Stigmart10 VideoFocus Special Edition 2014

ZINKA BEJTIC SHAUN WILSON PARISA GHADERI JOSEPH GHALEB BOBBY GRIZINGER MORGAN TEEL YUAN LIU AMIE SCHOW EMMA KANTER VASILISA FORBES

From experimental cinema to fashion videography, ten artists breaking the boundaries Since its foundation, Stigmart10 has encouraged a conception of art based on a dynamic dialogue between artists and audience, reflecting the interactive nature of the creative act itself. A winning formula, according to the doubled number of submissions - more than 3600 applicants have submitted their video works and CV in 2014 - and the increasing popularity of our Biennial project. We are glad to present this year's edition of Videofocus, our special Stigmart10 review focused on independent cinema, videoart and fashion film.

Due to the advent of technologies like low budget cinecameras like Digital Bolex, in the last decade it came a true revolution in the video field. The fusion of differents worlds, like videoart, experimental cinema, and fashion video is attested by the increasing number of videoartists cooperating with filmmakers in the last decade, though this synergy is not limited to the improvement of the overall quality in mainstream cinema terms, but shows the great potential of a new generation of artists able to renew the cinematographic language itself from the inside.

The primary responsibility of our editorial board has always been to explore the relationships between contemporary art and the audience. Creating and supporting a fertile ground for innovation and dialogue does not necessarily require compromise: cinema is par excellence a syncretic art. Stigmart10 surveys the work of contemporary film and video artists never restricting themself to any single field, inviting the eye and the mind to travel further, crossing the boundaries of conventional cinema.

Every Biennale is a cohesive summary of the past two years of contemporary art and at the same time a fundamental platform for predicting future trends: this is why we proposed a special focus of this edition on fashion filmmakers: the artists presented in this Biennial Edition include a mixture of young and seasoned professionals, both offering highly original and captiving forms of cinema, often marked by the contamination of painterly and theatrical codes.

More than 20 years after Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle, we are proud to present an exclusive interview with the multi-talented Australian director Shaun Wilson currently working on "The 51 Paintings Suite", a titanic feature film pentalogy arousing great interest in the contemporary art scene, the surreal atmospheres of Zinka Bejtic's fashion film If I Don't, the collaboration between the independent filmmakers Amie Schow & Emma Kantor and much more. A special focus celebrating the first 50 years of Videoart include the works by Parisa Ghaderi, Bobby Grizinger and Morgan Teel.

Zinka Bejtic

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Artfilm & Fashion Cinema / If I don't.

Multidisciplinary artist and eclectic personality working as art director and filmmaker, Zinka Bejtic reveals his unique baroque imagery.

Shaun Wilson Independent Cinema /The 51 Painting suite Shaun Wilson's titanic effort to realize his stunning pentology aroused great interest in the independent film scene. Winter Orbit, the third episode, will be shooted next year in Belgium and it willmeasure 51 days in duration making it the worlds longest film.

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Amie Schow & Emma Kanter

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Independent cinema & fashion / Native tongue Financed thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign on kickstarter, Native Tongue is a refined fashion film realized by the talented duo Amie Schow & Emma Kantor featuring Karina Winkler, Gina Falcone, Aryanne Padiha

Joseph Ghaleb

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Fashion cinema / Concrete Love The sensuality of the colours of Ghaleb's shots and a masterly use of available light make him able to achieve a stunning balance between dreamlike atmospheres and natural environments.

Yuan Liu

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Experimental cinema / Scout's Day Dream Yuan Liu's cinema reveals a powerful surrealistic vein. Her works, whether they are videnstallations or music videos, are marked by a strong effort to explore the sub-conscious dimension.

Vasilisa Forbes

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Experimental cinema / Arc Vasilisa Forbes's cinema presents an original contamination of elements from fashion, Italian painters from the Renassaince and influence from Eastern filmmakers like Sergej Parad탑anov.

Focus: 50 years of videoart

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Stigmart10 Videofocus celebrates the first 50 years of videoart with a special selection of artists: Parisa Ghaderi, Bobby Grizinger, Morgan Teel.

Morgan Teel

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Videoart & Experimental cinema / Epicenter The act of pushing the limits in dance: Morgan Teel's experimental video is a stunning visual essay on the inner nature of movement.

Bobby Grizinger

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Videoart & Experimental cinema / Just Breathe Just Breathe is a short experimental video exploring themes of confusion and alienation. It begins as an unnamed man enters the scene and begins relating a series of fragmented events.

Parisa Ghaderi Videoart & Experimental cinema / De.Tach.Ment An immersive video experience, Parisa Ghaderi's De.Tach.Ment visualizes all conflicting emotions and mixed feelings people experience every time

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Zinka Bejtic's fashion video Split reveals a masterly use of geometric patterns and black and white cinematography. Multidisciplinary artist and eclectic personality working as art director, designer and film editor too, in this film Zinka succeeds in exploring asymmetry and contrast in her models reminding us of the pre-Dadaist experiment in photography by Francis Bruguiere.

Zinka, how did you get started in filmmaking?

I was always fascinated with the relationship between sound and image.

Even though my formal education was in visual communication, after graduating from the university I decided that I wanted to explore the moving image - postproduction to be more specific.

So, I became the video editor first, which for most directors is the best way to start their film careers. Learning to direct a film through the editor’s eyes is priceless experience for a director. On the other hand, having background in graphic design gave me an advantage in the world of film because I tend to look at the aesthetics of a screen from a different perspective. This combination and exposure to both radically different professions spontaneously developed my passion for art film, a format that liberates me and enables me to develop my creative style. Which is, like you said, eclectic. I like simplicity in form and complexity in meaning.

Art film rejects the mainstream conventions and explores the the medium itself, it is personal and I like the fact that my films can be interpreted on many different levels, depending on social or cultural aspect of the person watching.

We love artists and cinematographers crossing the boundaries of cinematic genres. We have been impressed by the stunning baroque imagery present in your fashion art film If I Don't. Could you introduce our readers to this work?

How did you come up with the idea for If I Don't.?

If I don’t was a project done for the fashion association Modiko from Sarajevo, in cooperation with the British Council. I was assigned a group of four different designers Amna Kunovac Zekic, Jasna Hadzimehmedovic Bekric, Ata Omerbasic and Milan Senic and my task was to create a concept for the film that would provide a platform for four different outfits to be represented in one single film. At the time, we’ve had a great pleasure of meeting prominent British fashion filmmakers Kathryn Ferguson, Elisha Smith – Leverock and fashion designer David Saunders of brand DavidDavid and the opportunity to collaborate with them in a three-day workshop.

Even though fashion film format is mostly non-narrative, my idea was to include a simple storyline that still was in a way abstract and very much open to the interpretation. The film asks a question how does what we put on alter our personalities? As the ideals of beauty change, the concept of empowerment through fashion remains strong as it suggests self-expression and identifies the idea of beauty as the tool for conceptualization of positive self-image rather than a simple interpretation of clothes. Metamorphosis through fashion indicates that power is in the hands of the subject and not the observer. In the film, four different personalities emerge out of the single character.

This type of expression suggests the choice, freedom, strength, power and control, attributes that signify beauty in the modern society. Fashion takes on the symbolic and aesthetic role and communicates on different levels offering a glimpse of the lifestyle, personality and character, making the very idea of beauty that much more intriguing and more complex to interpret. We were filming in Sarajevo national theatre warehouse, a set that helped us create a contemporary and mystical world. It was great working with the fashion designers and lot of fun

on the set. Later, I continued to work with Milan Senic who was behind styling and fashion design for Split, my most recent film.

Your art is rich of references. It is very difficult for contemporary artists to quote the classical age, however, sometimes this kind of research is not simply an attitude to quotation: it could give astonishing results, just think of Romeo Castellucci's incredible works, which are rich of quotation from Italian paintings...we have really appreciated the contrast between baroque costumes from the 18th century and contemporary location in If I Don't. Could you introduce our readers to this particular aspect of this work?

This contrast was exactly what gave character to the film. The idea was to create a surreal environment that would visually suggest the fantasy, dream or escapism of some kind. Contrasts of many sorts are evident in my work and I think

it’s the idea of juxtaposition of unexpected elements that creates tension, necessary to engage the audience. Since this format relies heavily on the aesthetics of the screen rather than the storyline and the narrative, it’s important to give it tension and advance the aesthetic appeal in such way.

There is a suggestive aspect of the horror genre implied through the technical conventions of the film. The sound was an important element through which the sense of uneasiness was introduced. I wanted it to seem mysterious and unexpected, I wanted the fear of the unknown to be the main protagonist.

The film begins with that in mind and ends with a realization that it is imaginary.

This notion led to the title that poses a question “If I don’t”. We always think about what if I do something, but I think it’s more important to think about the opposite. What if I don’t?

What draws you to a particular subject?

I like to explore the problematic of modern society through visualization of simple storylines where most of the action is open for interpretation. I like to suggest and not show things literally. I place a lot of focus on the visual expression, graphic elements not only through abstract imagery but also laws of the frame and mise-en-scene, visual contrast, colors and movement.

Subjects of my work often explore dichotomies between inside and outside, polished and rough, physical and emotional.I’m very passionate about fashion and fashion film. I believe that today, more than ever it’s an outlet for representing values and beliefs. It has never been so easy to brand oneself, yet so hard to be distinguished. Both, fashion and advertising are ever-changing arts according to the public demand. Short films created on behalf of the brands represent the artistic approach to

marketing and its impact on the culture and society is yet to become clear. As advertisers are adapting to the new mediums, so do filmmakers by employing the conventions and creating films that are works of art. The internet will continue to provide a platform for promotion of such medium through brands’ websites, social media as well as popular sites like ShowStudio.

This change of industry standard presents new and different expectations for all aspects of fashion world. It does bring a modern twist to what we see as aesthetic quality and it challenges the previous notions of fashion as art. This switch to fashion film can only make the fashion industry a more legitimised art form and allow the more natural penetration into our perception with main role – to define what is beautiful.

As an artist, how important do you think it is to teach what you practice?

I’ve been fortunate enough to have two

careers that I love and care about deeply.

