Cave of Forgotten Dreams

World Magazine ^ | Harris

[flowerplough]

In a film that blends paleontological wonders with existential pondering, Cave of Forgotten Dreams asks the question, "What constitutes humanness?" German director Werner Herzog creeps deep into Chauvet Cave in southern France, where researchers say they have found the earliest known cave paintings. The charcoal paintings etched on the curved walls of the cave—some say from 32,000 B.C., others say 10,000 B.C.—look as though someone scratched them there last week.

A landslide sealed the cave thousands of years ago, creating a perfectly preserved time capsule until explorers discovered it in 1994. Only a few scientists are allowed inside, and Herzog labored under a set of strict rules to preserve the cave's delicate environment. He had to use battery-powered cameras and lights that did not give off heat. The film crew was forbidden to step off a 2-foot-wide walkway and could only stay in the cave for a few hours at a time. Despite the logistical difficulties, the film is a cinematic tour de force. Herzog uses light and shadow to create the illusion of a flickering torch on a cave wall, just as the painters would have seen it long ago. The filming elevates 3D to true artistry, giving shape and depth to the curves and contours of the cave wall. The paintings are more fluid and full of life and movement than medieval paintings thousands of years later.

There's a sense that these ancestors were not the hulking, empty-headed cavemen often portrayed but souls with the urge to communicate and represent the wonders of their world. The paleontologists and archaeologists approach the paintings with awe, dreaming about the lives and hopes of the people who created them. "It is," says narrator Herzog, "as if the modern human soul had awakened here."

[gleeaikin]

After 29 Kya there were three noticeable drops in world temperature. I suspect that one at 22 Kya was caused by the eruption of Sakura-Jima which left a 15 mile diameter caldera now known as Sakura-Jima Bay with a small volcano of that name at one side. Does anyone know of 2 major volcanoes between 29 and 22 Kya to explain the other two drops?

[wildbill]

Am I crazy or can you see the birth of pointillism in some of these images.

Could have been an attempt to save paint on large images, but it worked.

Surprising that there are so few human images. You’d think the artitsts would have wanted to memorialize themselves as well as the animals around them.

[colorado tanker]

Thanks, they’re beautiful.

[colorado tanker]

There's a sense that these ancestors were not the hulking, empty-headed cavemen often portrayed but souls with the urge to communicate and represent the wonders of their world

[SunkenCiv]

Wait, we have to pick just one?!? ;’)

There was an impact on what passed for modern art when stuff like this was discovered. Pick-asso was influenced by folk art (basically, garage sale crap from countries which don’t yet have garages today), and earlier on paintings in the 18th and 19th centuries were influenced by the art found in Pompeii etc.

During the late middle ages/early renaissance the Papacy moved back to Rome, and all kinds of classical masterpieces (and some real junk as well) was excavated as new foundations were dug and the like. Michelangelo was profoundly influenced by the discovery of this Roman Empire masterpiece:

http://www.google.com/images?q=laocoon%20group&spell=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=image_result_group

I seem to remember an allegation that the Laocoon group was sculpted by Michelangelo, and attributed to ancient Romans. I can’t imagine any way for that allegation to be the least bit credible.

Ah, here it is:

http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1386416/posts

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks wendy.

[patton]

Nah, my hair turned grey years ago.