Eisenstein

A characteristically bombastic statement from the always fashionable Sergei Eisenstein from his "The Dramaturgy of Film: The Dialectical Approach to Film Form" :

"The limit of organic form (the passive principle of being) is NATURE. The limit of rational form (the active principle of production) is INDUSTRY and: at the intersection of nature and industry stands ART."

Why is this interesting to me? He is effectively admitting that art has almost irreparable roots in the commercial sphere. That's interesting enough. But it goes on.

It's a synthesis of mankind's nature (primitive, instinctive) and mankind's reason (transforming the world into our own image, an idol for us to worship).

Somewhere in between those two extremes is a much celebrated human pastime: addressing the mystical needs of the creator (artist) and perhaps most importantly, those of one's neighbors (spectators).

So yeah. Ultimately, this is not at all what Eisenstein was talking about. But now that I have successfully dispelled my self-affected profundity, I can rest easy.

I don't even like Eisenstein that much. But check that wacky picture.