''Harry ClarkeDarkness in Light ''is a documentary film originally released in 2003 (Irish-language version titled Harry Clarke - Dorchadas i Solas).

Synopsis

Filmmaker John J Doherty traces the life and work of the Irish artist, book illustrator and

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

artist

Harry Clarke Henry Patrick Clarke (17 March 1889 – 6 January 1931) was an Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator. Born in Dublin, he was a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement. His work was influenced by both the Art Nouveau ...

(1889–1931) with major contributions from his biographer Nicola Gordon Bowe as well as many stained glass artists, poets and historians. The film takes the artist's work in

, which was mainly religious an ethereal, and in

book illustration The illustration of manuscript books was well established in ancient times, and the tradition of the illuminated manuscript thrived in the West until the invention of printing. Other parts of the world had comparable traditions, such as the Per ...

, which was mainly dark and fantastical, as the basis for its title and tells a story of talent, struggle, success and the

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

of his final masterpiece 'the

Geneva Window The ''Geneva Window'' is a stained glass window consisting of eight panels, created by Harry Clarke from 1927 to 1930. It was originally commissioned by the Irish Free State government for the International Labour Organization#ILO headquarters, ...

brought his expertise in working in fine decorative detail in glass to his book illustrations, most notably in the tales of

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

and

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

where he is compared to

Aubrey Beardsley Aubrey Vincent Beardsley ( ; 21 August 187216 March 1898) was an English illustrator and author. His black ink drawings were influenced by Woodblock printing in Japan, Japanese woodcuts, and depicted the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. ...

and which are featured in the film and paralleled with

German Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

cinema of the time. The film was made in conjunction with the

Irish Film Board Not to be confused with Northern Ireland Screen. Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland, formerly known as Bord Scannán na hÉireann or the Irish Film Board, is Republic of Ireland, Ireland's state development agency for the Irish film, television an ...

and national broadcaster

TG4 TG4 (; , ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television channel. It launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on-demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was initially known as (TnaG), before bein ...

Awards

This film won the Best Arts Documentary award at the 2004 Celtic International Film Festival.
This film won the Best Documentary award at the 200
Worldwide International Fantasy Film Festival - Toronto

Sources

* Nicola Gordon Bowe. 1994. ''The Life and Work of Harry Clarke'' (Irish Academic Press)
''TG4'' awards 2004

''Celtic Media Festival'' awards 1980–2010

External links

''Harry Clarke - Darkness In Light'' official site
2003 films Irish documentary films Documentary films about visual artists History of glass Films set in the 1920s Films shot in Florida Irish-language films Arts and Crafts movement 2003 documentary films 2000s English-language films English-language documentary films 2000s Irish films {{Ireland-film-stub