Besides being a practicing artist and filmmaker I am a full-time professor of art and design. I’ve been teaching for twelve years in different countries. For the past year, I’ve had a great pleasure of living in the United Arab Emirates and teaching at the College of Architecture Art and Design at the American University of Sharjah. I am amazed at how talented and ambitious the students are today. How fast they learn and pick up information, new trends and techniques. I love spending time with my students and watching them get that ‘a-ha’ moment, seeing the spark in their eyes and excitement when they become consumed by the project. I recognize myself in them, remember those wonderful moments when you forget to eat, drink or sleep because you’re so engaged in your work, when you know that you’re creating something that will push your personal boundaries and take you to the new creative level. It’s great for me to be able

to do my own work but at the same time to also have an opportunity to open the doors for someone else, show them the way. Teaching methodologies today and undergoing significant changes. As educators, we have to adapt to, not only new and constantly changing technologies, but to new pacing and different mindsets. Students learn much faster today, they are generally speaking more technically up to speed and more innovative. They don’t take things for granted but instead challenge everything, which is a step forward from the type of linear education my generation used to have. And even though everything is accessible online and you can teach yourself just about anything if you want, still, I think the idea of someone standing in front of them not so much to teach them or feed them information but inspire them is very important. In today’s busy world, children often lack real role models.

I am not implying that I should be one, but more often then not, I feel that I am. And

that gives me a great responsibility as I spend time with them, shaping their minds and helping them pave the way into the future. In my opinion, educating someone means feeding them with passion and information to keep the excitement and positive energy. Everyone will be good at doing what they love.

Finding what that is represents the hardest thing for most people. I feel very honored and privileged to have that opportunity and I sincerely enjoy being able to share my skills and my knowledge with students. And there’s nothing more wonderful than being blown away by an amazing project they created because I was able to inspire them.

Your video production is very miscellaneous: how has your production processes changed over the years?

Right after graduation I started working as the editor. I’ve edited short films and

documentaries mostly. As we know, editor defines a documentary so this is where I’ve practiced making decisions and learned about story structure, whether it’s linear or non-linear. I am still fascinated by documentary films. I think there are so many stories to be told and I wish I had more time to dedicate to this segment of filmmaking. Yet, the short format, art film was what captured my attention mostly because of the creative freedom. I love working in teams however, I also like to be able to determine the visual language of the film based on the mood and of course, the sound. The sound fascinates me, its relationship to the image, the rhythm in general whether visceral or aural is something that I tend to explore while creating films, while editing. I’ve been fortunate to have worked with the team of same people who know my directing style and who understand the process that I always go through when envisioning an idea. Most of my films were shot in Sarajevo, a city that is full of

interesting, enthusiastic and talented people who are always excited to collaborate on a creative project.

We have said that your art is rich of references. Who among international artists influenced your work?

There are many artists whose work I admire. I am fascinated with the concept of associational form in which the film’s parts are juxtaposed to suggest similarities, contrasts, concepts, emotions, and expressive qualities. One of my favorite early art films is Filmstudie by Hans Richter from 1925. Early surrealist art films are great source of inspiration for fashion filmmakers. The same technical conventions expressed through sound and editing used in today’s contemporary films can be traced back to Fernand Leger, Man Ray and Kenneth Anger and Germaine Dulac whose film La coquille et le clergyman was considered a first surrealist

film ever. Personally, I draw inspiration from films made by John Whitney, visual experiments by Ernie Gehr and editing by Chris Welsby, a British experimental filmmaker and multimedia artist.

Thanks for sharing your time and thoughts, Zinka. What's next for Zinka Bejtic? Are there any film projects on the horizon?

The new academic year has just started so I’ll definitely be very busy teaching. I’ll be teaching a course in Experimental Film and I am looking forward to a great semester. In terms of professional work, there are few films lined up, footage has already been shot and it’s waiting for the right time, that moment of inspiration when I will most probably edit everything overnight. I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me. Thank you so much.

INDEPENDENT CINEMA

shaun wilson

Shaun Wilson's titanic effort to realize a stunning pentology titled "The 51 Paintings Suite" aroused great interest in the contemporary art scene and among representatives of the film festivals all over the world. His last feature film The Tailor of Autumn (2014) is currently in production, while the third episode Winter Orbit will be shooted next year in Belgium and it will measure 51 days in duration making it the worlds longest film. More than twenty years after Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle, we are honoured to present Shaun Wilson's works for this Videofocus Biennial Edition: his radical approach to filmmaking and the vivid recollections of his imagery sparkle with the clinical and refined cinematography characterizing his works. Shaun, how did you get started in filmmaking?

There is an audio recording made of me aged 4 made by my grandparents where I talk about a feature film I was going to make, set on the moon with robots that shot pills through laser guns. Its a classic Shaun scenario. After a failed attempt to remake the Thriller film clip in 1984 after our principal informed us that you don’t need to develop film to operate a VHS camera, I started film making in 1990 when I made my first short animated stop-go film about global warming and was tossing up between art school and film school. I chose art school over film school because at the time film grads in Australia needed about $50,000 to make their final film which I didn’t have so tried again the following year but the college I went to didn’t offer film making because I was the only student who enrolled in the production course. So throughout the 90s I started to plan out several feature films that then went on to become the projects we're filming now, so think of this period as 15 years of preproduction while I became a painter and later, an academic. From around 2000 onwards I started dabbling in video with occasional short films and video artworks which went into full time production from 2002 onwards. But essentially, that 4 year old kid was right, it just took a while.

You are currently working on your pentology "The 51 Paintings Suite", whose final episode will be filmed in 2016. Could you introduce our readers

to this epic project ? How did you come up with the idea for this long cycle of five feature films?

The project began in 2006 when I visited St Michaels Church in Schwabisch Hall, Germany that was the first southern outpost used by Martin Luther in the reformation. I was directing a film and memory conference in the town and on the final night, my university credit card didn’t work so I had to pay for the conference dinner out of my own funds which left me with 8 euro to get back home. I more or less starved for three days and on the third day was hallucinating out of hunger so I sat in the church for an afternoon and looked up at the paintings which all seemed to come alive. Its kinda weird but the only way I can describe it at that point was that the paintings talked to me. Its then I had the idea to mimic the poses of each character in the paintings and place them into new reconfigured compositions which to me, acted like a memory of the original painting echoed in the new works. This takes up the idea of Proust when he made the distinction of metaphor (the subject) and metonym (the condition of the subject). Six weeks later I flew back to the town and started rolling on what I thought was a three day shoot that turned into 7 years. And thats how it all started.

In Uber Memoria we notice a radical use of long-takes reminding us of Tsai Ming Liang's cinema: how did you develop this fascinating slow rhythm narration?

I’m a big supporter of Murch when he bemoaned that the average shot length of contemporary cinema is becoming much more fast paced than it was even say, twenty years ago and that said, longer takes consume the audience in ways that are impossible to seduce with shorter ASLs. So to combat this I usually envelope longer shot lengths and crop my work at 2.40 aspect ratio. But on that point its deceiving because what I do is use the black bars in a correct aspect ratio as a signatory of the edition numbers; black is an artist proof, blue is 1/8, pink is 2/8 and so on. How I number my limited edition video and film works is by the top and bottom bars. I don’t think people noticed that but if you saw the other works, you’d comprehend it straight away.

A still from Uber Memoria XIX

A still from Uber Memoria XIX

Your video production is very miscellanous: while your early works has been shot on HDV, now you are working mainly with professional cinema equipement. How has your production processes changed over the years?

The type of cameras used in the films are dictated by what emotion I want to convey in the subject. A good example is what we’re doing on the next film Winter Orbit where the first act is shot in HD, the second act is shot on VHS, and the 3rd act is shot in 4K RAW. I originally wanted to shoot 51 Paintings on 35mm film but couldn’t afford the stock, so I had to wait till camera technologies caught up to give me a full gamete of filmic looks. That said, I think a lot of cinematic-based video artists such as myself prefer a 35mm look over a video look but its only in the last two years that we have had the equivalent on digital by shooting raw that can democratise the production process into something more grass roots then exclusively for larger budget projects. I consider different types of cameras as ‘flavours’ of the frame which is not unlike shooting 16mm where the type of stock dictates what ‘look' the film would ultimately present.

Leon Marvell describes your work in Photofile as 'an ambitious and exquisitely realised exploration of the tension between artifact and memory'.

Autobiographical memory is no doubt a central theme in your films: in your art research you have evenoften deconstructed your family home movies.

Could you introduce our readers to this fundamental aspect of you art?

The Filmic Memorials project started in 2002 when I found a dusty bag of processed 8mm film shot by my late father in the 70s. The thing was, no one had ever seen the films because we never had a projector, so threading the reels and projecting them for the first time was quite an emotional experience given at that point, Dad had died only three years prior (aged 51, hence the title 51 paintings). I gathered up a bunch of old train set models my father built for me as a kid and projected the 8mm film onto the surface then filmed the models with the projections in the single frame. To me they were one of my best works because of the rawness it evoked and that technique went on to form the basis of my PhD which looked at memory palaces, especially from Roman and

A still from Uber Memoria XIX

medieval perspectives. At the same time, I was documenting my grandfather’s collection of standard 8mm films he shot while in the USAF between the mid 50s to the mid 80s with standout depictions of the cold war, especially scenes on airbases in postwar Germany, Guam, and the Cuban missile crisis.

So while I’ve been working on the 51 Paintings Suite, and progress on Filmic Memorials stopped in 2006, I’ve been waiting until film scanning technology became cheaper and more accessible. The home movies are now quite delicate and need to be scanned instead of projected in order to protect the celluloid from snapping. Evidently, its only in the last 6 months that 4K film scanning in Australia has come into its own which, depending on if I can finance it, means I can get the entire family collection scanned in 4K RAW and use this as source material for the next project after 51 Paintings concludes in two years. Moreover, its a way of preserving the home movies digitally in ways that HD resolution could never achieve. Thats going to be five feature length films made entirely of family footage with durations, I think, beyond 51 days each although Im not sure to what length each instalment will be.

My initial tests were that I created a 3 year

timeline in FCPX and I’m trying out a 15 year timeline on a souped up Mac Pro at RMIT University (where I teach). So it all depends on storage and software but it seams that out of every NLE I’ve worked with (Avid, Lightworks, PrPro, FCP etc), FCPX is the only version that can handle such massive durations. In effect, I only use software that can support my ideas of extreme time lengths. If I had the technology to make a 1000 year film, I would. Imagine what the programers at Sundance might say to that?

