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.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
"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.
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.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)