Russian Spleen. Isaac Levitan and Cinematography

Over a century ago the artist Isaac Levitan created a phenomenon that will be later named the psychology of the Russian landscape.

To celebrate the opening of the exhibition Isaac Levitan and Cinematography Jewish Museum Moscow and Readymag created an interactive map of Russia that will help bring together paintings and real places of their creation as well as shots from Independent Russian films and their shooting locations. Website available in English and Russian languages.

Set in Steinbeck (2018) by Roman Gornitsky. Wremena has been used for captions. Here’s how Roman explains some of Steinbecks’ peculiarities:

Drawing outlines in a computer vector program, it is too easy to rely on the measurement tool rather than on one’s eye. Too easy to make everything geometrically perfect and visually boring. It is almost irresistable to correct a humpy curve, uneven width, imperfect symmetry, an inconsistent thickness — ideal smoothness is just one mouse drag away. In Steinbeck many of the occuring inconsistencies were kept (and many were made intentionally): without fanatically collecting curious deviations, but rather with a healthy disregard for digital precision tools.