Watching your films, we found that the figure of the astronaut is a kind of topos in your surreal imagery: could you better explain the role of this fascinating character so recurrent in your films?

While we were developing our sci fi film, I wanted to use the apollo costume into an art context to further explore the role of ‘striking’ - this is a term often used to prescribe the construction of a memory palace. The idea behind such is to construct a dwelling inside one’s mind and furnish it with objects that represent the items you seek to recall at a later time. In this process, the mnemonic texts (namely Ad Herrenium, and Cicero’s De

A still from Uber Memoria XIX

Oratore) talk of creating striking images that differentiated themselves from ordinary, everyday images to instead use with what we would now understand as being surreal, shocking or contrasted. The astronaut roaming around the National Gallery of Victoria seemed to serve this purpose quite well as its quite out of place with its surroundings. You’ll see a lot more of ‘Astro’ (nickname on set) in the Tailor of Autumn and beyond.

We have previously quoted Matthew Barney in this interview, but your influences include Bill Viola and EijaLiisa Ahtila too. How they have affected your work?

I think in recent years the influences have crossed over into the cinematic frame so Wes Anderson and Mike Nichols are certainly of influence as well. I say that because, obviously, Wes utilises composition and framing like art history and Mike uses long duration shots like rhythmic theatre, as found in Catch 22 which really is up there with THX1138 as understated masterpieces of 20th century cinema. I like Bill’s work because of the poetic tensions he creates and EijaLiisa because of the subtleties that come from

the subject. There’s probably a bunch of other stuff that I could say but thats the short version. Oh, I like Shaun Wilson’s work, did I mention that?

Thanks for sharing your time and thoughts, Shaun, our best wishes for continued success with your film screenings. What's next for Shaun Wilson?

I am shooting a narrative feature film in November and December - all I can say is that its a sci fi, I’m rolling camera and directing, and we’ve had tremendous support from Sony and the Sony Ci team, so watch this space...

Dr Shaun Wilson Producer Honeyhouse Films P/L Australia

ART CINEMA/FASHION

amie schow & emma kantor

Native Tongue, production still. In the photo: Aryanne Padilha and Gina Falcone

From the first time we watched Native Tongue we were astonished by distinct style of Amie and Emma blending baroque images and fantasy: the impression was overwhelming. Amie and Emma are eclectic artists, working with fashion editing, costume design and experimental cinema: as a filmmakers they love to keep the control of numerous aspects of their creation. In the last years Stigmart10 has supported the spread of fashion films, promoting filmmakers' cross-genre experimentation. Amie and Emma's film, realized thanks to a successful crowdfunding operation via kickstarter,seems to confirm contemporary fashion cinema as a crucial trend of the current decade.

We are pleased to present their work for this Biennale Edition. Amie and Emma, first of all, how did you get started in filmmaking?

A: I would say this project IS how I got started in filmmaking. Prior to Native Tongue my experience with filmmaking was strictly limited to the wardrobe department. I had done costume design and styling for a couple of short films and music videos but Native Tongue was my first time being involved with production and creative direction. It really all happened very quickly once the ball was rolling - when Emma moved to LA, what started as two old friends catching up on a couch suddenly became a glaringly obvious, seize the moment and collaborate NOW moment - and we barely pulled it off in the limited time we had! Every step of producing this film has been a learning experience for me.

Emma was a much more prepared in that department.

E: I began exploring filmmaking in high school. I was in the drama program and our drama teacher added a filmmaking class to his curriculum, which I immediately signed up for. My parents weremovie buffs and I think I always

wanted a way into that world. When I was a kid acting seemed like the obvious entry point, but after a few years of Drama classes it became clear to me that I was terrible at acting, but much better at helping people find their truth on stage or in front of the camera. I majored in film in college and it was there, in Santa Barbara, that I learned the ins and outs of getting your small, passion projects made.

Native Tongue deals with the story of a modern day explorer: we daresay that the nature of the film is ritualistic and initiatic. Could you introduce our readers to this aspect of your work?

A: Well, we wanted the character we refer to as “the hunter” to represent the modern world. so to speak. The girls represented our tribe of natives; living off the land and thriving in their natural habitat. The hunter is eager to catch the girls, though we never are quite certain the reality of the hunt, as the whole thing seems almost like a dream - the girls appear to him as if in another plane.

They’re always just out of his reach. But we tried to keep the narrative loose and open for interpretation.

E: The questions Amie and I asked ourselves when trying to create a visual world for Amie’s collection were extensions of the questions she was trying to answer in the construction of Native Tongue. What if Columbus had never discovered the Americas? What if native tribal ‘Americans’ had been living nomadically for 200 more years, with no interruptions, no forced removal, no enslavement, no relocation to reservations. Amie created these beautiful pieces of clothing that used natural, raw materials - leather, wool, the hide of a stingray - but could conceivably still be worn by a nomadic people that lived in harmony with the natural world in the 21st century. And yes, there is something ritualistic, something ineffable happening in the narrative. The second

looks that come into play halfway through the film are the ritual garb these women wear as they call on the spirits of the natural world (through an epic dance party with a killer view) to help them will this intruder out of their homeland.

Could you tell us a particular episode who has helped the birth of Native Tongue?

A: There were a few separate instances that eventually revealed a common thread that inspired the creation of Native Tongue.

Native Tongue, before it evolved into a fashion short, was the name of my thesis collection made during my senior year of fashion design school. When first approaching the task of making a collection of clothing I thought hard about a question often asked of me in school: “It’s your first collection as a new designer, what do you want to say?” Undeniably, the way people

dress gives you your first inkling as to who they are. What you choose to wear, what you choose not to wear - fashion is the physical representation of a universal language which we all inevitably speak. In this way, fashion has great power. As a form of expression, as a method of storytelling, fashion is history and modernity rolled and cut and stitched into one. With these thoughts floating in my head I took a critical look at fashion trends and what was “in”. At the time, Native American inspired “trends” were all over the market. I found multiple instances of bastardization of Native American culture and imagery in current fashion, and cries of outrage from the Native American community in response.

The “Native American Trend” is a prime example of the misuse of content in the apparel industry and the power, and resulting responsibility, fashion has in our

society. With this in mind I saw my collection as an opportunity to try and create something not just bold and new, but culturally aware. Native Tongue is my attempt to make a respectful homage to the beauty so prevalent in all facets of Native American culture, and to the materials and movement of traditional regalia. Putting my own twist on it and playing into my design point of view, which is very modern and avant garde, I chose to explore the “what if?� in this collection.

These clothes are my rendering of what current fashion might look like had people native to the Americas never been colonized or assimilated.

Rather than lifting traditional patterns and textures from the surface of these garments, as done in recent trends, I tried to reference Native American heritage indirectly by combining traditional elements and materials with modern

design and technique. Next came the film.

Lucky to have such a good friend also working in a creative field with similar interests, Emma has been one of my main go tos for brainstorms and a good honest opinion for years - the girl is wicked smart.

Like I mentioned, after years of long distance friendship our paths crossed briefly in LA, and during one of these late night brainstorming sessions we realized our chance to finally collaborate.

I had a collection fresh off the runway, Emma had recently graduated film school and was eager to direct - we were both intrigued by the new genre of fashion film.

The rest was obvious. She helped me flush out the story I had begun to tell with the collection and breathe life into the narrative aspect of the clothing. Things sort of just fell into place from there. Ok wait that is an understatement - there were many moments of “how the hell are we

going to pull this off” - but they were all qualmed by the overwhelming and exciting feeling best described in one of our mutually favorite movies Almost Famous: “it’s all happening.”

Fashion cinema is a new genre gaining popularity in the current decade, just think of the increasing number of festivals 89celebrating it.

While the partnership between fashion world and contemporary art is a matter of fact since the 60s, your works goes beyond this formula, blurring the boundaries between narrative and non-narrative cinema.

In a sense, we daresay that the winning formula of the contemporary generation of fashion filmmakers, is the fact that they have assimilated the lessons of the great experimentators of the last decades, like William Klein and Alain RobbeGrillet. What is fashion cinema for you?

E: Amie and I both come from the school of thought that it is necessary to engage in a conversation with the world and

culture you exist in through whatever means available to you. Fashion and film are two of the most versatile ways that human beings engage in a dialogue with one another about what is important, relevant, and exciting to them in their present cultural moment.

Naturally you look to the artists who came before you when looking for inspiration.

Along with William Klein, photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Gregory Crewsden, and Steven Klein, people who really tell stories in their images and give a sense of momentum, have been hugely influential. It almost feels like cheating when you have 24 frames per second to tell a story compared to the single frame they used A: As a designer you work for months, years even, on a piece of clothing to get it just right. And for me, I do it knowing that it will all be worth it when I see a real person making real memories in my garment - that perhaps my garment has inspired them or given them a special kind of confidence that will make these memories into pieces of their life story.

With fashion film I get to help choose the story. When it comes to sharing your work with an audience, film is the most comprehensive way to share a feeling with somebody. Fashion film is a very exciting genre to those of us in the fashion world who want to say more with clothing for this reason - it’s our own little bubble to go wild in.

Native Tongue has been financed through a successful crowdfunding operation. Could you take us through your crowdfunding process?

A: Ah, the roller coaster ride that is crowdfunding...first of all, side note, I had no idea how hard it is to make a clever little kickstarter video until this experience. People make it look so effortless, and maybe it’s just me - I see a lot of awesome videos that make wanting to donate a no brainer, but when it came time to write a script and sit in front of the camera I felt about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike - I am super camera shy.

Emma did some major long distance directing and a lot of editing, and eventually with some clever tricks we did

alright I think. It worked anyhow! I think with crowdfunding it’s important to be as honest as possible, keep it as short as possible, and offer worthwhile rewards for those who donate.

Your use of color is not merely aimed at achieving extremely refined composition: your cinematography seems to be deeply influenced by the emotional potential of color : could you better explain this aspect of your shooting style?

A: First of all, let me just say how lucky we were to get to shoot where we did. The Ranch (El Rancho Cienaga Del Gabilan officially, but referred to by those who know it as “The Ranch”) is one of the most beautiful and inspiring places I’ve ever been. I’m super lucky to get to go to the ranch a few times a year, as I am good friends with the owners.

The ranch is a different color season to season, so we waited until August, the driest part of the year, to obtain a color palette in the location that matched that of the clothing and overall mood of the

piece. Then when we color corrected the footage in post, we de-saturated the first half of the film, gradually building to full saturation at the film’s finale. We wanted the color to reflect the pace of the film, the growing intensity of the chase, and the triumphant finale.

