"Jerusalem" for Four Hands at the Tower of David Museum

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Preview: December 20 – 30     Opening: December 30, 2011    
Closing: April 30, 2012

Curators: Tamar Gisfan-Greenberg and Liat Margalit   Exhibition Design: Studio Dag

“ Jerusalem” for Four Hands is a unique opportunity to observe the work process of Emanuele Luzzati and Giulio Gianini, to look at the depth of spectacular collages, see the layers of brilliant color lying one on top of one another and understand the magic in the world created by the two. 

The animated film “Jerusalem”, created specifically for the Tower of David Museum nearly two decades ago by Luzzati and  Gianini, is a whimsical introduction to the Museum's permanent exhibition of the history of Jerusalem, revealing the city’s narrative, layer by layer, tracing its complex history through a distinctive language of animation. Their famous brand of two-dimensional animation combining bold color, humor, fantasy and music is distinctive and “Jerusalem” is an example of this creative partnership.   

Luzzati and Gianini

The exhibition uses the film Jerusalem as a window through which to appreciate Luzzati and Gianini’s work. It allows a behind-the-scenes glimpse of work in progress, and examines the vibrant ‘language’ that forms a unifying thread through their many films. Original works by Luzzati are displayed together with collages, drawings, sketches and cutouts of their fantastical characters together with parts from their best films.

Jerusalem was one of the last films that Luzzati and Gianini produced. Their creative collaboration spanned thirty years and included two Academy Award nominations ("The Thieving Magpie" (1965) and "Pulcinella" (1973)).  In their work, these two Italian artists, one a celebrated set designer, the other an established director of photography, exploited the distinct qualities of animation, tempo, movement and color to create a rich, multicolored world of the imagination. Their artistry is especially impressive considering that everything was created by hand, with extraordinary attention to detail, without the computerization so common today.

The curators of the exhibition have put an emphasis on the varied components of the artists' work as well as the process of animation.  "The exhibition is an attempt to "dismantle" the work so that you can see the variety of techniques and ideas that characterized the work of Luzzati and Gianini" says Liat Margalit.  Tamar Grisfan-Greenberg continues "They always brought color and movement together with elements from the world of the stage into their films.  The exhibition "stages" their intricate works, overflowing with imagination, inviting the visitor to enter their world of fantasy and fairy tale".

Cutout Animation is a technique in animation that includes moving the cut-outs made from two-dimensional materials.  Any movement, even minimal, is photographed on an individual basis. The movement of a figure is created by photographing each tiny adjustment of its joints. The frames are then combined into one continuous film sequence. To achieve an illusion of depth, backgrounds are built up of multiple movable levels. The quickness of a scene is determined by how far each level is moved between one frame and the next.  It requires intricate work and precision, as well as a large amount of planning.  Luzzati and Gianini’s works are so remarkable due to there almost perfect match between the music and the movement of their characters. 

Jerusalem has an accompanying text written by Meir Shalev, narrated by Yossi Banai and the music was composed specifically for the film by Yoni Rechter.The Tower of David

Emanuel Luzzati (Genoa, 1921 – 2007)
Luzzati was born in Genoa, Italy.  1938 when, as a Jew, his academic studies were interrupted by the introduction of the fascist racial laws, he moved to Switzerland with his family and studied in Lausanne at Ecole des Beaux Arts. Luzzati was a painter, stage, set and costume designer, illustrator, potter, and after meeting with Gianini, the pair of them also created animated films. Luzzati was an international set designer, chosen to design the stages for the London Festival Ballet , The Glyndebourne Opera Festival , The Chicago Opera House , The Staat-Opera of Vienna to name but a few. 

He also produced illustrations for children’s books and sometimes also wrote the texts.  In 1955, he started making panels and tapestries for luxury liners and many public buildings in Italy and elsewhere. Newspaper and book clippings, photographs, pieces of paper, a variety of fabrics: Luzzati used all these and more to create his signature collage technique.  Luzzati created his backdrops by painting paper with oil pastels, and then brushing it with turpentine.

