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MODULE: FC073TUTOR NAME: DAVE SMITHASSESSMENT TYPE: FINAL ESSAYSTUDENT NUMBER: T0103327WORD COUNT: 1615

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This essay will discuss about two major art movements, Modernism and Post-modernism. It will

compare and contrast an example of a set from the film “Spellbound” by Salvador Dalí which

shows characteristics of Modernism, and the film “Mon Oncle” by Jacques Lagrange which

shows characteristics of Post-modernism. The essay will argue that the film sets were influenced

by the art movements and that they reflected on the reality of society.

Modernism and Postmodernism are two completely different art movements that exhibit specific

differences and similarities between them. Both movements were influenced by the cultural

changes around the world but even they influenced the culture around them. Pascal (2012) said

that cultural products altered their aesthetics due to Postmodernism. History.com editors (2018),

define Modernism as exploration of industrial age and rejection of Victorian era’s traditions, and

Postmodernism as a rejection of the firmness present in Modernism in favour of “anything goes”

outlook. One of the key developments of Modernism was Surrealism. According to Tate (2019),

Surrealism aimed to reveal the unconscious and combine it with rational and real life. The artists

known for contributing Surrealism to Modernism is Salvador Dalí. He worked with Alfred

Hitchcock in a film called “Spellbound” to create a surrealist set in 1945 (see image 1). On the

other hand, Jacques Tati used “Mon Oncle” in 1958 to address Postmodernism along with

Jacques Lagrange who was the production designer of the film (see image 2).

(Image 1) (Image 2)

Spellbound. Dalí, 1945. Mon Oncle. Lagrange, 1958.

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The set of “Spellbound” is about human dreams. The film is about a female psychiatrist who

falls in love with her boss who is experiencing loss of memory and is accused of a murder, which

makes her analyse his dreams. The storyline here is important to understand the set. The few

minutes created by Dalí in the entire movie interrupts the scientific plot of the film to present the

audience an unforgettable piece of cinema. According to Salvador Dalí Foundation (n.d), the

dream sequence was so important that Hitchcock gave full freedom to Dalí to present on screen

an inventive visual of the dreams. Dalí has also worked with a director called Buñuel in the film

“An Andalusian Dog” in 1929, where they showed a woman’s eye being sliced by a man with a

razor (see image 3). This shows that the subject of eyes is not new to him. “Mon Oncle” is a

French comedy film which makes fun of the modern society and its obsession with technology,

through its set and story. Pascal (2012) said that Post-modernism brought a satirical attitude

which influenced films and benefitted comedy genre the most. The film is a visual comedy and

the set is designed to reinforce the anthropomorphic qualities. The house in the set was created

for the Arpels, who are potrayed as a modern family.

(Image 3) (Image 4)

An Andalusian Dog. Dalí, 1929. Schröder House. Gerrit Rietveld, 1924.

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(Image 5)

Personal Values. René Magritte, 1952.

The most important difference in Dalí’s and Lagrange’s work is that Dalí made an indoor set

whereas Lagrange made an outdoor set. This makes all the difference. In Spellbound, the scene

shown in Image 1 comes when the boss is describing his dream. The shot dissolves into a set

inside a room made by Dalí which has free-floating eyes, which later converts into curtains that

are being cut by a man with huge scissors. The backdrop is actually a painting made by Dalí. The

curtain drapes start from the ceiling of the set till the floor but there is a huge hole in between as

the curtains are being cut. One more eye can be seen from the huge hole. In the rest of the set

there are many tables and chairs just like a restaurant. The floor is tiled and one can see

reflection on that. It is shown in one-point perspective as the vanishing point is visible. The

perspective here is important to note as one-point is used to make the set look boundless. This

perspective is also used by another surrealist artist René Magritte (see image 5). Both Dalí and

Magritte magnified sizes to make things look out of place, hence making them look surrealist.

They often used one-point perspective to create these disparities. (see in image 5 and 1).

Whereas, in Mon Oncle’s set, Lagrange made a very unusual and an ultra-modern villa which is

a perfect example of Post-modernism. The set of Mon Oncle is more architectural as compared

to Spellbound because, the former is very geometrical with no organic forms. Both interior and

exterior are minimalistic, doors are made of glass and the gates are automatic. The house has two

circular windows on the topmost floor which look like eyes giving the house human

characteristics. There are two windows and an entrance on the ground floor and a garden in front

of the house with a walkway, bordered lawns, gravel beds, precisely cut grasses, and a seating in

the corner. There is also a fish shaped fountain which catches attention. On the right side is a

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second entry to the house looking like a prison as it has many vertical bars. The house cast one’s

mind back to the modernist constructions like Gerrit Rietveld’s work (see image 4). The plurality

of shapes and window strips with the linearity make both the works look very similar. This

exactly defines Post modernism, a modernist looking building having out of the place post-

modern features like the eyes and fish.

