I have tossed this idea around among friends in the past, but have not ever actually done it yet... a group show based on lomography... (haha-- called "Lomo Arigato") dealing with the snapshot esthetic and those crazy little lomo (or holga) cameras...
I was just thinking... about the idea of pulling together a slightly low-brow concept show like this-- and somehow pull it off in Miami during Art Basel! Thus possibly making ourselves eligible for some travel grant money through VCU!!
http://www.lomography.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lomography
(Is this acceptable matterial on this blog?)
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Land des Schweigens und der Dunkelheit (Land of Silence And Darkness)
I just included a link cause I can.... ;)
Anyway, In my "material intelligence" class we watched the movie Land des Schweigens und der Dunkelheit by Werner Herzog. The premise of the film follows several characters in various states of deafness and blindness. Some from birth, some from progressive degeneration. The thing I found most interesting is that the film seems like a documentary, and in certain ways it is. Recently the idea of documentary film as objective truth has become better understood as subjective truth. Herzog's film does document the journey of one women's visitations of others with similar afflictions, however her personae acts as Herzog's guide though out the movie. We as the viewer view the film with the assistance of the guide and Herzog through her. The film explores what life and human existence means and is affected by our senses (or lack thereof). There is the obvious caveat in that that we the viewer rely both on sight and sound to interpret the film, however, the movie is in german. So with the exception of the native speakers, we must rely on an interpreter in order to understand the spoken word through subtitles. As I watched people forced to communicate through various interpreters it dawned on me the measure of trust that must exist between them. It occurred to me that the same trust must exist between us the viewer and the interpreter hired for the film. Interpretation is always the politics of language.
Anyway, In my "material intelligence" class we watched the movie Land des Schweigens und der Dunkelheit by Werner Herzog. The premise of the film follows several characters in various states of deafness and blindness. Some from birth, some from progressive degeneration. The thing I found most interesting is that the film seems like a documentary, and in certain ways it is. Recently the idea of documentary film as objective truth has become better understood as subjective truth. Herzog's film does document the journey of one women's visitations of others with similar afflictions, however her personae acts as Herzog's guide though out the movie. We as the viewer view the film with the assistance of the guide and Herzog through her. The film explores what life and human existence means and is affected by our senses (or lack thereof). There is the obvious caveat in that that we the viewer rely both on sight and sound to interpret the film, however, the movie is in german. So with the exception of the native speakers, we must rely on an interpreter in order to understand the spoken word through subtitles. As I watched people forced to communicate through various interpreters it dawned on me the measure of trust that must exist between them. It occurred to me that the same trust must exist between us the viewer and the interpreter hired for the film. Interpretation is always the politics of language.
Friday, August 24, 2007
The Sacrifice and Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Upon finishing Tarkovsky's last film "the Sacrifice" I cried those funny happy tears, the source of which were a mystery to me. In fact most of Tarkovsky's films often ended on a simliar note for me, especially in the realm of mystery - the sense of intuitive understanding as yet unstirred by the intellect, remaining hidden like a great secret. This resulting feeling was in fact the thing that kept me coming back to Tarkovsky's films. Now, I see how his films are so much like myths or fairy tales, and of course dreams. Ladened with powerful symbolism and archetypal conflicts his films have the power to communicate emotional and existential truths on an intuitive level, while still veiled in the shroud of secret hidden meanings and psychologically charged but opaque symbols.
The beauty of it all is that whence the intellect does stir and we do try to interpret Tarkovsky's work, a picture so rich and luminous develops it reminds me of the feeling which brought on the mysterious tears in the first place. It seems to spring from the same source - that is the intellectual understanding and the emotional experience. And the presence of both only enriches one another.
The article Zarathustra's Gift in Tarkovsky's The Sacrifice, does a great job of introducing some of the fundamental issues the director dealt with through out his career. Gino Moliterno also has 100% more interesting things to say about the film than I do. It's worth a read.
http://www.latrobe.edu.au/screeningthepast/firstrelease/fr0301/gmfr12a.htm
The beauty of it all is that whence the intellect does stir and we do try to interpret Tarkovsky's work, a picture so rich and luminous develops it reminds me of the feeling which brought on the mysterious tears in the first place. It seems to spring from the same source - that is the intellectual understanding and the emotional experience. And the presence of both only enriches one another.
