Picturing Joy: Klimt in ‘Melodia’
This pre-production photo for the set team of Melodia shows two framed prints. The photographer has dropped keys on the floor to indicate scale. The details are from Beethoven Frieze by Gustav Klimt, designed in 1902 for the Secession Building in Vienna. One print shows an angelic chorus singing ‘Ode to Joy.’ Another shows the composer embracing a female figure; a representation the world, she returns the embrace. In the short film the prints appear mounted on the wall of the title character’s apartment. It is characteristic that Mel surrounds herself with creature comforts but that nothing—except perhaps the piano itself—is extravagant in price. She has plants and books and framed prints. We see her enjoy a good bath, a cup of oolong, candlelight, and a goblet of wine. Her window looks out on Metro rail line; though above the ground floor, she hardly lives in a penthouse. Her taste in music is eclectic. Mel, a Taiwanese pianist, is played by Ms Yi-An Chen; the music ...