Tuesday, June 26, 2007

The Lost Illustrations Of 2001

It's now well known that from 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY onwards Kubrick used frame blow ups from his films rather then on-set still photography to represent his movies. Capturing a still on set can be hindered with a multitude of obstacle's. Generally, unless the photographer has a silent housing for the camera, stills are taken during rehearsals or after the scene has been completed. In all cases this is not ideal, for one thing the stills camera will never be in the exact position that the film lens is in, surely the optimal position for lighting, performance etc. With a director as exacting as Kubrick this could only have been a disappointment to have his films consistently misrepresented in print.

Having successfully tackled the on-set photography on DR. STRANGELOVE with the deft choice of hiring the renowned Weegee for the task, Kubrick insisted on a new level of control & representation on 2001. 29 year old British illustrator Brian Sanders was one of two artists hired in 1966 to cover the shooting of 2001. With so many ground breaking technical achievements on show Kubrick may have felt that the artists pencil could be more easily controled. The work that the two artists produced was eventualy unused & remained unpublished until these few pieces were printed alongside an article in THE INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE on 20th January 2001.

1 comment:

Dean Treadway said...

How cool is that collection of drawings? I can't believe how detailed some of them are, and how some don't even seem like the artist even lifted his pen from his paper. Thanks for uncover9ing these!