"Sensorium"

For my film 115 class I attended the event "Sensorium" at the KSE building on Friday night for the UWM open house. The presentation was given by Sissel Tolaas and Caroline A. Jones. The lecture was basically a comment on the uses of senses in society and how that pertains to art and culture. Mrs. Jones discussed how devices such as headphones and sunglasses and so forth help assist our senses of hearing perception. She talked a little bit about the mystique of art in reaction to the senses, such as St. Theresa's heavenly aroma in Christian art. She then switched her attention to the sense of smell and how that is the one sense that technology and modern art have not fully figured out. With Ms. Tolaas talk, she explained her research and studies in the field of scent and traveled to many places to find the scents of cities, towns, countries, clothing, people, etc. By incorporating all of her research data into a bottles she was able to smell each container blindfolded to train herself to learn scents like the alphabet. She then also applied her findings into art galleries/museums onto walls to signify the presence of a certain location or person within that building.

While I found the presentation to drag on a bit, I couldn't help but be somewhat interested in all the emphasis applied to heightening the senses (particularly smell) to add substance to art and culture. It's very true that these two subjects are rarely paired together and I think that Ms. Tolaas's "dirt" perfume was also a very interesting idea (bad smell marketed in a cologne/perfume bottle). The installations were really a comment on culture and how we all percieve what smells "good" and what smells "bad", or more predominantly what appeals to our senses, just as visual art may appeal to our intellect. I think the quote Mrs. Jones posted says it all: "smell is for the soul, not the mind."

Craig Baldwin (Part II)

His 1995 documentary "sonic outlaws" was a very detailed look at copyright infringement laws on music record companies in the U.S. and really more of a comment on medias role on cultural norms. With his most recent film, however, director Craig Baldwin took a little bit of a different approach to his experimental film-making techniques.

In "Mock up on MU" Baldwin used his gathering of media artifacts blending with voice-overs and acting performance to create a very unconventional film. As Balwin clearly stated at the Union-Theatre showing, the film is based on a true story and his real-life experiences, as well as his "make love, not war" pseodo-sixties post-vietnam war philosophies.

Although I was a little confused with the exact message of the film, which made direct connections to Jack Parsons (rocket scientist), Marjorie Cameron (artist), and L. Ron Hubbard (sci-fi writer, founder of Scientology), the film was entertaining and indeed pretty inventive for the most part. However, the film dragged on a little too long for my taste.

While the amount of work presented was pretty amazing, after about halfway through, I found myself a little disconnected. The startling images and media gathering (which included several old sci-fi, horror flicks, cartoons, sound clips, etc.) combined with very convincing perfomances (all the acting, writing, and voice-overs were a marvel in themselves), was very impressive.

It was eerily dream-like and uniquely crafted. In the end however, it was a propoganda piece and the messages were more personal to the filmmaker, leaving myself (and other member of the audience) a little confused to say the least. All in all, decent film...and I give it a thumbs up, despite the abuse of copyright laws he clearly violated.

Craig Baldwin (Part I)

Well, after seeing his experimental film "sonic outlaws" I decided to write my post on director Craig Baldwin. Three facts I've discovered about him on wikipedia are as follows:

1. He considers himself a "collage artist" rather than simply a filmmaker.

In other words, he contributes freely to the growth and development of modern art by using a series of samples/collections of various film clips and images derived from other artists. He then alters and manipulates these clips to explore and formulate his own artistic expression...it is more commonly known as "media archaeology."

2. Baldwin has incorporated many of his theories of film-making from his political influence from movements such as Situationist International.

This group apparently was a 1960s international movement that really emphasized art as a real-life form that reflects the experience through new media, rather than foreign historical influence.

3. Here is link to an image from his work "Wild Gunman" which was a film commenting on political imperialism in American Culture with several clips from American Cowboy films or "Westerns."

http://www.hi-beam.net/mkr/cb/cb-wg.jpg

"What Film is About"

That is the million dollar question, now isn't it? I mean isn't that what we all are wondering when we critique a film? Not just who's in it, or who directed it, but what the film was trying to accomplish. Hollis Frampton really raised this question (what film is about?) to greater lengths by illustrating with a projector of her own on what stands out in a particular performance to the members of the audience. Whether it's sound, imagery, acting, set design, whatever. There is something, some identifiable element that catches each viewers attention, or at the very least keeps them mildly interested for the most part.

As with the film "Natural Features", the director (Gunvor Nelson) used a lot of different images with the combination of water color in both movement and visual manipulation. He also added the eerie voices/noises that simulated into the darkness of the picture. These two elements to me, more than anything really defined the piece, because the in order for Nelson to maintain that sense of eeriness, he would have to continually manipulate the images, to make them more mysterious than before. The sounds and the movement added to that dark, encapsulating effect, but also made the viewer wondering when the film first began and when it ends. While the sounds are both random and often redundant, I would like to think the images are the most intriguing of all, since they are truly "unnatural" as the title might suggest. The images are constantly manipulated thru color, hue, saturation, etc. They are in context features considered rather "unnatural".

