Paper short abstract:

The work of Andrei Tarkovsky is heavily focused on the connection between spirituality and technology, individuality and society. This presentation will focus on the analysis of Tarkovsky’s work as a way of expressing one’s spiritual beliefs through the technology of cinema.

Paper long abstract:

For Andrei Tarkovsky, one of the most influential directors in cinema history, spirituality and metaphysical themes are closely and undividedly connected with art. His idea was that during the artistic process, the artist mostly resembles the Creator, as he is creating whole realities purely out of his mind. In his own philosophy, the emergence of arts reflected the spiritual needs of society. Through the technological craft of cinematography, a connection between the simplicity of nature and the transcendental spheres of existence could be attained. As such, many of his movies bear heavy metaphysical themes, that are still a subject of interpretation of cinema critics and fans alike. The world is full of mystery and that is what he is trying to convey in his images. Even though his philosophical movies can be perceived as being filled with symbols, and he perceived art as a symbol for eternity, he still considered them very limiting. Any puzzle, or riddle, representing a symbol is exhausted the moment it is solved. In his work he was striving to overcome this limitation, and with the help of cinema depict the world, as well as the representation of infinity, as a never ending source of meaning. One of the most iconic movies he made is undoubtedly Stalker (1979), which deals heavily with the concept of faith, interrelations between technology, rationality of science and culture. Elements of this movie, such as the inaccessible and desolate Zone, the mysterious Room as well as the characters within the story reflect different aspects of spirituality, oppression, modernity and faith. Stalker is but one of Tarkovsky’s philosophical movies dealing with the dichotomy between spirituality and technology. This presentation aims to analyze the possibilities of art and cinema as an expression of one’s spiritual beliefs and worldviews.