Art History Archives | Otaku No Culture

When So Surreal Behind the Masks Show How The Art World and Culture Collide

When this docuemtary explores the cultural significance and complex history of Indigenous ceremonial masks while examining the broader symbolism of masks, So Surreal Behind the Masks is very thoughtful discourse that goes beyond cosplay.

Playing at FIRST: A Celebration of Indigenous Film

So Surreal Behind the Masks is an interesting documentary that explores the cultural and spiritual importance of Indigenous ceremonial masks, particularly those of the Yupʼik and Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw peoples. The removal of many of these sacred objects from their communities occurred long ago. Museums now house some masks, while private collectors own others.

The film aims to raise awareness about the history and meaning of these masks. Their removal was often driven by a mix of curiosity and misunderstanding—perhaps even fear—of what they represented.

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Remembering Charlotte Salomon, The Animated Opus

This movie’s animation manages to deliver sense of pathos a live-action take may not deliver.

Charlotte (2021) - IMDb Opening April 22 in select theatres across Canada

The beauty behind the animated biography titled Charlotte lies in how the film imagines constructing this artist’s famous paintings. From a stroke or a wet wash, those markings convey an image that haunted her mind. She is an Expressionist painter and her works depict a world collapsing upon itself due to war. When she’s not making a social commentary about her world, this woman is looking deep at her own turmoil.

Anyone of Jewish faith, sympathisers included, had to go into hiding. Charlotte Salomon (voiced by Keira Knightley) was sent away.

This film humbly chronicles the key moments of her life and what she witnessed to inspire her to create the world’s first graphic novel. Some of her works are multi-layered. A transparency holding text gives the art an added context, unlike how an onomatopoeia adds sound to that still image. The dialogues often told a truism.

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Discovering Art History with Ruben Brandt, Collector

Please check local listings for a theatre screening near you.

Ruben Brandt, Collector is a tour de force which spotlights not only some of the greatest works of modern art but also honours the filmmakers of auteur cinema. The raison d’être is because this character suffers from nightmares, and it brings them to life in animated form. This Hungarian film is amazingly rich in detail and escapist style art. These paintings attack Ruben and he believes by owning them, he can tame his dreams. This motivation may seem odd for the psychiatrist turned criminal mastermind. He’s convinced his patients to steal for him.

Wily Mimi (Gabriella Hámori), Brawny Bye-Bye Joe (Matt Devere), Hacker Fernando (Christian Niels Buckholdt) and Big Boned Membrano Bruno (Henry Grant) make up this ensemble and Detective Kowalski (Csaba Marton) is hunting for them. He knows these thieves can not resell these works in the black market, and in order to get them back, he will have to get into the minds of these wily robbers.

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