E: Color is so important for designers and filmmakers. I always marveled at how the mood boards Amie has on the walls of her studio look remarkably familiar to the mood boards cinematographer’s work with. And that’s what color does, it creates mood and emotion. One of my favorite stories is how Stanley Kubrick demanded that his production designers make a green-felted table for the massive roundtable in Dr. Strangelove.

The movie was being shot in black and white, so why did it matter that the table was green? Kubrick wanted the actors to feel like they were at the world’s most important poker match. It was very important for us to find scenery that complimented Amie’s color palette, so we ended up finding three distinct trees that helped to enhance the different looks of each of our girls for their tighter beauty and detail sequences.

We have quoted William Klein, however your work reveal many references to classical painting too: would you tell us your main influences in filmmaking?

E: I think first and foremost everyone’s main influences come from their own lives and their direct experiences. Amie and I grew up in Northern California and the landscape there is remarkably unique. At first we were talking about shooting Native Tongue in the desert in Joshua Tree, which logistically made sense because Amie is based in Los Angeles.

Luckily, however, our good friends own this incredible 11,000 acre cattle ranch in Central California and once we got permission to shoot there, the geography of the ranch became hugely influential.

The landscape on the ranch is incredibly grandiose, to the point where, when talking about certain establishing shots, I think I threw some names out like Terrence Malick and Stanely Kubrick. My cinematographer may have laughed at me, but he certainly delivered. When it comes to more direct influences for this brand new medium of fashion film, we looked to some other filmmakers who were telling visually striking, narratively

rich, and oftentimes enigmatic, stories.

Filmmakers like Floria Sigismondi, Stephanie di Giusto and Melina Matsoukas. Wardrobe does not just mean clothes for those women, it’s about the person you can become in the clothes, the mood and the story the clothes create, and what can be said without dialogue.

And classical painting is definitely the great-great-grandmother to the type of storytelling you’re seeing in fashion film, just look at something like Fragonard’s ‘The Swing’.

Camera movement is one of the tools in the filmmaker's arsenal that can bring a visionary touch, just think of Sorrentino's The Great Beauty. Your DoP Orlando Duguay used a Steadicam in this project. Could you comment this stylistic choice?

A: Steadicam is sexy, and Orlando is the man!

E: Steadicam is incredibly sexy! It makes the viewer feel like they’re dancing with the girls and floating through their world.

Orlando was handheld every time we filmed the hunter because he’s bringing the chaos and tumult of the outside world

and he lacks the natural grace and oneness with nature the girls possess.

Thanks for sharing your time and thoughts, Amie & Emma. Are there any collaborations on the horizon?

A: I hope so! For now though it’s difficult because Emma is living in Brooklyn and I am in Los Angeles. I am working freelance as a stylist - photoshoots music videos tv short films etc. - and squeezing in collaborative shoots with local talent in my free time. Hoping to make more fashion films soon!

E: I’m still concocting a plot to kidnap Amie, bring her to Brooklyn, and force her to work on another project with me! I’m thinking something totally different from the natural, exterior world of Native Tongue. I want to shoot a fashion film on old VHS camcorders and do something kooky, like a home video mash-up of a twisted little girl’s birthday party in an abandoned building. Something messy and urban and glamourous in the way everyone wishes they had the nerve to be.

But my heart is truly in California, so chances are we’ll be meeting back up in LA sooner rather than later.

ARTFILM/FASHION

joseph ghaleb

We are honoured to host for this 6th Videofocus Biennale the works by Joseph Ghaleb, a talented Canadian cinematographer and director: his films, whether they are videoart installations or fashion videos, are pervaded by a unique atmosphere. In his hands, the camera and the subject seem to truly open themselves to the process of intimate gazing: the sensuality of the colours of his shots and a masterly use of available light make him able to achieve a stunning balance between dreamlike atmospheres and natural environments. Joseph, how did you get started in filmmaking?

you introduce our readers to this fundamental aspect of your filmmaking?

Besides my obsession with the family camcorder at a young age, I am pretty sure the decision to get into serious filmmaking stemmed from seeing my older cousin’s midterm short film. When I witnessed that kind of creativity, not to mention a beautiful integration of one of my favourite radiohead tracks, I was floored. I quickly had to break the bad news to my parents and enrol into the same fine arts program he was in.

The experience was tremendous. My role as VFX artist, compositor and editor alongside my dear friends Felix & Paul, whom both directed this project, allowed me to collaborate with some of the most talented artists in my city. Helping create such rich and elaborate visuals for a great cause was an opportunity and an accomplishment I will never forget.

We have been impressed with the way you reshape a familiar space in your short film Home. How did you come up with the idea for this work?

During a slow creative period, I felt the need for a fresh jolt of motivation. My dear friend and mentor called me one day and said: I will give you 1000 if you go grab the model of your choice, pick any one one of your friends homes, and simply shoot her on a bed strictly with the natural window light. He repeated: Her, bed, window, her, bed, window etc. I got up, called the modelling agency and booked a buddies home. The rest was a product of the moment… As for the 1000, well, it was actually 1000 hugs.

The theme of lingering memories is recurrent in your films, just think of your video Midnight Morning where you adopt a non-linear narrative style. Could

I seem to have a natural inclination for exploring imagery and relations from a character’s intimate point of view. The idea of memory and reflexivity is such an ever present human faculty that I feel it to be a friendly device for compelling dream-like story-telling.

"One night under a blue sky" is a film made from a larger cycle of visuals produced for a Bell Event supporting the center of addiction and mental health.

Could you describe this experience?

Your first works were shot on DSLR cameras with amazing results, thanks to your color grading skills too, while today you use professional Red cine cameras.

How has your production processes changed over the years?

Over the years, one main aspect has definitely allowed me more visually expressive range: Raw Recording. The ability to have and utilize a wider scope of data in post-production totally opens the door for extensive color grading options. It felt like I was painting on a canvas with nearly all the colour palettes at my disposal. However I still use my handy Panasonic GH4 when in need of something lightweight.

What is most amazing is that RAW recording capabilities will inevitably spread through most of the DSLR marketplace in arguably less then a year and a half… and that may be some of the most exciting news any of us filmmakers can desire.

Is it important to you to be up to date with changing technology? Does the format you’re shooting on matter?

Yes and No. On one hand, It definitely matters to be aware of what new toys are available in the industry, especially alongside a team and a client - your images will thank you for it - but on the other hand, despite how staggering you can make your shots look, a filmmaker’s primary attention should be set on his vision, the story and the music.

Sometimes a cheap dslr is enough for that.

You are not only a videoartist, your photo series present painterly qualities.

In what manner your work as photographer influences your videomaking?

This is a great question. Come to think about it now, they seem to both influence each other back and forth. As we know with photography, there is a flood of life’s dynamism being offered to you through the viewfinder, and in the urgency to compose the shot and be creative, one must intuitively be present and capture the moment.

That being said, In film I often record in high frame rates in order to slow the images down

and create the similar sense of contemplation one gets by looking at stills. However, in regards to photography, I sometimes feel like giving static images a sense of motion and movement.

Artists are often asked about the inspiration for their work...have other cinematographers influenced your work?

Absolutely: Philippe Le Sourd, Patrick Duroux, Franck Leclerc Thanks for sharing your time and thoughts, Joseph .What's next for Joseph Ghaleb? Are there any new film projects on the horizon?

This year will hopefully be a busy one as I am on my way to be represented by a few agencies across the states. I am eager and excited to create more beautiful short films as well as memorable commercial work. I am also currently in the process of co-directing and shooting a documentary - music film called Reverie. I am just happy to know people respond well to my style. Thank you

Joseph Ghaleb is a canadian born professional director, photographer & multimedia artist working in cinema, fashion & portraiture. What inevitably sets Joseph’s work apart from other directors & cinematographers is his highly developed artistic sensibility and his innate talent for capturing evocative images that leave a lasting impression on the viewer. Having initially studied graphic design, his vision can be attributed to his meticulous attention to detail and his dexterous choice and devotion in arousing the meditative and the aesthetic regardless of the subject.

He executes sensual and poetic photography, editing and colouring, while overseeing production goals from start to finish. Rather than being just a commodity or a technician, Joseph yearningly offers a complete vision.

Graduating with a bachelors degree in Design & Computation Arts at Concordia University, Joseph is dedicated to work that communicates and inspires.

EXPERIMENTAL CINEMA

Yuan Liu

I initially wanted to make this film to showcase my favorite instrument and my favorite drummer whom is one of the most technically advanced and free minded jazz musicians. I wanted to get up close in there, showing the drum set and how it is played from all different angles that you normally couldn't see from the seat of the audience- they are always putting the drummer in the back :) So what kind of stage should it be? why not a milk jar.

I was really influenced by "To Kill a mockingbird", and Martin Arnold's additive editing revision of the Scout and milk scenes in his works. I was recreating a scene like that in my living room and invited the drummer over for a Halloween dress up. Be Scout. And see what happens to the milk jar.

My film often touches on gender studies also. Who is the one that inspires? The man or the woman? When is inspiration needed from the lens of a egoless view of this physical world. Did the woman's initiation of the day dream and her end action of taking the milk stage away set the over arching event of the milk drumming world? Or is the whole surreal event a delusional episode? What troubles

or inspires us is ever more complicated than what is in front of us- books, milk jar, table, air. To watch and to initiate the surreal visual experience is an artistic pursuit that goes along with a bigger universal process- to learn and contribute and naturally drift within our physical and real context.

Yuan's approach to cinema: a letter to the sub-conscious... interested in magnifying surrealism in visuals in a free form... a mathematical contemplation on the social cache behind the individuation process of a quixotic way of life...

This is not my statement- but pat of why I try so hard to make cinema for American musicians here in nyc is that they are not getting paid for what they deserve and can never afford videos with higher production value, I want to come in and make these videos that compliment their music, but also for the lack of better words, to give away as a package full of understanding, recognition and confirmation of their help in shaping other artists' ideas.

Yuan Liu

Yuan Liu's cinema reveals a powerful surrealistic vein. Her works, whether they are video installations or music videos, are marked by a strong effort to explore the sub-conscious through the use of refined cinematography.

For this Videofocus Biennale we have selected her work Scout's Day Dream.

