Abstract
The paper analyses pictorial elements of composition and their use in films, taking Sergei Parajanov’s The Colour of Pomegranates (1969) as a case study, and comprises three parts. In the first chapter of the paper, different approaches to the term ‘pictorialism’ are explained; frontality and stillness derived from traditional art forms are discussed with examples of such references in paintings, architecture and films. The second part includes a brief introduction to the Soviet avant-garde cinema and follows the journey of the making of The Colour of Pomegranates. Upon reflecting on the theoretical part, the third chapter analyses frontality in the original Armenian cut of The Colour of Pomegranates by Sergei Parajanov and the references used from Transcaucasian Miniature art, Armenian culture, religion and traditions in assembling the filmmaker’s visual choices. The study is based on specific scenes from the film, presenting Parajanov’s use of frontality from a mosaic of perspectives, which the filmmaker applied to create the poetic world of ashugh Sayat-Nova.
Highlights
As a medium, cinema resembles the other visual art forms
Soviet Armenian filmmaker Sergei Parajanov derives frontality from the miniatures of the Armenian and Persian illuminated manuscripts and medieval icons while making pictorial decisions and uses it as an expression of stillness, as a representation of duality, as a symbol of transformation, as a depiction of divinity, and as a means to guide the attention in his film The Colour of Pomegranates, which helps him convey the poetic world of ashugh Sayat-Nova
Films can be analysed in relation to painting, architecture, photography and theatre
Summary
Cinema resembles the other visual art forms. Directors often use painting, literature, photography, music and dance to give form to their works. Filmmakers have been in pursuit of building exceptional visual narratives by creating stylized images that are based on personal vision shaped by cultural heritage and distinct ways of using art references To achieve that they turn to the history of art to expose emotions, establish psychological context, and maintain identification between the viewer and the characters. Soviet Armenian filmmaker Sergei Parajanov derives frontality from the miniatures of the Armenian and Persian illuminated manuscripts and medieval icons while making pictorial decisions and uses it as an expression of stillness, as a representation of duality, as a symbol of transformation, as a depiction of divinity, and as a means to guide the attention in his film The Colour of Pomegranates, which helps him convey the poetic world of ashugh Sayat-Nova. While the most known version is the Yutkevich’s cut, released in different parts of the Soviet Union
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