The other difference is the material used and the colour palette. Dalí’s work is very sharp and

solid with black shadows and long perspectives. The dream sequence is unusual due to the huge

painted eyes on curtains. Greenberg (1965) believed that Modernism was concerned with an

optical experience and the set of Spellbound truly gives an optical illusion with a number of eyes

in the background in black and white. Even though the colour palette is monotone, the tonal

contrast distinguishes the background from the foreground. Whereas, in the Mon Oncle, the

materials are also post-modern like the steel, glass and concrete. According to Harding (1984),

Lagrange used modernistic colours like “chilly, steely and mauve”. Tati blended different shades

in a way that contributed to the aesthetic value of the scene, and that is visible as the villa is

neither too dull nor too bright.

The third difference is that Dalí’s Spellbound stood out in the Modernism movement whereas

Lagrange’s Mon Oncle followed all possible norms of Post-modernism. Dalí’s work seems to

avoid mainstream as all dreams in films are blurred generally. For instance, the dream sequence

in the film “Singin’ in the Rain” (see image 6) is blurred. This shows how he avoided the cliché.

Whereas, in Mon Oncle’s set, the fish in the garden justifies the post-modern aim that “anything

goes”. All the details like the precisely bordered lawns, and the strictly geometrical pools make

the house more post-modern.

(Image 6)

Singin’ in the Rain. Donen & Kelly, 1952

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The most unexpected similarity in both the works is the use of eyes. Dalí has made so many eyes

for the background of his set and Lagrange also makes the two circular windows in the set to

look like eyes and giving the set human characteristics. This is the most visible similarity

between Dalí’s and Lagrange’s work. Dalí showed actual eyes whereas Lagrange just made the

window look like eyes. Dalí painted the eyes whereas Lagrange made them with concrete and

glass. The eyes in Spellbound make the set more surreal looking whereas the eye looking

windows make the Mon Oncle set more post-modern as it looks unreal. Mon Oncle’s set can also

be compared to the pumping station, “Temple of Storms” (see image 7) made by John Outram in

1988 which is also a post-modern work. The circle in the centre also looks like eye but is

actually not.

(Image 7)

Temple of Storms. John Outram, 1988.

Both Modernism and Post-modernism reflected on the reality of society, which can easily be

justified with the given examples. Carrigan (2017) said that the film “Spellbound”, capitalised on

the growing public interest in Freudian Psychology. This shows how the filmmakers used the

society’s new fascination to market the film. As Dalí was a surrealist artist, he was asked to

make the dream sequence to address the new-found interest of the people. “Mon Oncle” also

shows the growing disconnect among people. The opaque walls of modernism have become

translucent glass in post-modernism but the inequality among people did not reduce. This is

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depicted through a crucial prop in the film. The fish shaped water fountain performed as a

discriminating tool. Harding (1984), called it an “ornamental fish” as Mme. Arpel in the film

would not turn on the fountain for the people, she considered lower in status or not very

important. Hence, entitlement to this watery salutation depended on the guest’s status. This

shows how the film addressed the reality of society through a small prop in the set.

To conclude, the sets of the film were influenced by the art movements as proved in the essay as

they showed the characteristics of the movement. The sets of Spellbound and Mon Oncle had

more differences than similarities even though there was just a difference of 13 years between

them. Nevertheless, both Dalí and Lagrange did great work to show the story through the sets

and also reflected on the reality of society. Use of same subject i.e eyes, for different purposes

was visible in both the movements.

On the whole, the essay justifies that both Modernism and Post-modernism were distinct

movements and the latter was a reaction to the former.

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REFERENCES

Carrigan, M. (2017). When Salvador Dalí and Alfred Hitchcock Brought Surrealism to

Hollywood.

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-dali-hitchcock-brought-surrealism-hollywood

Greenberg, C. (1965). Art and Literature.

https://www.darkmattersarchives.net

Harding, J. (1984). Jacques Tati: Frame by Frame. London: Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd.

History.com Editors. (2018). Modernism and Post-modernism history.

https://www.history.com/topics/art-history/history-of-modernism-and-post-modernism

Pascal, D. (2012). An Analysis of Filmic Satire: the Modern and Vernacular in Jacques Tati’s

Mon Oncle.

https://offscreen.com/view/modern_and_vernacular

Salvador Dali Foundation. (n.d). Spellbound.

https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/dali/dali-film-library/films-and-video-art/8/spellbound

IMAGES

Dalí, S. (1945). Spellbound. Available at:

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-dali-hitchcock-brought-surrealism-hollywood

Dalí, S. (1929). An Andalusian Dog. Available at:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-finearts-dali/time-hasnt-dulled-edge-of-dalis-sliced-eyeball-

idUSN2552211520080825

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Donen, S & Kelly, G. (1952). Singin’ in the Rain. Available at:

https://www.filmcomment.com/article/film-comments-trivial-top-20-expanded-to-50-the-best-

films-set-in-the-film/

Lagrange, J. (1958). Mon Oncle. Available at:

http://www.weinbergmodern.com/blog/mon-oncle

Maggrite, R. (1952). Personal Values. Available at:

https://www.1stdibs.com/blogs/the-study/rene-magritte/

Outram, J. (1988). Temple of Storms. Available at:

https://www.dezeen.com/2017/06/27/john-outram-temple-storms-pumping-station-heritage-

listed-uk-best-postmodernist-buildings-architecture-news/

Rietveld, G. (1924). Schröder House. Available at:

https://www.dezeen.com/2018/08/29/stijn-poelstra-photographs-mondrian-rietveld-schroder-

house-architecture/

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