Yuan, could you take us through your creative process when starting a new project?

Most videos I make are music driven. I was a classically trained musician at an early age and began improvising in middle school and I have since been collecting data on how sound, harmony and compositions work. With each sound file I work with, I research the mechanism behind the piece and I brainstorm imageries on the go. My ideas often come to me when I am in action, and less when I am still. I have to interlace my actionpacked days with the quiet desk time under the moon to script out my ideas with texts, illustrations and hand-written cards to my creative partners. As a director and oftentimes my own production designer and producer for these music video projects, like in Scout’s Day Dream, I take my mission very seriously: I want to make videos for very devoted instrumentalists and improvisers and I hope for these videos to stay relevant to my creative community over a considerable period of time and yet I hope for them to act on their own as a unique holiday gifts dedicated to a time that never was.

I learned from my Reed College days in molecular biology labs that there would be no virtue making the right choice if you knew for certain that it was the right one to begin with, you have to think and dream to raise a valuable question, then you can be an accident investigator and use fragmented but detailed information that you have collected revolving around your project and write down the principal structure and form of your experiment.

You then can mix all your masteries and all your first attempts together and put them into action and analysis. And that is how I work when it comes to video making also. I keep experimenting and thinking

until that very electrifying second of imagery that screams intentionality behind each mental activity that I have just conducted right before, that’s when I stop brainstorming. That second of imagery is never the “correct” treatment, because there never is going to be a “correct” treatment. There are however the good moments that speak the matching mood, color, texture and vocabulary that compliments the music, that those moments at the same time does not exclude the newer uncertainties to come upon the video’s completion. My thoughts often travel freely from these different theoretical, and physical realities, and it is only through the constant looping through that I taste satisfaction for all the roles of filmmaking- the freedom you have, the respect for the craft, the response to something natural and supernatural, the poetic remark of your muse and the process of seeing where you allow this art form lead to.

I love surrealist movement and I am influenced by it. I love it because I am in the middle of understanding it. To me, It is not that surrealist artists obsess with the otherworldly thinking, the surrealists artists I am influenced by believe that too much evidence of another world would condition mankind to a much too melo mode of thought and behavior. They want to understand at such a speed that would bring balance and justice to their mind as a human, but also imagine as much as they can from the perspective of all the sentient beings other than humans. So they think fast and act fast as a way of life. I see a parallel between this way of life and the free minded musicians desire to improvise atop their highly technical abilities and their innovative ideas behind the sounds.

In Scout’s Day Dream, A big part of my process of collaborating with filmmaker friends and musicians alike is an introspection on our friendship and an open dialogue about our different views of our consciousness, and the missing pieces in our consciousness. The missing pieces in all of our consciousness is perhaps sounding like a pessimistic view, but what if we start to view the missing pieces

themselves in an isolated setting and gives a magical life to it. What if we choose to view that, those missing pieces, once acquired, momentarily even, don't make us higher, or better or more powerful, but it will make us more natural. “The missing pieces� is an action in its own context without our anthropomorphic expectations in the way of it, to search and understand and adrift towards its magical realism, I hope, would make all of us as natural and collectively sustainable as we could be.

As far as the storyline of my experimental cinema, I often take into account the basic peculiarity of human nature, that it is the mystery and crisis that keep us think on our toes and confront our problems directly, we can then rely on our abilities to create, and not fall back to some other purpose and reason to fearfully equate life as passtime. Until I reach a new degree of self determination, my life and work will remain as bewildering and paradoxical as it gets naturally, and why not, then, to accept that as a good platform to create cinema experimentally and very personally. From experience, I can say

that making experimental cinema is a much needed wellness practice for people who have had a lot of dynamic changes in their lives and I encourage more of it.

Creating videos are not easy or simple for me aside from my passion and a strong sense of direction in my philosophical mission. I am so fortunate that I have a lot of amazing friends who are willing to lend me their skills and talent. And sometimes when all things fall too much into the uncertain vortex I just have to trust that the years of measuring and performing lab experiments and musical instruments gave me a really good sense of intuitive eyeballing for space and time, so I keep going with the project even though it feels like it will evaporate into nothingness. I know that these moments are nothing to be proud of much, but those are my simple pleasures and comfort blanket at cutting down my anxiety during production.

Your cinematography is marked by the choice of rarefied spaces

reminding us of contemporary avantgarde theathre pièces by the Raffaello Sanzio Socìetas, and courageous shot composition as well: for example, in Scout's Day Dream you frame your subject from all different angles, allowing the viewer to catch details he normally couldn't see from the seat of the audience, and operating too a cubist decomposition of the space.

How did you develop your shooting style?

I love theatre set designs. I worked for Caiguoqiang, the internationally artist known for his gunpowder explosions and his art direction of the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympics. His sense of artistic balance found in his installations can not be decoupled from his early years of theatre design training. I love creating a "vibe" for the music piece at hand. Not that I have ever executed well enough to accomplish it, but I would like to focus on creating this

“vibe” of the music in the truest sense- a visual environment that the sound can grow within it at this particular moment in history, my hope is to be able to enter this said environment and get lost in it and begin to feel for the increased entropy of the future.

For Scout’s Day Dream, my subject is the drum solo. I remember pondering this at the very first moment of the project, the drummers are often in the back in most performances, how un-fun that is, for how much I love the drums personally. My subconscious told me right away, create a pretty stage for it, why not a milk glass like stage?! I immediately got so excited seeing in my mind the round cymbals being framed by another perfect circle as the milk rimples out of the rim of the glass. There is something so non-organic looking and manmade about those perfect circles you know, but the layers after layers of different sized circles in a single frame somehow re-

introduce an organic looking image. I was also searching through my memory chamber of seeing other people play or remembering when I myself played, the interesting and long packing- up- after-agig dance of drummers with all these objects big and small‌ the geometrical shapes of cylinders, circles, triangular lines.

What if my story of the drum solo in the milk glass made people look at this involved instrument in every possible angle, I must then shoot from above the glass.

The cinematographer of this experimental piece is my close friend Russell Cramer.

We have teamed up and delivered many music videos together. On a form level, he is coming from a more classic and traditional filmmaking background. I wrote the script with his talent and technical abilities in mind. We were looking at classic US films from 40’s and 50’s for inspiration, and particularly the works of cinematographer James Wong Howe. I

prepped the set and costumes accordingly to compliment our decisions on the black and white approach, the incorporation of the period pieces and the beauty of the hard light. My script called for a retro aesthetic, yet we needed to use green screen technique to isolate the drum performance and put that into the milk glass. Since the subject we want to highlight was revolved around a drum solo, we adopted repetitive editing to reemphasize the free improvisational noise aspect of the drum solo.

When I imagined again about the drummer being filmed from an overhead perspective, I decided on the spot that I wanted the scene to spin in a circle. I could only have realized that shot and make it compelling when Russ knew how to approach that decision technically as an experienced cinematographer- he asked the gaffer our friend Tom Chaves to walk around the

drummer with the kino in different ways.

That way when I spun the same scene in post repetitively and reversed, the light source would seem as if it was coming from the same window consistently matched with the previous wide shots. The funny thing is, everyone thought I had somehow got my hands on a mini crane for the overhead shots, but actually Russ and Tom brought the jib to the second floor of my house right above where I shot most of the scenes, to shoot through the sky light, otherwise we wouldn’t have had enough vertical distance. My friend Mike Keane whom also has an amazing color studio called Brooklyn Media House lend me his talent with the final post production edits that essentially made the story read on the screen. I am very grateful for my amazing team of friends whom taught me the craft well and what I am the most excited about is that now as I got better at it, I find myself working with my elbow grease while my bizarre ideas well taken on set of their

personal projects- this mutual exchange and respect is what keeps the creative community stronger.

Scout's Day Dream is dedicated to Kevin Shea, talented drummer. When did you come across his music?

When I was around all my friends at the New England Conservatory of Music after I moved to the east coast, I went to see music every night at the school and attended master classes that were held by the school. I heard Kevin’s name mentioned from one of the professors there and a few of the drum students there. Even though Kevin wasn’t an alum at NEC, he was appreciated by this instrumentalist think tank as a true artist/rocker/academic all-in-one type of rare soul and was regarded as a very influential and indemand-drummer in the jazz world today for his serious chops, intelligence, originality, humor and philosophy that

shines through his performances across different type of audiences. “You should really check out Kevin Shea’s performance... his concepts you will completely appreciate.” people said, and sure enough, they were right.

It really took someone as quixotic and as fun as Kevin for me to try this type of layered cinema for the first time. Since this project, I have deepened my understanding of my work- I meticulously and mathematically contemplate a musician’s life before making visuals that work with their music. I analyze their music and art as a whole but focus on a small angle and expand our audience’s possibilities in understanding the musician’s social cache behind their individuation. It is perhaps there is an agreed understanding of this aspect of my work that allowed Kevin and I to be good collaborators. He appreciated layered thinking. Since our first video collab back in 2011, all our friends are now

friends with one another and we share the same creative community. For example, in this project our friend Ron Stabinsky, the mastermind behind the piano scoring of the piece, composed the original score yet he managed to insert his improvisation in reaction to Kevin’s drumming solo, it is a rare treat for music lovers to experience.

They both now play in a jazz group “Mostly Other People Do the Killing”. This band just put out a note-for-note recreation Miles Davis album “Kind of Blue” called “Blue”. It is mind-blowing to hear what the original drummer Jimmy Cobb from “Kind of Blue”’s positive feedback validating MOPDTK’s proficiency. Living in Brooklyn and witnessing the highest level of performance in jazz really gave me the urge and thrill to make videos. I was always interested in the drums, and I played some too, since videos I made with Kevin I have put out a few videos where I also scored with my own drum solos and casio SK5 bend synth, and one of those pieces was selected for a

sound installation on hemispheric speakers at Brown University via MEME program. I can never express enough gratitude to these musicians and music educators whom inspired me to improvise and create constantly as a new way of life.

Your cinema is rich of references. In Scout's Day Dream you have been deeply influenced by "To Kill a mockingbird". Can you tell us your biggest influences in art and how they have affected your work?

I love old movies, I love learning about Americana through the old America classics. When I moved to the US by myself at age 15, I was a student visa holder, and I just learned like a sponge that soaks up everything new. The immersion experience itself taught me how not to be afraid of any new art form as a way to express myself and my cultural background. In this case in Scout’s Day Dream, I was reacting to it.

