Architectural Proportioning Systems Old and New: Le Corbusier's Modulor and Vitruvius' Ideal Man 1

In Belly of an Architect, Greenaway uses symmetry to portray the antagonistic relationship between Roman architecture and culture, and the protagonist Stourley Kracklite. The American arrives in Rome with an egotistical assertion of authority, intending to stage the exhibition of his hero Louis Etienne Boullée, and immortalize himself at the same time.  However, Kracklite’s carnivorous coworkers, and a debilitating stomach illness quickly break his egoism and his authority.  Greenaway uses Kracklite’s descent into madness and illness to comment on the fallacy of the ideally symmetrical Vitruvian Man.  He contrasts the decay of the human figure (Kracklite), with the perpetual symmetry of classical architecture (Rome) - the eternal city. 

Peter Greenaway and cinematographer Sacha Vierny disregard the typical “rule of thirds” framing and compose each scene with the characters as the central figures, flanked by balanced groupings of people or framed by doorways, arches or colonnades. There is always a direct relationship between the scale of the human: the creator, and that of the architectural backdrop: the object.  However, Greenaway shifts the proportions between human and building as the movie progresses. At beginning of movie, Kracklite is most filmed in the foreground so that he dominates the scene and the architectural setting.  The symmetrical architecture frames and emphasizes his centrality in the shot.  Kracklite still views his position as one of authority.  However, as Kracklite loses control over his exhibition and is overcome by illness, he descends into madness, and hopelessness. He is no longer the perfect human model, but asymetrical, describing the growth in his stomach according to platonic forms “Sometimes spherical, sometimes a cube or cone”.  Accordingly, the perfectly proportioned architectural setting begins to dwarf Kracklite, such that large arches, staircases, and colonnades begin to dominate the scene.  Moreover, Greenaway begins to film Kracklite from a distance.  While he is still the central figure, he is much smaller than the rigidly symmetrical architecture.  Greenaway uses this technique to represent Kracklite’s deteriorating symmetry in comparison to the unchanging proportions of Rome.  This also represents the shift in authority from the architect to the architectural object and reflects the futility of Kracklite’s original egotism.  Eventually Kracklite will fade away (die) and the architecture will remain - the sole and perfect character in the scene. 

Greenaway uses a similarly symmetrical narrative structure for Belly of an Architect.  The simultaneous events that make up the climax of the film: Kracklite’s death, the birth of his child, and the opening of the exhibition, mirror the conception of Kracklite’s child at the beginning of the film.  This symmetry symbolizes the continuation of the lifecycle against the relative permanence of the built realm.

          

In his other film A Zed and Two Noughts, Greenaway Vierny again use symmetry to represent the decay of the human figure in contrast to its original perfection.  The death of the Deuce brother’s wives initiates the action of the movie.  We are initially presented with the symmetrical composition of the sisters, leaning against one another in the back seat of the car. There physical features appear unaltered, in their perfect state, however we told that they are dead.  It is the fear and obsession of their imminent decay i.e. asymmetry, that propels the Deuce brothers to study decomposition.  The studies are completed with a rigidly scientific procedure in contrast to the chance of the accident. The studied animal is placed upon a Cartesian grid - the symmetrical lines contrasting the organic progression of decay.

In contrast to the Deuce wives, Alba has survived the crash but is irreparably damaged by the loss of her right leg. She is no longer perfectly proportioned in the Vitruvian sense. Her doctor, Van Meergen reflects upon this, noting the “first symptom of decay” is the destruction of symmetry.  Hence, Alba’s decay commences and is irreversible.  Van Meergen convinces Alba to amputate the other leg to re-establish the balance and symmetry of her body.  However after the procedure Alba questions how much of ones body can you lose until it is unrecognizable. Like Kracklite she is slowly vanishing from the scene. Ultimately Alba’s suicide completes the process of decay.

Allison Janes, 2008