Artist Statement / Picture

Stanley Kubrick

By: Nate Ross

“A film is - or should be - more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what's behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later.” This quote is open ended to me; I don’t think it’s only applied to film. I apply it to whatever I’m working on; I want emotions to come from my work, I want it to be meaningful and I want people remember it. Stanley Kubrick wrote this quote and I admire it as well as him.
Three years ago I was not a big movie fan, whereas my father definitely was. One night he decided that 2001: A Space Odyssey was a movie that I really needed to see. Despite being a bit concerned about its three hour length, I watched it. I was blown away by this movie and I believe that it really opened my eyes to the world of film. I watched this movie over again by myself and I was as amazed as I was the first time. I saw new things and I saw that he really took his time and spent a lot of money getting this movie to perfection. I noticed all of the little things that he added and it made me love the movie even more. The skills that he used for the film really inspired me. I applied them to projects that I worked on and they came out much better because of it. Not only did Stanley help me improve my work life, but he opened my eyes to something that I didn’t care about before. I love movies now, and I thank my father and Stanley’s excellent directing skills for it.Stanley Kubrick is a big inspiration to me, although I don’t know if I want to become a director just yet. He really is excellent at what he does and the ways he does them is what I have in common with him. Mainly how he pays attention to the smallest details that can make something really great, and how he takes so much time trying to make something as best as it can possibly be. I am exactly the same way for any piece of work I am doing.
I may decide one day to pursue that career, but even if I don’t, I think that I really benefit from watching Stanley’s work. I hope to do the exact same thing for future generations. Whatever I make, be it an excellent film, an intriguing book, or an artistic painting, I want it to be as influential as Stanley’s work was to me. I want someone to look at my work and think that even if they don’t want to do exactly what I do, they can do it like me. Although I am not particularly interested in doing the same thing as him, I hope that one day I can create a work of art that is as influential as something from Stanley.