The silence, quaintness, the perfect clean lawns that was so exodic to me in America 40’s movies, there is a sense of repression of post war America that reminded me of certain philosophical undertone resembling of the Confucius teachings of family loyalty and a way of relating the present moral problems with the past political events.

The pleasantville look is perhaps a visual representation of a deep introspection in a silent way. I grew up in the backyard of Confucius practically, and also many other important philosophers after him. In my hometown, we practiced calligraphy, ink painting, martial art and etc we were expected to master all “six” scholar and martial skills and memorizing numerous classic texts at a very young age. Although no one agrees with all of his teachings that are now outdated, my childhood friends and I still are influenced by his way of describing the contradictory pairs of forces: there is the ying and the yang, there is the good and the evil, there is the art and the muse, there is the dream and there is the awakeness and so on…. I named this piece the daydream to address what he often not advocating. Yet in this daydream, there is

the male and the female, there is the nonsense and there is the order, there is the artist whom was there by the way of daydream, is the spectacle performance in the milk glass the center of our attention or is the strong contrast of the drum solo against the vintage smell of the stillness we recreated the new subject of the story?

What is the mundane reality of Scout from “To Kill A Mockingbird” before she were forced to go to the church that day and what if that is experienced by someone from our present day dressed in a way that Confucius would have never approved? I leave a lot of things open-ended for everyone to rethink performance, audience, gender, art, inspiration, attention so we can redefine and look at power and struggles within these contexts in a new way.

My ideas and taste for video art were influenced by a long list of visual artists who are extremely hardworking, unique and charismatic. This is a short list of them whom shaped the very beginning of my creative attempts whom I happen to personally know and love : I am influenced by a fine artist and educator in Colorado, Sandy Lane. Her installations were wellresearched and her art is provocative yet personal. Gea Philes inspired me to start drawing, writing and producing storytelling on a level so brave that I still am today shocked of this phenomenon of her mentorship to me. Her illustrations are powerful and brilliant and she casted me a couple of times and those videos received great feedback from today’s internationally renowned filmmakers. Saira Huff, an amazing designer/tailor/musician and her hand-made leather runway pieces and her active advocation in encouraging more hand made wild encentrencities. She taught me to be extremely detail oriented with creative projects and to not lose hope because I can make anything by hand and by myself.

The fact that I am as influenced by refined photography produced by the cutting edge production houses as I am by a found object on the street, is directly influenced

by Saira.

Thanks for sharing your time and thoughts, Yuan. What's next for Yuan Liu? Are there any new projects on the horizon?

I am made a 7min experimental cinema for composer/viola player Jessica Pavone and it is coming out this month. I am brainstorming a sequel to a jazz action noire for the new record "Blue" which is a not-for-note recreation of Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" I mentioned earlier that Kevin Shea drums in. For the ongoing big project I am writing a script for a documentary focusing on the history of Genomics. Good that I live in New York, I can go to New York Genome Center for lectures on the topic and I have access to some amazing non-profit facilities to shoot some interviews to start.

Hopefully my friend Dominika Michalowska will be convinced by me be the amazing editor for it. Lastly, I believe that every project will be exponentially more

worthwhile that your team has allowed me to reexamine my work and myself here, I can not thank you enough for this experience.

ARTFILM/FASHION

vasilisa forbes

Vasilisa's videos reveal a stunning ability to cross the boundaries between fashion photography and refined narrative cinema. Since the first time we have watched her short films, we have been impressed by the contamination of elements from fashion, Italian painters from the Renassaince and radical filmmakers like Sergej Parad탑anov. Though an excess of quotations and refined references can lead artists to manierism, Vasilisa's shooting style is highly recognizable in every shot. We are very glad to open this Biennial edition with her works. Vasilisa, how did you develop your shooting style?

I spent a lot of time working with photography and was shooting images from a young age which led me into working with fashion photography and reportage, and through that to discovering a visual style of my own. I grew up watching a lot of intense sixties cinema as my mother was very much a cineophile and loved to explore avant-garde movies and creative film. It was from here that I started to develop dream-like sequences of my own, and experimented with creating a visual style that could be transferrable across the genres, and across mediums such as photography, film, painting and sound.

I remember watching Colour Of Pomegranates at around 9 years old and having such admiration and fear of the visuals I was seeing. Coming from Russia, I was in touch with a deeply passionate art history, and was lucky enough to be aware of the exceptional films that had been made in Russia in the early 60s and 70s, vibrant, bizarre and dream-like stories especially from Tsarkovksy. His film Andre Rublev left deep impressions, and found a presence in this film, Arc. My mother opened up the world of cinema for me, educating me in the art of historical cinema, and encouraged me to create small movies of my own, which I did with excitement. My brain worked in a cinematic way, and I was eager to create cinematic photography images as well as

moving image, although photography at that time was more accessible.

How did you come up with the idea for Arc? Could you tell us a particular episode who has helped the birth of this project?

Arc came from a concept which was to create a trilogy of short films as part of a larger project titled 'Great Ode'. The Ode was a concept that looked at re-engaging historical content and 'meaning-driven' narratives into modern films, and how that could be achieved. That itself came from wanting to find an alternative vision to the current 'cult of the new'. I found that I was not feeling in tune with the modern trends which aimed to a sense of 'dumbing down' and parody, but wanted to create something that was outside of that and could openly reference historical works for the value they bestowed in time and the values they held.

Arc contains explicit references to The Color of Pomegranates, Sergej Parad탑anov's masterpiece. This is not simply an aesthetic choice: you have Russian and Middle-East origins.

Could you comment this "personal" aspect of your film?

I grew up with a deep association with this film considering my heritage. It related to me deeply and the Armenian influence in the costume, the historic 'moralities' of it (which still have a strong hold over most parts of traditionalist Russia and Caucas) struck through to me. Growing up I dressed myself in the costumes found in Colour of Pomegranates. The poetic beauty of this film haunted me and also was mesmerising so I wanted to create a piece that could be a homage to not only the visual element but the entire concept of time, religion, passion and depth.

Besides Sergej Parad탑anov, your use of symmetric framing and close ups remind us of Pier Paolo Pasolini's films: just think of Teorema, or Medea, both shot in the Sixties. It seems that films from the 1960's have really marked your imagery...

The sixties to early seventies were indeed a time of greater variety when it came to film in my opinion, and the ways in which directors chose to approach film felt more innovative, passionate and weighted, as well as there being so much abstract experimentation with craft, technique and narrative. Antonioni and Zodowski were both creators I was very much inspired by when growing up, and it was particularly their taste for the bizarre, powerful and avant-garde that captured me. Especially when it came to the filming processes, the incorporation of large-scale mise-en-scene sets, paired with tantalising close-ups and disjointed camera angles.

In that era film was at it's greatest, I feel people really tried to push boundaries then in a way which is forever interesting, where their creativity was stranger and they used more surrealist metaphors with greater strength.

I am obsessed also with Fellini, and his Satyricon 1969 which is a sensational film.

The concepts generated and the content that was created in that era is continuously inspiring. I wanted and continue to aspire to create homages to that era. The DOP I worked with on this film, Paul James Bird, also played a huge role and his taste for sixties cinema also brought us to this visual and stylistic conclusion.

The attention to suspended gestures remind us of classical painters, like Antonello da Messina. Could you introduce our readers to this aspect of your art?

Absolutely! The work of Da Messina is fascinatingly exquisite with a weight of depth and feeling and it was that message of depth in visual art which we wanted to re-create and explore. In Arc you can see the sense of 'New-Masters' to it, which is a modern exploration of the Old Masters work and Renaissance inspiration. The reason for doing this was to engage an idea of valuing history, valuing archival information and traditional concepts and finding a way to relate them

against the modern world in a subtle style.

This is portrayed and explored in the three films of the series. Arc is the main film from the Great Ode series, and as the name Great Ode suggests, they are all an 'ode' to historical cinema, readings, paintings and literature.

Your video and photo production is very miscellanous: how has your production processes changed over the years?

I find inspiration and excitement in so many forms of creative art and periods, and because of this I find that my own work also travels through various styles and genres as it develops. I find enjoyment in exploring varied points of history and forms of art, film and processes of creating. In this way the work flows through genres of pop art, conceptual and historically- inspired, but there is always an underlying core. My work is not clearly related to my nationality, nor is it always similar in it's style but I hope that a depth is retained, as I hope to engage the viewer in something more than just a visual.

What’s next for Vasilisa Forbes? Are there any new projects on the horizon?

I am currently working on creating the Great Ode concept into the book and exhibition that will house the films and works by other awesome creatives who I am so glad have contributed to the idea. I am also creating more short films and working on creating a series of dark drama based films with intense narratives focusing on strange human behaviours that have come from true stories.

There is also a comedy show I am working on for Vasilisa.TV my video website.

Thanks for talking to me Stigmart!

STIGMART10 videobiennale PRESENTS

50 YEARS OF VIDEOART In conversation with

Parisa Ghaderi… …………………De.Tach.Ment Bobby Grizinger…………………….Just Breathe Morgan Teel……………………………..Epicenter

Morgan Teel

A still from Sloth (2012)

Suanne Messer, a still from Epicenter (Photography by Kate Dearman)

Suanne Messer, Matumbe Himmons, a still from Epicenter (Photography by Kate Dearman)

An interview with

Morgan Teel How did you come up with the idea for Epicenter?

In my first dance film, Dalet, I noticed that my relationship as a choreographer was different with my dancers during a filmmaking process than it was in a concert dance process. I felt more involved with them—yet they felt less involved with me. I invaded their personal space as I filmed their faces up close gathering the tears of sweat impacted by the setting sun.

Because filming a dance involves constant motion, I was always in constant motion— almost a part of their dance in the film process.

Even through the editing process, I felt engaged with my dancers, as the artistic vision became 3D. However, their relationship with me as a director had stopped. In fact, they never saw the dance film until the night it was premiered. This relationship in my artistic process was intriguing and I desired to delve into it more.

I received a research grant to study this relationship further. The idea for Epicenter stemmed from my desire to simply create a work of art with two dancers, and specifically, Suanne Messer and Matumbe Himmons. I feel like one could find Messer and Himmons standing side by side in an elevator, not saying a word, and it would be a work of art.

I knew I was interested in a space that was raw.

