Two Films about Creativity

Two movies that focused on creativity and artists caught my attention recently.

Tim's Vermeer tells the story of an inventor who discovered the methods and process by which Vermeer painted such classics as the Girl with the Golden Earring with such realism and attention to detail.  Narrated by Penn Jillette and directed by Teller, the film focuses on the inventor's work to replicate Vermeer's process and his painting.  Lessons learned her include attention to detail and the focus that the artist must have to perfect their craft.

More fascinating and perhaps more disturbing is Finding Vivian Maier, a documentary about a reclusive street photographer who is now consider one of the 20th Centuries greats.   The documentary filmmaker's unravel the mystery behind her hoarding, her volume of work and walk around the edges of her madness while focusing on the lost treasures of her insightful and startling art.   Loneliness, obsession and the detachment yet ability to connect with her subjects emerge as key themes.

What connects the two films for me are the struggles with identity, the obsessive nature of creativity, and the nature of image versus external reality that humans encounter.