illinois, etc. It's a lot, sure, but there was never any urgency to it. No fear or rush as the Wyler family packed up for the umpteenth time and moved across the country again. The excitement of getting a fresh start in a new neighborhood and new school district wore off somewhere around the sixth grade for Elias. It had become routine. After all, that's just the hand you're dealt as a military brat, huh?

For being a Marine, Elias never viewed his father as a particularly strict figure in his life. He was absent, mostly, sometimes even missing holidays at home. And his mother, overburdened with five children and a part-time job as a school nurse, never became a fully-formed individual in his mind, either. As he grew up, he became thankful for their habitual moving, frequently acting out and never facing consequences because of it. It wasn't until they moved to Illinois just before the start of his junior year that Elias felt like anything would ever be permanent -- and even then, it still wasn't. He made sure of it.

With stars in his eyes, he graduated from Blue Harbor High in a rush, desperate to start his life in every conceivable way. The first thing he did was get married, impulsively (AKA stupidly) tying the knot with his then high school girlfriend. They ushered in a rocky relationship that had no chance at lasting. Elias stuck it out for a few years, determined to believe that he'd put down roots for good, but after a few summers working at The Finest Catch, he cashed out. He left without warning, not telling a soul when he booked a one-way ticket to Australia and just went.

Elias would argue that it's his upbringing that kept him on the move for so long. After a paradoxically sheltered yet cultured life experience, he wanted to explore the world in his own way. To literally broaden his horizons, bounding between countries and states. Somewhere along the way, Elias picked up photography, becoming half-decent at it and garnering a few minor publications. His recognition peaked with his thirties, taking him to New York and thus beginning his lover era. Meeting and falling for Danika turned Elias into an idealist, swept up into the notion of a charmed life he'd never known before, but reality came knocking when they started to talk marriage -- and he remembered he had a wife back in Blue Harbor. Using his mother's hometown and the inheritance of a fishing boat as a two-pronged excuse to transplant their lives, he hoped to make quick work of his divorce in private. Naturally, it didn't go that smoothly. He was found out, his relationship unspooled right before his eyes, and he still didn't get those damn divorce papers signed. If he wasn't so stubborn, Elias would've hit the ground running, but with a lease hanging over his head and the accidental rekindling of histories starting again, he's making a valiant attempt at weathering the storm… for now.

HEADCANONS & EXTRAS:

one of the least judgmental people you'll ever meet! considers life to be one big joke of an experiment and maintains that nothing is ever set in stone.

that being said, elias has his bouts of pretention -- catch him on a Sad Drunk night and he'll for sure lament the death of print media.

very much a failed photographer (emphasis on failed as his professional career petered out over the last 2-ish years), but he still enjoys the rare silence of a darkroom now and then.

has several scattered tattoos that lack any sort of meaning. his oldest ink is the marine corps emblem on his upper arm, which he got to match his baby brother who'd just enlisted at the time -- jake didn't find it as funny as elias thought it was.

partied hard in his 20s, dabbling in all sorts of substances, but he's since pulled back. he won't turn down a good offer if it comes his way, buuuut... yeah, he's feeling his age more often than not.

unironically could still describe his nights out tho (catch him gettin' booted from the pour house!)

for as flighty as he is, elias is exceptional at his job. he's felt at home within the sway of waves, often extending his visits to more tropical locales, so he's right at home on the docks. the only drawback? charters. he gets reprimanded a lot for rolling his eyes at people who don't know how to bait a hook.

never had any pets growing up, so he's one of those freaks that sort of treats animals like independent human beings themselves.

[berattelse]