James Benning

Having a guest speaker come to class and make comments about his/her work is always somewhat interesting. With the case of James Benning, it was indeed interesting, but also a little confusing at the same time. I had seen some of his previous work from the 70s and a documentary on his work with 16mm film, but could not make it out to some of his showing this weekend on campus.

Judging from what I had seen previously, he defintely has a natural talent for finding beautiful shots that take up the frame. Whether it's smokestacks, ocean waters, farming machinery, etc. Having said that, I feel that I can't totally agree with his methods or hypothesis on maths influence on film. It seemed to me that because he clearly had a lot of knowledge on the subject, allowed him to justify certain elements, trying to find loopholes with "imaginary numbers:, "infinity", and the obscurity of the number "zero".

Whether I was confused, bored, of just simply unconvinced, it seemed his argument was a bit far-fetched and tried to suggest that all things are relative. It's like comparing apples to oranges. You can compare different art forms such as art, music, and literature, but when it comes to arithmetic, that is in a field of it's own. Now, if we were talking about the dimension of the frame, or simply the technical elements, I might buy into that a little bit, but overall I was a little skeptical of his theories, dispite his advanced knowledge and obvious artistic skill.

Table Top Video: Artist Statement

Keeping in mind the spirit of spacial and temporal demonstrations learned through class, my intent was to create a body of work that best reflects these points in a methodically yet satirical way. My project (entitled "The Struggling Artist") was really a gathering of experiences over the years I have had as an student, artist, and observer of all things pertaining to "art". With the drawing board, I was able to use most of the frame space, creating a more logical atmosphere tapping into the minds of both the student and teacher.

The student (or robot) was symbolic of struggling artists hoping to achieve notoriety and success, yet failing to understand the "big picture" and little details that are necessary to succeed. The teacher was more of a "stumbling block" of sorts guiding him (the student) and confusing him all at the same time. The unique display of hand motions and vocal tones were meant as illustrations and installations in themselves, much like the puppet show within Alex Bag's "untitled fall '95" piece. The moods and attitudes become clearer as the two characters interact and collide...uniquely portraying "artistic differences" within the constraints of space and time.

I think overall, my project was a success and conveyed enough emotion to pull the viewers in, while allowing them to examine the proper logic and tone of the performance. The lack of music I think also added to that tone, presenting an akward and sticky situation that strictly relies on action, content, all through the eye of a sketchpad. If there was anything I could improve on, it would probably be robots evolution of anger. The script was fine, but maybe could have benefited more from some loftier language...but then again he ">>//iS A rO-BoT//<<", right? (that's robot language...I guess).

Alex Bag

Originally my first reactions to Alex Bag's work were a bit mixed. While I thought her acting and use of make-up and wardrobe were very unique, I thought it was a little over the top with the puppetry skits. They were entertaining, but didn't really relate to much to her confessional routine. They were almost random acts of nonsense, like watching an episode of "Jack-Ass."

However, they were entertaining and thoughtful, whether she chose to make a statement on culture, education, social problems, or what have you. On youtube, I had searched for some interesting diaretical confessions used as installation work, but couldn't find very much relating to Bag's work.

So, I chose to focus more on the puppetry show of her "untitled fall '95" piece and found some interesting works. The one I found here (on the link below) was a series of shorts on a mockery of harry potter characters. They exploit the emotions and personalities of the characteres from the books, but predominantly, the movie actors. In a way it was symbolic of the gremlin and monster, as well as the bunny, in Alex Bag's film.

All of our assumptions onf those personalities and the stereotypes are presented perfectly and the comical humor (as with Ronald McDonald and E.T.) are illustrated as if real human actors simply used brought to life with simple puppetry. An interesting and thoughtful method, no matter how contrived and irritating it might well be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD-Huwlg2kY&NR=1

Althea Thauberger

Having a new guest come in to talk about his/her work is always interesting. With the case of Althea Thauberger, I'm sure it was just that. Unfortunately I was unable to attend the class that day, but was able to read up on her biography, film work, and listen to participants in the class discussion.

In Emily Vey Duke's Toronto magazine article Althea Thauberger: Experimentalism is Dead: Long Live the Internet, the author comments very well on some of Thauberger's work. Duke implies that Thauberger seems to comment on sociological or economical change in some manner of performance. In her films "songstress" and "A Memory Lasts Forever", Thauberger seems to have her casts react to the subjects and conflict in her films as if it was actual reality. In doing so, they all have to write and perform their own perpective on the events.

This to me is the most interesting element of the work, because while the performances may seem a bit outlandish or ambiguous in it's tone or method, this sense of familiarity with the work is something we should identify with, whether as actors or simply human beings. We can all relate or connect to a certain tragedy in some form or fashion.