Dalet was filmed in an abandoned high school covered with graffiti printed walls and dirt and ash on the ground. I wanted Epicenter to be clean, almost sanitized, and definite—but still have the feeling of abandonment. While I believe my choreography and the space played a great deal in achieving this, the film itself sealed the matter of fact state of being.

A critical component to Epicenter was the sound. The second and third section was created entirely using star sesmoidology, the sound frequency recordings of stars in space.

Morgan Teel, photo by Kate Dearman Most people never know that unless I tell them or unless they study stars. But having these sounds for Epicenter was a ground work for the choices I made cinematically, such as the heavy use of repetition in images. I found repetition important in Epicenter to create revolution and a sense of circularity.

Let's speak of the empty location where Epicenter takes place: we have been impressed by the balance between absence and presence in your video, which is not conceived as a classical balance, as the relationships between solids and voids in architecture for example, but a sort of coexistence between past and present in imagination and perception. We find that this aspect of you art is evident in Epicenter. How do you achieve this balance?

I discovered the space for Epicenter through Kate Dearman, my photographer for the project.

It is truly a random boxed shape covering in the

Suanne Messer, Justin Jackson, Jessica Puckett, Monique Brogan, Ericka Stieber, a still from Dalet

alleyway of downtown Hattiesburg in Mississippi. I was immediately drawn to the raw beauty that needed its use to be recycled for Epicenter. The walls were a texturized blend of blue, white, and tan. Messer and Himmons were physically connected or at least side by side for the entire dance. This movement in the empty space paired with the physically intimate, emotionally unattached atmosphere only enhanced the metaphor.

Artistically, I have found through the past years that my work blurs the lines between what appears to be present and past. I found this evident while reading R.K. Elliot’s Aesthetic Theory and Experiencing From Within. Elliot’s theory suggests that a reader experiencing within feels as though they are there coexisting with the poet, or even taking the place of him.

With dance film, I think the principle is similar. I often hear from viewers of Epicenter that they feel as though they are in a state of trance. I feel like this trance-like state of mind corresponds

with the repetition and circularity of movement motifs within the film.

What stands out as most obvious in Epicenter is the continuity of black-outs throughout the entire film. I believe these black-outs served two purposes—one being a direct representation of Elliot’s theory by providing the opportunity to step away from experiencing within and be present, as a viewer, in real world time. As an artist, this is a risky challenge because it is a balancing act to create a dance film that asks the viewer to be both engaged in the work but present and aware of themselves in the process.

Secondly, the black-outs serve as a platform between imagination and perception. In the beginning, the black-outs happen frequently with small dissolves, almost as though the moving images are through the eyes of someone who is drifting off to sleep. One of the last images in the film consists of Messer closing her eyes. It is about a millisecond long and could easily be missed but if noticed, one will question if the entire film is through Messer’s perception.

Matumbe Himmons, Suanne Messer, a still from Epicenter

To be honest, I still question it myself. I am still learning nuances about my dance film work all the time and that is the beauty of creating choreography that is timeless and archived.

The collaboration with Matumbe Himmons and Suanne Messer has been fundamental for this project. Could you introduce this aspect of your project?

The collaboration with Himmons and Messer was fundamental to my initial ideas. The two dancers created meaning and life to Epicenter because of their willingness to spontaneously create an atmosphere relying on minimal direction. Before I cast them, I had seen the two in “Known Conundrum” choreographed by Tyler McCants. There were seven dancers and Messer and Himmons barely interacted, but I somehow saw raw chemistry between the two.

Though I shared my images of inspiration with the pair, I never verbally shared my motivation behind Epicenter. I have found it most effective in my work to disclose this information so that my dancers are more likely to create an atmosphere that is organic and natural verses forced. Himmons and Messer took ownership of the work in this process which created meaning and atmosphere.

The collaboration was also rich in choreographic input from the dancers. I often acted as an instigator with tasks in the rehearsal process.

For example, I felt that Epicenter was tied to a short poem I found about the letters X and Y. I would read each line of the poem as Messer and Himmons would describe these variables through movement.

In the film, the couple is physically intimate in nature. The intricate gestures are almost always in reference towards one another. Yet, the pair is desensitized. They look at each other, or even the camera, and seems as though they are looking at a wall. The complexity of the relationship creates an atmosphere that is uncomfortable but intriguing.

We find that your art is rich of multidisciplinary references. In Epicenter, the act of pushing the limits in dance reminds us of Carmelo Bene's theatre. Can you tell us your biggest influences in art and how they have affected your work?

In 2012, I read Walking On Water: Reflections of Faith and Art by Madeline L’Engle. It is about the creative process of artists and attempts to

describe the link between faith and art through a unique and thorough approach. Before I made Dalet, I spent two months fasting in order for me to clear my head, focus, and listen to what the Lord wanted me to create. Each of my works of art has a biblical reference, but is not shown in a literal way. I like to think of it as the belly of a boat. You never see the bottom of a boat but you know it is there or else the boat would sink.

Scripture fueling my creative process helps my work of art not sink. These two influences are a constant in all of my works.

When I flip through my journal, photography and other forms of visual art make it apparent to me that they are a huge influence as well. For example, when I was creating Dalet, I kept looking at this image of a woman covering a majority of her face with hands that were covered in what looked like charcoal. She was elderly and the wrinkles in her hands were more apparent because of how deep the black charcoal went into her skin. I felt as though she was grieving. I showed this image to Ericka Stieber, one of my cast members for Dalet, and we worked together to recreate this image of grief through movement.

Currently, I am influenced by the artwork of Andrew Wyeth. I went to Washington, D.C. last month and saw the Looking Out, Looking In exhibit at the National Museum of Art. The entire exhibit is comprised of Wyeth’s paintings of windows. He was my grandmother’s neighbor when she was growing up in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania and I feel as though I am “looking in” to her life when I am reading his biography about growing up in Chadds Ford. I feel as though Andrew Wyeth’s paintings could very well influence a future dance film project of mine.

What aspect of your work do you enjoy the most? What gives you the biggest satisfaction?

As much as I love the final product of my artwork, the creative process and how the work came to be is of great interest to me. Building relationships with my cast and seeing them bond with each other has so much value. I love it when mistakes that are made become a part of the art made. For example, when I was editing the first section of Dalet I was experimenting with sound. I paired underwater sounds with radio static to create juxtaposition against the scenery that was earthly dry and architecturally engaging. The dance film, at that point in time, was focused on the movement accentuating the space. The underwater sounds dissolved and as soon as the static grew to pure noise, it dissipated abruptly

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Suanne Messer, Ericka Stieber, on the set of Dalet

Justin Jackson, Jessica Puckett, Monique Brogan, Suanne Messer, Ericka Stieber, a still from Dalet

and the image of ten hands appeared wrapped around a pole. The image stayed for a second longer than what is comfortable. The image is so strong that it almost appears to be a still shot except a slight breeze causes Messer’s skirt to brush against the wind signifying the power dance film can bring through the simplicity of moments such as this. That breathtaking, uncomfortably engaging mistake that I made in Dalet became a catalyst for the video art.

Moments where mistakes become art in my creative process are the moments that bring me the biggest satisfaction.

Thanks for sharing your time and thoughts with us, Morgan. What's next for Morgan Teel? Have you a particular collaboration in mind?

In August, I have a Choreographic Fellowship with

Vitacca Productions & Company working with Revolve Dance Company in Houston, Texas. I am excited to work and learn from other choreographers and dancers. I have also recently moved to Austin, Texas. Right now, I am spending time meeting people and connecting with other artists in the area. I have no doubts that a new dance film will emerge in short time. A few locations to film have already caught my eye. As I am writing this I am expecting several emails back about

acceptance for a few dance film festivals, creative residencies, and grants. Though I was born and raised in Florida, my artistic roots are in Mississippi. Because of this, I feel like I need to create a work of art in and for Florida. I am hoping this will take place in the spring of 2014.

Bobby Gryzynger An artist's statement

AJust Breathe is a short experimental video exploring themes of confusion and alienation. It begins as an unnamed man enters the scene and begins relating a series of fragmented

events. The video uses spoken word, sampled sounds, music and video effects to relate both its narrative and tone. The video has no narrative in the traditional sense and leaves the viewer with many more questions than answers. Rather than relying on a typical narrative, the video makes use of experimental

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techniques to create a foreboding atmosphere and convey a distinct mood.

Wilbur, expanded and developed into a shortform video.

Just Breathe was shot and edited in and around Madison, WI with a cast and crew of students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The project began as a short spoken word piece that I, along with cinematographer Dylan

The video is inspired, in part, by the works of Sadie Benning, Bill Viola and Peter Campus.

Just Breathe attempts to expand on their experimental forms while incorporating elements of traditional narrative film.

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An interview with

Bobby Gryzynger In Just Breathe you introduce elements of traditional narrative film: a sort of RobbeGrilletian formula. How did you come up with the idea for this short film?

The premise of the film stemmed from a short, lyric story I had written a few months before I began making the film; or even thinking of it as a film for that matter. The story itself came about after some discussions I had with a roommate who had spent a period of his early adulthood traveling abroad. While he left the states with other intentions, he ended up spending much of his time partying and going to nightclubs. He described the experience as a disorienting and alienating blur.

Much of what he related was brought about when TelepopMusik’s song “Breathe” came on our stereo at home one evening (I later incorporated the song into the story and the film). The way he talked about his experiences left me with the sense that he was extremely ambivalent about them. He felt as though he had squandered the trip pursuing short-term gratification rather than seeking out experiences that would have allowed him to grow personally.

In the story, I incorporated his experiences as well as my own. Not necessarily on a point-bypoint factual basic but rather in such a manner that I could capture the more subjective, emotional side of experience and memory.

How did you select the fragmented events you show in the video?

There wasn’t necessarily a method or formula to the events I selected. In the story, I started exactly from where the film begins. The main character notices someone he recognizes walking in front of him, really the only familiar face he can pick out. I let this moment propel the narrative aspects of the film.

In a structural sense the film oscillates between focus and distraction. Focus appears in the

Bobby Gryzynger

present but each of the fragmented events serves as a distraction that pulls the character out of the present and back into the faintly remembered past. I borrowed the club experiences from my former roommate and I tried to construct a loose trajectory of events that, really, are fairly mundane: a night at a club, driving around a city and a small early morning after party. What keep these events from being mundane are the emotional aspects that surround them. Without the sense of alienation the film conveys and its hermetic subjectivity the story’s progression is unremarkable and quotidian. It’s the main character’s ambivalence and unease that drives the film, rather than the events themselves.

