Brothers Quay

Finally getting around to doing a post on these two geniuses.  It was pretty intimidating, as you might be able to imagine, to start a post for their work, namely because there is so much that I do not understand about it, that feels strange and uncomfortable,  terrifying in some respects, or that its esoteric themes leave me hopelessly in the dark.  Regardless, I felt compelled to further examine the works of these two. The little snippet that was shown in class peaked my interest in the same perverse way that a crime scene or car crash might.

Street of Crocodiles (excerpt), 1986

 I watched the rest of this and was overwhelmed by the sense of loneliness that evoked by this film.  Everything is alone, compartmentalized,  behind glass, or tied up. The silence and darkness takes on an anxious, almost sinister feeling.  I could not help but recognized the juxtaposition of  soft, naked flesh being prodded and probed and sharp, dirty metals, be is scissors or needles.  The tension between the two images created a sexual tension and violence that was nearly palpable.   

The Epic of Gilgamesh, or This Unnameable Little Broom 

(aka Little Songs of the Chief Officer of Hunar Louse), 1985

I really liked this little film.  It had the same lonely, sadness that the Crocodile film exhibited, as well as the  overt sexual violence, but in addition this film made me think of insanity, irrationality, narcissism, and cruelty.  Gilgamesh was one creepy little trike ridding mother.  The brothers film digresses quite a bit from the Epic of Gilgamesh.  I would be really interested in reading the Mesopotamian  epic.

The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer, 1984

The two identical twins at work in their younger days

The Brothers have become two of the most influential stop-motion film animators.  They are American born, but now reside and work in England.  Originally the brothers began as illustrators before they began designing their elaborate and dark sets, and grotesquely flawed puppets they use in their films. They are also responsible for the set design in the films, operas, and ballets of many others.   The brothers work is often times inspired by works of literature and poetry that they then liberally adapt to suit their own trademark aesthetic.