Sacred, sensual, and sublime
A genre-bending exploration of the Himalayas, tantric Asia, and the nature of art itself.
“…the images have an almost hallucinatory impact. A viewer cannot help but react to the lucidity of the vision…. Most of the images are stunningly strange, almost apparitional.”
Washington Post review of Powell's exhibition at the Smithsonian, Washington, DC
58 MIN / 4K UHD / FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
World Premiere > Encore Screening Added!
Sat., Feb. 15 at 5:00 pm
SBIFF Film Center, 916 State Street, Santa Barbara
An eye-popping, yet intimate portrait of visionary Australian architect and ethnographic draftsman Robert Powell who became an acclaimed fine artist painter during his four decades living in the Himalayan cultures of Nepal and South Asia.
This celebration of Powell’s life work in stunning 4K+ detail is a visual delight. Employing high resolution scans of his paintings (up to 10k) and 2D motion graphics the film brings to life the mind-altering works of Robert Powell while tracing the stages (evolution) of his creative journey from grad student activist to young architect, to ethnographic draftsman to visionary artist extraordinaire.
Robert used a naturalist’s eye for microscopic detail and an anthropologist’s deep knowledge of cultural iconography to create eerily realistic images in ink, watercolors, and acrylic designed to strip away the preconceptions of scientific rationalism and conventional religion, uncovering—powerfully and often shockingly—the spiritual but always profoundly human meanings hidden in his sacred subjects.
Immersing himself in the ancient artisan cultures of the Himalayas, Powell developed not just a unique style but arguably an entirely new genre, as applied to his ability to breathe life into the sacred buildings and landscapes of the region—and to those of other Asian cultures.
Enchanted Matter follows the completion of Robert Powell’s artistic journey as he relocates to the idyllic island of Koh Samui off southern Thailand. Robert returns to Architecture and combines his extraordinary skill set to design the world-renowned wellness retreat of Kamalaya and a dream home built harmoniously within the island’s stunning rock formations and native tropical forest. It has been said that Kamalaya may be, “his greatest work of art.”
Robert Powell and Enchanted Matter
Robert Powell was influenced by social anthropologist Alfred Gell’s theory that reaching a state of enchantment with the subject matter is the technology of inspiration through which art is created. Powell states that, “shamanism was the first technology of enchantment” and it was from that point of view that he first began to explore his sacred subjects set within the powerful landscapes of the Himalayas. Robert believed that after the European Enlightenment brought rationality and scientific explanation to the world, it became an essential function of art to “make the world strange again” and to allow people to view the world with the type of enchantment that one experiences as a child.
Primarily an autobiographical film, contributions to Enchanted Matter are provided by interviews with those closest to Robert and his life’s work, including:
Author and ethnographic filmmaker Michael Oppitz who argues that a high quality drawing by a skilled draftsman can be a much more powerful illustrative tool for cultural documentation than a camera even in the age of high resolution digital photography.
Anthropolgist Charles Ramble PhD, Oxford who reveals how the ancient Himalayan cultures understood the sacred meaning of the natural color palette present in their environment and how rob incorporated that pigmentation into his creations…
Lieve Powell, Rob’s wife and muse, who provides insight into Powell’s deep passion for his art, the strong influence south Asian culture and architecture had on Robert and the way his extraordinary sensitivity was crucial to bringing the inanimate objects in his paintings to life.
The Filmmakers
Before finally losing his battle with a respiratory illness in December 2020 Robert asked Santa Barbara-based filmmakers Tom Piozet (Producer-Director) and Geoff Rockwell (Producer) to take over and complete his legacy film after production was paused in 2019.
Enchanted Matter is edited by Kathryn Himoff known for her work on the biopic’s Georgia O’Keeffe (which received nine Emmy and three Golden Globe nominations) and Pollock the story of world-renowned artist Jackson Pollock directed by Ed Harris. Pollack earned Mr. Harris an Oscar nomination and best supporting actress Academy Award for Marcia Gay Harden. The last feature doc collaboration between Tom Piozet (Producer-Director) and Kathryn Himoff (Editor) Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion won the SBIFF Audience Award and screened prominently at Toronto (TIFF) before going on to win awards on six continents. After a wide theatrical release, it became one of the original streaming titles on Netflix, and remained in their top thirty documentaries for five years. Five-time Emmy-winning composer Jeff Beal consulted on Enchanted Matter. Craig Dobbin known for his love of world music and years scoring the hit television series NCIS completed this very special soundtrack to Robert’s artistic journey along with contributions from up-and-coming talent Darren Huang.
If you are interested in acquiring the rights to exhibit this documentary film, please contact Home Planet Post by filling out the form below.
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