We recognize a simple but at the same time masterly work of low key cinematography.

Chiaroscuro conveys Just Breathe not only a remarkable filmic touch, but improves the sense of alienation, putting the characters on a surreal stage…

This was really essential to what I wanted to convey in the film. It was important that the film was first-person in the extreme, that everything was filtered through the experience of the main character. I doubt the film would have been

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nearly as effective had I taken another approach. The darkness in the film is as much a presence in the film as any character. It would have been impossible to create the same head space had I pursued another approach. It becomes much easier to inhabit the main character’s perspective when the image is distilled to its most essential elements. I really have Dylan Wilbur, the film’s cinematographer, to thank for the success of the approach. He understood from the beginning how integral the austere approach was to creating the subjectivity I was after. He helped pare down every image in the film and controlled the film’s visual focus.

From a technical perspective darkness was also essential. The low-key lighting in the monologue shots allowed me to key out the light in postproduction and create the video composites that serve to enhance the film’s extreme subjectivity.

Can you tell us your biggest influences in art and how they have affected your work?

At the time of making the film, I was heavily influenced by Bill Viola. I wore that influence on my sleeve in making Just Breathe. The aesthetic influence of Viola’s work appears most obviously in the composites that appear throughout the film; also in inclusion of water as a purifying substance. These elements appear frequently in Viola’s work. I was interested in how I could incorporate his experimental approach in a narrative context. His videos never delve much into narrative but I felt his experimental approach could be at home within the loose narrative I constructed.

In terms of the narrative side of the film, I borrowed a lot from Sadie Benning’s Pixel Vision confessional videos. I was really struck by how raw they were when I first saw them and I tried

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to create the same immediacy by directly addressing the viewer and breaking down the fourth wall. It’s easy to dismiss Benning’s work in the era of YouTube, but seen in their context they’re an important touchstone. The sort of intimate sharing she engages in wasn’t nearly as habitual as it has become in the wake of social media. In Just Breathe I wanted to blend her approach with Viola’s. I wanted to create the subjectivity of a confessional and extrapolate on that visually.

What technical aspects do you mainly focus on in your work?

On the level of craft, I’m most interested in approaching familiar elements and media in novel ways. In making Just Breathe, I looked for ways to combine familiar tropes of both narrative and experimental cinema in the pursuit of a novel and expressive form.

Beyond that, I always pursue a polished final project. Many artists are comfortable allowing the process to show through and allowing there to be rough edges within their work. Often I’m a fan of this approach because, on an aesthetic level, I find a layer of grit appealing. However, in making my own work, I do everything I can to obscure the process. Perhaps it’s my film background and education that drives me in this approach. If you look at any classic Hollywood film they’re always attempting to achieve seamless continuity. They don’t want you to be distracted by the craft, they want you absorbed in the story. In video and film work as well as in other media, if too much of the process is visible it becomes distracting and draws the viewer’s attention away from the concept driving the work. Concept in my work always comes first; after the concept is there I look for a form to convey it. When process and technique become

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too large a part of the conversation I begin to think there is some failing in the work itself.

Much of the experimental film cannon embraces a DIY approach and aesthetic but much of this came out of necessity. It used to be extremely time-consuming (not to mention expensive) to produce audio-visual work with high production values. That’s not so much the case now with how ubiquitous high quality production equipment has become. In comparison to the past, media production is much more accessible. However this is double-edged.

It’s easier to produce content and therefore it becomes more difficult to rise above the din and differentiate one’s work. I push my work to stand out by pushing it on the level of craft to the point where the craft begins to recede into the background.

We have been impressed by the balance between absence and presence in your video: we can notice a sort of coexistence between past and present in imagination and perception. Could you introduce our readers to this aspect of your art?

I wanted the film to come across as though it were a fever dream or an apparition. I wanted it to flow over the viewer. Because the narrative progression of the video is drawn in such broad strokes it doesn’t throw the viewer much of a lifeline but this is by design. The dichotomy of absence and presence you mention is part of this.

I wanted the viewer to question whether the events actually occur and if they do occur what exactly their chronology is. I wanted the film to obey the more fluid rules of memory where different events blend and lay on top of each other and are passed through a subjective filter.

It’s easy to see things in recent memory in

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sequence but as time passes this sequence isn’t nearly as clear and orderly. This is the space I wanted to situate the film within; a space where past and present are in contention as each vies for attention and focus but neither becomes completely clear. This lack of clarity serves to enhance the film’s sense of alienation.

Thanks for sharing your time and thoughts with us, Bobby . What's next for Bobby Gryzynger?

I recently completed an MFA program at the University at Buffalo (SUNY). For my master’s thesis I created an interactive installation that

conducted Internet surveillance on an unwitting audience. In the coming months I’m looking to refine the project and submit it to festival venues.

I also recently relocated to the New York City area for work. Currently I’m working as a web developer and designer in New York City, so any additional personal work will have to wait until

I’ve had more of a chance to settle in. That said I’m really looing forward to all of the opportunities the area affords an artist like myself working in a diverse set of media. Eventually I’d like to seek out some residencies in the area and focus on developing a few long-term projects incorporating digital and interactive media.

Parisa Ghaderi De.Tach.Ment Video – Parisa Ghaderi A synopsis The airport is not a neutral place, but a frontier, a place of conflict, quarantine, redemption, departure and detention. (Marc Auge) To visualize all conflicting emotions and mixed

feelings people experience every time they are in the airport, I decided to reenact this moment.

Video is sculpting in time. The slow motion stretches the time and longing for this moment to last, not forever, but maybe a bit longer. As somebody who left her hometown, Iran, I am quite familiar with a range of emotions happening at the departure and how each one is

unique in its nature; The moment I left, the moment I returned, the moment my family came for a visit, the moment they left, and the moment I couldn’t find my loved one in the crowd.

Touching the barrier instead of the real thing, like touching or kissing the screen, when you Skype, have become a very natural act in the virtual world.

It’s always painful not to reach out to the real person.

In this 3 channel video, I used projection on the wall, to make the second barrier, the wall, look like glass, transparent, and almost invisible to us, to create a realistic illusion.

Parisa Ghaderi

An interview with

Parisa Ghaderi In these last years we have seen that the frontier between Video Art and Cinema is growing more and more vague. Since the first time we have watched De.Tach.Ment, we have really appreciated the cinematographic quality of your work: in a sense, the essence of cinema of the last decades is seeing the invisible. Could you introduce our readers to this work?

This piece falls somewhere between video art and documentary; a documentary in a sense that it captures real people with their real emotions. All the people in this video have left their home, Iran. Since then, some have gone back for a visit or a family emergency, or their families have come to the U.S. for a short stay.

Either way, they have sensed the feelings of departure, waiting, the sadness of leaving and the excitement of seeing a loved one.

Therefore, there is little acting involved because they all have experienced it first-hand.

I believe this has made it more cinematographic.

Here, I took a more literal direction rather than a conceptual one. I also used minimal video effects to make things seem natural. The slow motion effect helps to show the yearning for each moment and make them last a bit longer.

Unlike my real life, this piece gave me the power to pause, rewind and slow down those moments I cannot hold onto anymore.

In your statement you say "Touching the barrier instead of the real thing, like touching or kissing the screen, when you Skype, have become a very natural act in the virtual world." The role of the barrier in De.Tach.Ment is fundamental. Could you better explain this aspect of De.Tach.Ment?

The barrier in De.Tach.Ment is really fundamental. There is always a barrier such as a phone, email, or video chat when you are a long distance away from something that makes

Parisa Ghaderi

you lie, hide or pretend about the reality.

Here, the barrier refers to my own experience of departure from my loved ones on the other side. I remember touching the glass partitions at the airport, wishing there was nothing between my mom and I, so I could hold her hand for one last time.

In this video, the people keep touching the glass (or wall here) and press their hands against it, hoping to reach out to someone on the other side. I somehow fulfill their wishes through the use of the projection on the wall, and since there is no glass or reflection, it creates a realistic illusion and feeling that there is nothing between them and us, which can exist only in our dreams.

We have caught a reference to the Tragedia Endogonidia by the Raffaello Sanzio Societas in your use of the screen.

Who among international artists influenced your work?

I am a huge fan of Bill Viola when is comes to slow motion and the dramatic way he stretches time in his videos.

I also admire Jim Campbell for his poetic work and the way he deals with human emotions in his video installations. The subtlety in Campbell’s work is something I hope to pursue in my own work.

De.Tach.Ment, Video Installation

Why did you decide to use the 3-channel formula for this project?

This video is a reenactment of an experience at an airport. To better visualize this essence, I decided to use a 3-channel video, mimicking multiple glass partitions in the airport. In Iran’s International airport, there are rows of glass panels–the last barrier between you and your loved ones–as you depart.

Also, because of the range of emotions and contradictory feelings, the three-channel

formula helped me to spotlight the people and their emotions. Here, I try to show their emotions concurrently and in coexistence by changing the roles of the people and bringing one or two channels periodically to the fore as focal points.

We have been impressed by the balance between absence and presence in your video, which is not conceived as a classical balance, as the relationships between solids and voids in architecture for example, but a sort of coexistence

De.Tach.Ment, Video Installation

De.Tach.Ment, Video Installation

De.Tach.Ment, Video Installation

between past and present in imagination and perception. How do you achieve this balance?

All of my work deals with absence and presence, physical and emotional, and also yearning for the past within present time. We have constant presence and absence in each other’s lives, especially when you are a long distance away, or have lost your loved ones momentarily or forever. I call this “the sheer presence�, which is a translucent presence, which almost plays as an absence.

This stems from my own experience after I left Iran and my mom passed away, and the way my relationship with my dad, and even her, changed. In this video, as I mentioned earlier, the three channel helped me in an important way to show this simultaneous event; the constant sadness and joy over losing and having back your loved one.

Thanks for your sharing your thoughts and time with us, Parisa.

What's next for Parisa Ghaderi?

Video has opened so many possibilities for me and I still want to explore more themes with it. I am also very excited about my new collaborative video piece which is another iteration of a long distance relationship experience and how it grows into something that is beyond our control. I am trying to focus on these aspects of video art, which develops and unfolds over time.