ERENDIRA’S ART

 

ERENDIRA IKIKUNARI is a FILMIC REPRESENTATION OF A MYTH and not of Historical facts. It’s language is SYMBOLIC, because a myth is a grandiose poetical image, that refers to the essential aspects of the culture of the People that created it. Placed outside of Historical time and sites, with divine or heroic protagonists that represents a human reality of universal significance,

That’s why ERENDIRA IKIKUNARI is not a period piece or an Historical reconstruction. It’s time, place and events take place only in the symbolic space of myth, in a NON REALIST style.

The elements used to create this poetical image, came from two main sources: the archaeological sites of the Purehpecha Pre-Columbian culture; including architecture, sculpture, ceramics and pictographic codices; and the contemporary cultural expressions of this People: crafts, music, dance, etc.

The technical means to integrate them were those of digital film and postproduction, avoiding photorealism, and integrating graphically the drawings from the pre-Columbian codices with landscapes, architecture and digitally recorded actions.

The landscapes were those of the Paricutín volcano, of the Zirahuen lagoon, of the “Devil’s knee” spring in Uruapan and of the archeological sites at Patzcuaro lake: the ancient cities of Tzintzuntzan and Ihuatzio.

The stage design was accomplished by combining images of ruins and “trojes” (traditional Puréhpecha dwellings made of wood) with drawings from the codices; some were done during shooting and others with digital postproduction software.

The set dressing was solved adding to the lived action evidently drawn architectural elements, creating dramatic spaces with a collage character and thus suggesting an ambience of ancient ages.

The props were built in their majority with organic and natural materials, such as the century plant (or maguey), stones, shells, etc. We also used those contemporary arts & crafts from Michoacán that have not changed since pre-Columbian times.