Earth

Last night I saw a beautiful silent film called Earth by the Russian director, Alexander Dovzhenko, 1930. In summary;  "A village collectivises its agriculture; a tractor arrives amidst resistance from the serfs and the dramatic climax mixes revolutionary rhapsodies with mystical identification with the land."  I was deeply moved by the silent black and white images of the people's faces, the intensity and poetical beauty of the whole work. I continue to paint the landscape but am increasingly drawn to the connection between land and humans. My ancestory is Mennonite for 8 generations (or more) back on both sides of my family.  My great grand-parents all arrived in Canada from the Ukraine in the 1930's and I have always had a visceral attachment to anything that speaks of a peasant connection to the land.  It is this "mystical identification with the land" that I wish to further explore.  I have added a blog link to "Russian Films" as I continue to explore this connection in more depth.