Art exhibitions at the cinema: Coming soon to a screen near you ...

IN FILMS, the main purpose of paintings is to be stolen (?The Thomas Crown Affair? and ?Trance?) or to unlock a ludicrous conspiracy (?The Da Vinci Code? and ?Nightwatching?). But now, art and film are coming together in a different way.

In November 2011, ?Leonardo Live? took cinema-goers on a guided tour of the National Gallery?s Leonardo da Vinci exhibition on its opening night. Hosted by Tim Marlow, a British art historian and presenter, it was shown simultaneously across 900 cinemas in 20 countries. The film was a ?raging success? according to its producer and director, Phil Grabsky. So it is no surprise that Mr Grabsky is planning to make regular follow-ups as part of a new project called EXHIBITION. The first film, to be screened globally on April 11th, is ?Manet: Portraying Life?, the current exhibition at the Royal Academy in London. Later this year Mr Grabsky will make films of ?Munch 150? in Oslo and ?Vermeer and Music: The Art of Love and Leisure? at the National Gallery in London. Filming exhibitions in Australia, Japan and America is planned for next year. ?We aren?t seeking to replace the experience an individual would have in front of a great work of art,? says Mr Grabsky, from his Brighton office. ?But many, many thousands of people simply do not have that opportunity. But they can go to their local cinema.?

He and Mr Marlow had been collaborating on television documentaries for Channel Five and Sky Arts for years when they decided to transfer to the big screen. They were encouraged in part by the popularity of National Theatre Live. This initiative began in June 2009, when Nicholas Hytner?s production of ?Phedre?, starring Helen Mirren, was beamed from the London theatre to cinemas around the world. The scheme would have been inconceivable before digital projection did away with the need to transport canisters of celluloid to individual cinemas. And it has proven to be a hit. Subsequent National Theatre Live screenings have sold almost a million tickets, and similar transmissions from the Globe, the Royal Opera House and the Royal Ballet are almost as big a draw. They are a win-win-win situation: the screenings are profitable for theatre companies; a boon to arts lovers who don?t live in capital cities; and ammunition for cinemas as they battle for survival against ever-more-advanced home-entertainment systems.

But can an idea which works so well for plays and ballets work for exhibitions too? Theatre and film have numerous similarities; both are in the business of performing arts. But visual art is a different beast. Shuffle around the Royal Academy, and, crowds permitting, you can see the paintings at your own pace. You can pore over every brushstroke or glance at a painting in passing. You can peer at the canvas from the angle of your choice, and plot your own route round the gallery. Watching EXHIBITION?s film is hardly the same.

Instead, what audiences get is a close cousin to an arts documentary. Mr Marlow and an impressive line-up of pundits spend roughly four minutes apiece discussing eight paintings, while the other works are seen only briefly, or missed out entirely. The film also includes trips to Paris to fill in Manet?s biography, as well as behind-the-scenes sequences examining the logistics of mounting the exhibition. Considering how uncomfortably packed the Royal Academy was when I visited this week, the film is an enticing alternative. But if you?re hoping to see most of Manet?s paintings on-screen, you might well feel short-changed.

?We want to give the audience the best cinematographic experience we can,? argues Mr Grabsky, ?and I don?t think that?s a virtual walkthrough.? The film aims to ?direct the eye and unlock some doors,? he says. ?But ultimately it?s about storytelling. We want the viewer to feel as if 90 minutes have gone by in a flash because they?re constantly being entertained and informed.?

Some might object that they could be entertained and informed by a comparable documentary at home for free. But there is no doubt that watching a film on a vast screen in a dark auditorium forces you to pay attention in a way that television viewing doesn?t?especially if you have booked your ticket in advance. You are in what Mr Grabsky calls ?an enveloping environment of comfort and silence?, and that might be reason enough to catch an EXHIBITION film at the cinema.

Mr Grabsky hopes so, anyway. The project is ?a huge financial gamble for us,? he says. The Manet film cost his Seventh Art production company ?close to ?200,000?, and they are currently looking for a sponsor. But he is passionate, even evangelical, about EXHIBITION?s value. ?I know we?re all busy,? he says, ?but taking 90 minutes of your time to admire the work of the world?s greatest creative geniuses has to be worth it.?

?Manet: Portraying Life? will be screened globally on April 11th 2013. Check the EXHIBITION website for future screenings.

Source: http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2013/04/art-exhibitions-cinema

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