[...] Jackson, a famous mother and a tormented daughter, also encoded in her novel an unresolved argument about child-rearing. When at the height of her crisis Merricat retreats to the summer house and imaginatively repopulates the family table with her murdered parents, they indulge her: "Mary Katherine should have anything she wants, my deart. Our most loved daughter must have anything she likes...Mary Katherine is never to be punished...Mary Katherine must be guarded and cherished. Thomas, give your sister your dinner; she would like more to eat...bow all your heads to our beloved Mary Katherine." The terror of the scene is intricate, for we suspect these fantasies are as much recreations as revisions of past reality. Elsewhere Uncle Julian muses aloud about whether Merricat has been too utterly adored to develop a conscience. The motif links Castle to the mid-century's crypto-feminist wave of child-as-devil tales The Bad Seed and Rosemary's Baby, and to the sister-horror film Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? But Jackson's book is The Bad Seed as rewritten by Pinter or Beckett -- indeed, jackson's vision of human life as a kind of squatter's inheritance in a diminishing castle recalls the before-and-after of the two acts of Happy Days, where Beckett's Winnie, first buried up to her waist, and then up to her neck, boasts: "This is what I find so wonderful. The way man adapts himself. To changing conditions." As Constance and Merricat's world shrinks is grows defiantly more self-possessed, and as threatening elements are purged their castle gains in representative accuracy as a model of the (dual) self. When at last the villagers repent of their cruelty and begin gifting the castle's doorstep with cooked meals and baked goods, the situation mirrors that of Merricat's playacting in the summerhouse -- only this time the offerings laid at her feet are real, not imaginary. The world has obliged, and placed a crown on Merricat's head. Her empire is stasis.

Lethem, Jonathan. Afterword to We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. Penguin Books, 2006.

[pierreism]

Shirley: Visions of Reality, 2013. dir. Gustav Deutsch

[mtonino]

@sullecose

[inapat16]

Gustav Deutsch, Shirley. Visions of reality (2013)

Shirley. Visions of reality is an Austrian film directed by Gustav Deutsch released in 2013. Shirley is an American actress, forming a couple with a journalist, Steve. From 1931 to 1963, she travelled to Paris, accepted cooking jobs, performed for Elia Kazan, and questioned her relationship, art, and political commitment.

This film is composed of thirteen scenes shot almost entirely in fixed and sequence shots. Each of these scenes recreates a painting of the American painter Edward Hopper, including decoration, framing, colors and light. Deutsch’s bet is to animate Hopper’s paintings.

Shirley is the culmination of several Deutsch projects. In 2008-2009, as part of the exhibition Western Motel: Edward Hopper and Contemporary Art, the Austrian artist created several miniature replicas and a full-size replica of Hopper’s paintings. Visitors then had a chance to walk through this life-size replica of the Western Motel (1957) painting. Deutsch then directed a short film in this 3D space. This short film is the pilot of Shirley. It will then lead, from 2010, to the full-size reconstruction of 12 other paintings by Hopper: the sets of the future film Shirley. Visions of reality.

Gustav Deutsch is an artist who bases his cinematic work mainly on found footage. In Shirley, this found footage are paintings. He then imagines a story linking these thirteen paintings. According to Deutsch, every Hopper painting tells a story and stimulates the imaginary.

Shirley is a film in which artistic forms cross and co-operate. Thus, the artist Hanna Schimek reproduced all the small paintings found in Hopper’s paintings. She also painted the landscapes and backdrops on a human scale. The director also reveals that the lead actress, Stephanie Cumming, is also a dancer so she and Deutsch have imagined each of her movements as a choreography.

Shirley. Visions of reality obviously evokes the Living Pictures, a practice particularly popular in the 19th century. This reference is fully assumed by Deutsch, he wanted to refer to these pre-cinematographic practices. The project of the director being to put in relation different art forms, the reference to the living picture was all found. Indeed, a living painting is itself a bridge between the arts: between theatre, painting, installation and photography.

In 2013, Gustav Deutsch directed a film in which art forms enrich one another. We certainly find cinema and painting but also living painting or architecture.

Clara Réthoré

[stabbingandorbeingstabbed]

not only do i see ur vision i desperately want it to be a reality… u look so so much like melanie lynskey & lucy dacus!! but in such a genetic way - like not identical but clearly similar. uniquely beautiful. i actually have a gorgeous friend who looks a lot like lucy so if you require a third sister, i’ll get her on the line.

what sort of thing do u wanna star in with them. tell me more about ur vision (if it goes beyond the casting lmao)

this is so sweet thank u ^_^ i literally have 0 vision like i have just. seen them both on my dash a lot recently and always think we have a similar look like the face shape especially and i'm usually hard on myself for it but seeing Beautiful People that look kind of like me is like. oh okay maybe i actually look normal and i'm just overthinking it lmao <3 also if i had to come up with something on the spot i think it should be a period piece (not sure when but i'm open to suggestions) and we should play reclusive sisters that <- okay i'm stopping myself here bc i just realized i was abt to type out the rough plot of we have always lived inside the castle LMAO i would cast us in some kind of shirley jackson adaptation situation but like an actual Good one <3