Werner Herzog Is Nobody's Artist

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When I heard Werner Herzog was going to be appearing at the IFC Center again this week I knew I had to go, even if I did have a few reservations over sitting through Cave of Forgotten Dreams again, which felt a little bit thin the first time I saw it. I'm happy to report the film actually played better on a second take, and the feeling of gratitude you're taken over with towards Mr. Herzog for gifting you entry into this rarefied world where you'd otherwise never get to enter remains palpable, much like the surface of painted stone that his camera relentlessly documents. Fittingly, there's a real awe of history pulsing behind this thing - he seems to press his lens into every crevice he can find lest it be lost.

Since I had seen the film before and was more there to hear him speak afterward I sat in the very front row, and I do wonder if this proximity - I felt completely swallowed up by the place - might've been an aid in getting me entirely into it. If it was that or just the fact that I'd seen the film before and had already established that intimacy with it I dunno, but it's definitely an experience you really shouldn't miss.

As I said, I sat in the front row, so I felt a little bit self-conscious about whipping out my camera to record the Q&A, but not enough to, you know, not record it. Which I did! And which I now share with you for posterity, and awesomeness. I don't have the world's steadiest hand but I think this turned out pretty well if only because I was so close. It's broken up into five parts, which you will find... right here!

Part 1 - In which he tells a story of exploiting his accent for gain, his role on The Simpsons, the types of tools that were used inside the cave, and what would happen if somebody passed out from the fumes.

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Part 2 - In which he explains why he's not sure the cave art should be called "art," wonders if it was religion or child-play, admits the unknowability of it in the end, explains why he puts humor into his documentaries, contemplates escaped crocodiles being chased by helicopters, and rejects the concept of noble issues movies about abused children.

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Part 3 - In which he discusses the generation-altering effects of modern technology between people his own age and children and how it's changing our conception of reality, how he saw with his own eyes in the 1970s villagers in Uganda have a completely different understanding of medical poster art that was intended to help them and how that affected him, and why he shot the film in 3D.

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Part 4 - On trying to capture the reality of the caves in such extreme limitations, on all of the amazing locations that he's seen in his life, and how he rejects the postcard beauty of the environment in favor of using them to explore something about the inner human condition. Gazing into the abyss!

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Part 5 - In which he explains his aversion to the words "art" and "artist" and calls contemporary art "appalling" and a "massive fraud" and a "conspiracy of the market," and how he just wants to pass along some awe.

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