By displaying the "empathy" as the author puts it, the subject blossom in full bloom to emphasize the artistic nature presented. This is supposedly meant to signify post-modern art and in some ways is an interesting approach. I for one thought it was a bit over the top in perfomance shots, but the tone was much like art in sofar as the backgrounds and lighting. Forests, riverstreams, sunshine, these are all reoccuring themes presented and used in a very profound way. Like the internet, as the author suggests, I agree that these films were like an outreach, simple in nature, but a voice nonetheless.

"4:33"

Interesting and experimental as it may be, John Cage's 1952 composition of "4:33" was a little far-fetched in my opinion. Although I understand the concepts, tone, and engineering aspects of the piece, there was virtually no work or creativity from the artists standpoint. In his article 4'33", Cage apparently intended to imply that "there is no such thing as silence" focusing sole attention on the ongoing ambient sounds that surround his work.

Yes, for the most part it is true, no two sounds can sound exactly the same. There can be softer, noisier, harmonic, irritating sounds that all encompass similar features, but are identified as independently produced. We listen for the "sounds of silence" as Simon and Garfunkel might put it. The room or setting in which the experiment is taking place takes on a life of it's own and composes the sounds, whether forced or simply unintended.

However, with all the sounds and variety of earful observations, it seems a bit undeveloped and rendundantly dull. Not only is one's patience tested, but the lack of effort from the so called "author" becomes too passive and lackadasical in a sense. At least in the film "the Mirror", we are fed with more of a spacial movement and the images reflected are symbolic of camera-like personalities. We see flow, zooms, multi-angled shots.

The makers clearly had a point in mind and were fully engaged in the process. So, similarly, there is a metaphorical, experimental undercurrent of themes, but less digression and more fluidity seems to take effect and in the foundation and movements in "the Mirror". To the audience it becomes more observational, but at least there was more creativity and detail in the hands of the maker...which aboveall else lays the groundwork for thoughtful film-making.

At Land

Having seen some of Deren's earlier work "Meshes of the Afternoon" (1943), it was interesting to see another one of her gritty independent films in class yesterday. Like "Meshes", Deren seems to exhibit a very unconventional approach in her 1945 film, "At Land". As I watched this I couldn't help but notice some of her signature film-making methods take center stage. The reverse editing, slow-paced motion, lack of music, close-ups, and continuous range of movement all illustrate the the moods and emotions of the of her work.

As Deren stated in "Creating Movies with a New Dimension" she clearly states that we should "...not approach motion picture photography in the conventional manner." Rather she suggests that while we should always experiment and explore new techniques to film-making we should never be reserved to the more traditional rubrics of film expression. Instead, become innovative and creative with the use of photography and study the other arts to gain knowledge on how to accomplish this feat.

I can definitely see her point in terms of the location and spacial logic. She seems to pick the shots according to the space that might dictate a specific scene. For instance, as her character climbs a tree in "At Land" we are close to her and see her climbing higher eventually through bushy forests and ironically people. In another scene she uses the lens to widen the horizon as her character is walking through paths and sandy beaches, giving us a more distant relationship to the viewer while also displaying the emotional value of her character. It's almost like poetic motion with the continuous movement patterns from point A to point B. It was very interesting approach: slow-paced and visual poetry with the illusion of movement according to it's spacial relativity. Worked very nicely if you ask me.

"The Amateur"

In relation to the filmwork screened in class "The Amateur" (by Miranda July), there were several different issues to look at and really struck my curiousity. Firstly the film appeared as "Freud" has stated to be over-all a bit subjective in nature.

If you look at the foundation of the work it seems with the mise en scene of the main character (the professional) is enforcing the humor always commenting on the action taking place and really dictating the direction of the piece. My thoughts and observations were naturally drawn to the the actions on the screen of the amateur, but the comedy or humor, if you will came mostly from the narration of the professional. If you take for instance the posing of numbers and explanation of the process, we the viewers would remain in question and not fully comprehend all the motion and supposed underlying humor involved.

Now, if you were to think about the categories of performance, intervention, and experimental work in this area, I would be pressed to say that they all apply to "the amateur." In first view, the perfomance of the characters consume us with spontaneity and action. Just the fact that the professional has to describe everything in detail and does it in a way of peculiar emotion and nerve displays a very unique element of a dark, morbid humor.

The intervention between "the professional" and "the amateur" presents a keen sense of confusion but maintains the humor and connection to the other character. Lastly, the experimentation comes with the surrealness and unexpeted outcome, sense of wonder that is projected with such continuity and structure.

The use of similar backgrounds and little to no music adds to the eerie quality, but also speaks very metaphorically in addition to the stellar acting within the picture. The allegory comes with the wonderment of "who are these people, really?" Are they the same...is one character symbolic of the other?" these were all questions I asked myself during the viewing...mostly from an excellent contrast in both presentations of the character that are so confined within a very small rigid body of space...and that in itself is both experimental and very oddly entertaining.