Retrospektiva bratov Quay II / The Brothers Quay Retrospective II

Dramolet (Stille Nacht I)

Stephen & Timothy Quay (Koninck Studios)
Velika Britanija/UK, 1988, 35 mm, 1’

Prvi film serije Stille Nacht, ki je bil ustvarjen za MTV Art Break, je čudovita črno-bela sanjarija o železnih opilkih.

The first film of the Stille Nacht series, initially commissioned as an MTV Art Break, is a gorgeous black and white reverie about iron filings.

Igor Stravinski, pariško obdobje / Igor Stravinsky – The Paris Years

Stephen & Timothy Quay (Koninck Studios/Channel Four)
Velika Britanija/UK, 1983, 16 mm, 25’

Lutkovni film. Tovariš Majakovski, boljševistični pesnik in dramatik, obišče rojaka, velikega skladatelja Igorja Stravinskega na njegovi klavirski delavnici v Parizu. Pridruži se jima še pesnik Cocteau in trio individualistov se odpravi na nočno raziskovanje pariških znamenitosti.

Puppet film. Comrade Mayakovsky, the Bolshevic poet and dramatist, visits fellow Russian and great composer Igor Stravinsky at his pianola workshop in Paris. Then with the poet Cocteau, this trio of individualists see the sights of Paris by night.

Ali sva še vedno poročena? / Are We Still Married? (Stille Nacht II)

Stephen & Timothy Quay (Koninck Studios/4 Ad Records)
Velika Britanija/UK, 1991, 35 mm, 3’

Skrivnostna mešanica igranih prizorov in animacije na pomenljivo in nekoliko mučno temo Alice v čudežni deželi.

Triminutna animirana koreografija z nežno pop glasbeno spremljavo izjemne skupine po imenu His Name Is Alive. S kot vedno ekscentrično zasedbo, ki jo sestavljajo oguljena lutka, bel zajec in manična žogica za pingpong, brata Quay ustvarita hipnotično, mikavno in nedoločljivo zloveščo baletno predstavo, ki spominja na glasbene spote Maxa Ernsta. Film Ali sva še vedno poročena, ki ima čudovito črno-belo strukturo, je majhno delo, vendar enako dovršeno in nepozabno kot njuna najboljša.

An enigmatic mix of live action and animation with a suggestive and somewhat disturbing Alice In Wonderland theme.

A three-minute animated choreography with an ethereal pop soundtrack by the remarkable band called His Name Is Alive. With a typically eccentric cast of a ragged doll, a white rabbit and a manic ping-pong ball, the Quays construct a hypnotic, beguiling, and vaguely menacing ballet—something like a music video made by Max Ernst. In beautifully textured black & white, Are We Still Married? is a small work, but it is as accomplished and unforgettable as their very best.

Vaje za izumrle anatomije / Rehearsals for Extinct Anatomies

Stephen & Timothy Quay (Koninck Studios)
Velika Britanija/UK, 1987, 16 mm, 14’

V krhki negibnosti sobe in spuščajočem se mraku čaka par; ob slutnjah brutalnega uničenja, ki se neusmiljeno ponavlja na drugi strani vrat, niha v razpoloženju od neobčutljivosti do tesnobe. Delni navdih za film je bila Fragonardova jedkanica.

In the fragile immobility of a room a couple wait, as twilight advances, alternately oblivious to and made anxious by presentiments of some brutal destruction being remorselessly rehearsed outside their door. Loosely inspired by an etching by Fragonard.

Ulica krokodilov / Street of Crocodiles

Stephen & Timothy Quay (Koninck Studios)
Velika Britanija/UK, 1986, 35 mm, 21’

Mojstrovina bratov Quay Ulica krokodilov je priredba kratke zgodbe poljskega pisatelja Bruna Schulza in predstavlja njun prvi film, posnet na 35-milimetrski trak. Muzejski paznik pljune v kukalo starega peepshowa in zatohlo napravo požene v tek, gledalca pa pahne v morasto podzemlje bizarnih obredov lutk v prahu in umazaniji.

"V zapuščenem podeželskem muzeju je na ogled star kinetoskop z zemljevidom, ki natančno prikazuje območje Ulice krokodilov. Globoko v tem lesenem požiralniku se kot kvazianatomski eksponati nahajajo notranje konfiguracije in mehanizmi Ulice krokodilov. Anonimno podarjena človeška slina s strani paznika aktivira in sprosti schulzevsko gledališče iz mirovanja v trajno gibanje. Začne se strašenje mitov po ulicah tega zajedavskega območja, kjer mitološki vzpon vsakdanjega natančno zasnuje vsiljiv marginalec, ki se prebija skozi to eno noč velikega časa. Središče je nedosegljivo in jalova prizadevanja se končajo daleč v zadnjih prostorih rahlo sumljive krojačnice." brata Quay

The Quays’ masterpiece, Street of Crocodiles is adapted from a short story by Polish writer Bruno Schulz, and was their first film shot on 35mm. A museum keeper spits into the eyepiece of an ancient peep-show and sets the musty machine in motion, plunging the viewer into a nightmarish netherworld of bizarre puppet rituals among the dirt and grime.

“On display in a deserted provincial museum is an old viewing Kinetoscope machine with a map indicating the precise district of the Street of Crocodiles. Lodged deep within this wooden oesophagus lie the internal configurations and mechanisms of the Street of Crocodiles like some quasi-anatomical exhibit. The anonymous offering of human saliva by an attendant caretaker activates and releases the Schulzian theatre from stasis into permanent flux. Myth stalks the streets of this parasitical zone where the mythological ascension of the everyday is charted by a marginal interloper who threads himself through this one night of the Great Season. No centre can be reached and the futile pursuit concludes in the deepest rear rooms of a slightly dubious tailor’s shop.” –The Quay Brothers