Last week I came across a most unusual bird. A Black Swan! I couldn't believe my luck! It is true - in Northern Ireland there are plenty beautiful birds, but I believe this one is not so common:)
You will find the picture I have taken below.
I've read that Black Swan populations are estimated to be around 500,000 individuals - across the world, and apparently in US they can be seen, sadly - only in captivity. So I can confidently state, that they are very rare.
I though it would be interesting inspiration for a drawing.
Many of you may have seen the film by the excellent director Darron Aronofsky, whose working title was: 'The Understudy'. I have to admit that the title 'Black Swan'(2010) is definitely more memorable. I won't dwell at length on whether the lead role was well cast or not.
The fact is, that Afronowsky started discussions about making a film about the complicated life of a ballerina with Portman 10 years earlier! He knew that, she had studied dance as a child, and he wanted to use this experience in front of the cameras.
Portman herself was very determined and must have believed deeply in the success of the film, because even before the 'go' was officially said, she paid for ballet lessons out of her own pocket. She tirelessly practised her form, even though she still didn't know, not only whether she would get the actual role, but whether the production of the film would even get off the ground.
To make matters worse, Portman dislocated her rib on set, while one of the 'liftings' in a dance. There was no on-call medic on set to help her. When she asked why this was the case - the director replied that they barely had enough funds to produce the film at all, let alone hire a paramedic. Portman asked, if they cut the costs that go into hiring her trailer - that would be enough for the on-call medic.
Thus Portman, despite her starring role - no longer had her trailer for her own use on set, but gained an on-call medic. It's worth to mention, that the film's budget really wasn't huge, especially by Hollywood standards - a mere $13 million, and it earned a mad amount of $329.4 million!
What struck me most about the film, however, were the dance scenes on stage, which as it turned out later - were not just performed by Natalie, but also by professional dancer Sarah Lane. The studio's official position on this was, that Portman danced more than 85% of the scenes herself. Sarah Lane has stated, that the producers have forbidden her to speak publicly about how much she contributed to the film, especially during the Oscar season. And the scandal doesn't end there.
Lane admitted that all the scenes, where you can see the full silhouette of the dancer (those on stage, during the most difficult pirouettes, figures and lifts - were played by her, which is just about 85% of the dancing scenes. Portman's face was simply added in post-production. I have read many publications on the subject, and all of them leave me unsatisfied, and I must admit - distasteful. Word against word.
However, it is very difficult for me to believe that the actress, despite the fact that she took ballet lessons - was able to perform one of the most difficult parts of "Swan Lake" (ballet by the grate composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky), which next to the Nutcracker(also Tchaikovsky's) is one of the most difficult one. Nor do I think that Portman should be required to play these '85% scenes' alone.
The essence of the film is not just the dancing, but her struggle with the role, how she assimilates with the character – let's be honest - she is privileged to play. I think both ladies deserve a round of applause, and it seems vain to minimize someone's work just to create another cinema 'legend'.
About the drawing
I hope you're not waiting for fan-art from Black Swan, because it won't appear here. And it's not because I don't like Portman as an actress (I'm very sorry to all her fans, but I think she's an artistic wood and a single expression actress), but because I want to continue my Ballet - Masters series.
The dancers bodies are ideal for studying anatomy - you can actually count the ribs, locate every muscle. In addition, you can find a huge number of pictures of dancers in very dramatic poses. While drawing from nature is absolutely the best exercise, no model can hold a pose 'like that' for too long :)
Today I used a photo of Friedmann Vogel, whose I introduced you to last week. His make-up reminded me of the film Black Swan, and then I saw this unusual bird while walking and thought to myself, 'maybe it's not a coincidence'.
I mentioned Vogel's make-up - black on the eyes, hands and feet. I have to admit in this case, definitely less is more.
Sorry about long post!
I hope you had a lovely holiday time,
I wish you a fantastic Tuesday!
Yours,
Strega Azure
My Inspiration, apart form Friedmann Vogel
Friedman Vogel, source of my reference picture
Drawing & pics are my authorship if not stated otherwise, all rights reserved @strega.azure ©
posted via Ecency