Why Noir? A Series on How Film Noir Inspires My Art

A series on how film noir inspires my art- Entry #1

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I am an artist who is inspired by the past. As a narrative painter, I feel compelled to tell a story with my art. For a number of years now, my subject matter has been primarily based on classic film noir imagery.

©lesliepetersonsapp Passion in the Suburbs

Since I started with this genre, I have engaged with authors, bloggers and social media groups devoted to the subject. I have found enthusiasts out there who seem to know every detail of every film noir; classic American noir, foreign noir, neo-noir- all the noir.

This level of detail and focus eludes me. My mind just doesn’t work that way.

I am an artist. Artists take input and use it as grist to generate unique output.

So, I feel I must ask myself, why noir? Why do I feel myself drawn to this imagery?

I seem compelled to tell a story with my art and create a narrative. For me, the act of telling a story is more important than the trappings of time, place and characters.


It is the essence of film noir that I am after, rather than the specific details. During the jazz age, a composer would write a song, then singers and musicians would perform their own version of it. But the structure of the song remained the same. I seek to take the elements of film noir and create my own, unique rendition.

Peer 48x24 ©lesliepetersonsapp

Film Noir? Qu'est-ce que c'est?

The hey-day of this film genre is roughly the 1940’s and 50’s. But, the term "Film Noir" was coined by French film critics later, in the 1960’s. At the time, they were simply known as “crime pictures” inspired by American hardboiled crime fiction. They were largely “B” movies with a tight budget.

Many of them were made by European émigrés escaping the Nazis. They brought with them a grounding in what is called “German Expressionism”.

The unique and sophisticated aesthetic was not fully appreciated at the time; crime movies ran under the radar and attracted no critical praise. But the superior film making techniques have made them gain popularity over the decades.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 1920

The techniques used include deep focus cinematography, extreme camera angles, dramatic lighting shone from raked angles, and chiaroscuro (which is a painterly technique developed during the Renaissance where use of deep variations of light and dark is used to enhance mood and create dramatic effect).

The term “noir” has since expanded to not just describe a moment in movie history, but to describe a sensibility, that can be infused into any form of expression.

To read more about film noir, you can read my posts:

A Brief Primer on Film Noir Part One: The Formal Visual Elements

A Brief Primer on Film Noir Part Two: Oh, the Drama!

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Or better yet!

Check out The Film Noir Foundation, which restores films noir and shows them at their film festivals.

It's founder, the Czar of Noir, Eddie Muller, is also a host on TCM's Noir Alley, which shows films noir every Saturday night and Sunday mornings.

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Why Noir? is a series! Read 'em all.