Giulio Gianini  (Rome, 1927-2009)
Gianini graduated from the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome. After a beginning period when he worked as an assistant stage designer and an assistant director, he began to specialize in photography, filming in Italy and abroad.  Gianini filmed more than 120 documentary films, especially focusing on the arts (including one on Picasso).

From the late '50s, after meeting with Luzzati, he devoted his time solely to animation, creating films with Luzzati but also with other artists, among them Leo Lionni and Jean Michel Folon.  He received numerous awards for foreign films created with these artists (including two Oscar nominations and two Nastro d'Argento.  In 2004, Gianini received in the Pulcinella Award Lifetime Achievement for his work on documentaries in the arts. 

The Partnership and Artistry of Luzzati and Gianini

Luzzati and Gianini’s shared interest in theater puppets prompted them to try their hand at animated films, using cut-out techniques inspired both by Sicilian marionettes and Far-Eastern Shadow Theater. Their imaginative figures were created joint by joint, connected by fishing thread that allowed a full range of movement.

The artists’ first animated film, in 1959, was an advertising clip for the pasta company, Barilla. The monochromatic figures were relatively unsophisticated and moved clumsily, but a wonderful story-line, laced with humor, gave a broad hint of their future work. In the end, the Barrilla company did not approve the film.

 
In Luzzati and Gianini’s animated films, the curtains open and close, rise and fall, exposing fantasy worlds as if in a theater.  From time to time a stage appears in the middle of a scene and the “actors” perform – not only for us, the spectators, but for an animated audience as well.  Through out the exhibition, there are screens showing exerts from the Luzzati-Gianini partnership.

The connection to the world of the stage was not by chance. Luzzati was recognized as a first-class set and costume designer. He designed operatic productions such as “The Italian Girl in Algiers” and “The Thieving Magpie” by Rossini, and Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.” The motifs and content of the operas inspired their animated films. Sometimes the films remained faithful to the original work; sometimes a new story was woven in. 

Animation was Luzzati and Gianini’s playground, a place to defy borders, to take things apart and rebuild them, to let go and have fun.  The affable figures, brimming with humor, move freely; but in a flash they can appear absurd, exposing the sense of irony that often lurks between the lines.

The space in which the figures act responds to their movements by constantly changing colors, like a kaleidoscope. The bold vibrancy in the depictions of nature, palaces and the figures’ garments recalls medieval stained glass windows.

 

There is a clear influence of the Fauvist movement, and of the artists Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall.  Music plays an active part, dictating the tempo of the story, and sometimes giving the figures their motive for movement and dance.

The exhibition draws you into the world of fantasy. Luzzati and Gianini used fantasy as a language. Familiar themes from the opera, mythology and folktales are continually transformed in the world of their imagination. Kings, queens and knights, enchanted birds, creatures and monsters burst forth and evolve as the plot unfolds.

The world of fantasy allows the artists’ fertile imaginations to soar above the constraints of the story. They disregard some elements while highlighting those parts of the narrative that are more in harmony with the language of their art.

Characters, landscapes and structures move among the different works, reappearing again and again in other guises. In this sense, the Canaanites in the film Jerusalem are reincarnations of the servants of Ali Baba; while Sarastro, the priest of Isis and Osiris in The Magic Flute, emerges as none other than King Solomon.

Opening hours of the Tower of David Museum:
Sunday – Thursday: 10:00 – 16:00
Saturday: 10:00 – 14:00
On Fridays the Museum is closed.

CREDITS FOR PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE MAGIC FLUTE:
Fondazione Luzzati Teatro delle Tosse onlus, Genova
 
Entrance to the exhibition is included in the entrance price to the Museum.

Reservations and information: 02 6265333 / *2884  Group Reservations: 02 6265327