The article Zarathustra's Gift in Tarkovsky's The Sacrifice, does a great job of introducing some of the fundamental issues the director dealt with through out his career. Gino Moliterno also has 100% more interesting things to say about the film than I do. It's worth a read.
http://www.latrobe.edu.au/screeningthepast/firstrelease/fr0301/gmfr12a.htm
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Local Show has Promise
This show is in Petersburg, and since I am not in town I will miss it. It looks like an interesting concept and work from Patrick Gregory, local filmmaker (and recent recipient of a Virginia Museum of Fine arts Grant) is in this exhibition.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Zeitgeist the Movie
I pulled this link from Boing Boing. It is a staggering two hours of conspiracy theory, anonymously posted to Google video. From and aesthetic point of view, It is a lot of quick editing, and not that arty, of course it is not trying to be. The premise, however is intriguing to me because of the impact of the viral video. Information from the fringes in video can work in many ways (for, against, backlash) and have the potential for many more viewers on the web. There is a lot of media theory in there somewhere. The impact and the outrage of some of the responses to this video are going to tell more of a story about what America is than the actual story. Yet it speaks of the disheartening and confusing complexities in government, religion and the perpetuation of the ultra rich. It is good to see people stand up to the institution from the conspiracy camp. Hopefully a healthy dialog will ensue instead of trollfights. Somehow, I doubt it though.
Please forgive my comparison here because Zeitgeist is attempting a world view of humanity, but there is a great deal of horrifying shots all slickly edited together for effect. Several parts make you feel like your eyes are going to bleed. I understand the premise, but feel that perhaps by stretching the facts to force a point it becomes almost a "historical fiction in the making".
So, it has me thinking about the esoteric "Trailer for the Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula" by Francesco Vezzoli. I think of this because it has the potential to speak on several levels about culture, while accepting and promoting the media as "entertainment". I find this angle brilliantly subversive, although I am pretty sure the intention of the Zeitgeist video may be informative (or dis-informative), it acts similarly in the end.
Please forgive my comparison here because Zeitgeist is attempting a world view of humanity, but there is a great deal of horrifying shots all slickly edited together for effect. Several parts make you feel like your eyes are going to bleed. I understand the premise, but feel that perhaps by stretching the facts to force a point it becomes almost a "historical fiction in the making".
So, it has me thinking about the esoteric "Trailer for the Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula" by Francesco Vezzoli. I think of this because it has the potential to speak on several levels about culture, while accepting and promoting the media as "entertainment". I find this angle brilliantly subversive, although I am pretty sure the intention of the Zeitgeist video may be informative (or dis-informative), it acts similarly in the end.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
300
I probably should not open with a Hollywood movie but I just watched this again.....
So, I guess like most people I cringe at the film 300 for it's homophobic and perhaps racially inappropriate scenes. Yet, I am a huge Frank Miller fan and the adaptation of 300 and Sin City were amazingly accurate. If you look at the content of 300, being historical fiction, then the only real problem comes from timing of the release. Spartans were a part of the free city/states of Greece and they were a militant society that valued strength and fearlessness. They had huge faults as do most cultures, one being that they were slave owners, another being that they used eugenics, yet claimed to be a free people. Maybe in their minds they were free, as we claim to be. Spartans did however have female equality and women owned up to 40% of their land.
I guess my point is that 300 is stylized and brutish, but beautiful in lighting, cinematography (or should I say post production filters), costume design with a dark fiction that highlights some of the problems of freedom, what it means. If I look at the tyrant Xerxes as an example of our current leaders, the movie takes on a new meaning. Frank Miller chooses topics that he says will never hit mainstream, yet he is so violent and his characters sometimes so deplorable, we can't help but watch. Like a slick slow motion car crash.
I do wish however, that the producers took more responsibility for the tone and the times, and got rid of the homophobic language, no one knows for sure if the Spartans were a strictly heterocentric culture.
So, I guess like most people I cringe at the film 300 for it's homophobic and perhaps racially inappropriate scenes. Yet, I am a huge Frank Miller fan and the adaptation of 300 and Sin City were amazingly accurate. If you look at the content of 300, being historical fiction, then the only real problem comes from timing of the release. Spartans were a part of the free city/states of Greece and they were a militant society that valued strength and fearlessness. They had huge faults as do most cultures, one being that they were slave owners, another being that they used eugenics, yet claimed to be a free people. Maybe in their minds they were free, as we claim to be. Spartans did however have female equality and women owned up to 40% of their land.
I guess my point is that 300 is stylized and brutish, but beautiful in lighting, cinematography (or should I say post production filters), costume design with a dark fiction that highlights some of the problems of freedom, what it means. If I look at the tyrant Xerxes as an example of our current leaders, the movie takes on a new meaning. Frank Miller chooses topics that he says will never hit mainstream, yet he is so violent and his characters sometimes so deplorable, we can't help but watch. Like a slick slow motion car crash.
I do wish however, that the producers took more responsibility for the tone and the times, and got rid of the homophobic language, no one knows for sure if the Spartans were a strictly heterocentric culture.
Friday, August 3, 2007
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This Blog has been created by the Fall 2007/2008 Graduate Photo and Film studio class, this blog contains opinions of individuals in this course and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the University.
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