Dimensions of Dialogue is a short stop motion animated film created in 1982 by surrealist artist, puppeteer, animator and filmmaker Jan Svankmajer. The film consists of three parts: ‘Exhaustive Discussion’ where Arcimboldo-esque heads consume and then regurgitate each other over and over, ‘Passionate Discourse’ in which a clay humanoid couple make love and violently reject the hunk of residue they leave behind, and ‘Factual Conversation’ where two heads fail to communicate by presenting objects to each other via their mouths. Svankmajer’s creates dialogue without the use of spoken word, but by depicting the bodies with grotesque imagery and emphasizing the failures in the act of communication. He uses the body to speak.
“Speech in an imperfect medium. Two minds are always
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Svankmajer takes his concept of incompatibility and the This is the film’s apotheosis, in which two heads with protruding life-like eyes face one another across a table. In turn, they present mutually compatible objects to each other, so that their interaction is as attuned as the sensual union that opened ‘Passionate Discourse’. One head presents a toothbrush and in return the other presents a tube of toothpaste and squeezes it onto the toothbrush. This continues with objects such as bread and butter, a shoe and shoelace, and pencil and pencil sharpener. At present, the interaction between the duo runs smoothly and is beneficial for both parties in this conversation. As this form of dialogue progresses, the objects start to mismatch, eventually becoming chaotic and almost uncomfortable to watch. The soundtrack accompanying this segment is fitting to the goring grotesque imagery – scraping, clattering and grating noises aid in creating the disturbing and cringe-worthy mood of the segment. ‘Exhausting Dialogue demonstrates just how difficult and rare it is for peaceful coexistence to