Goshogaoka

After viewing this film, I was left with a sense of, "What was that?" I understood that Sharon Lockhart wanted to capture the essence of movement through a series of warm-ups performed by a girls basketball team. But I was still left with a couple questions in my head.

Why does Sharon maintain a single position with the camera? And why did she choose to shoot a basketball team in a foreign country?

I believe that when Sharon decided to maintain a single position with the camera, it was to try to move the viewer's attention on to the players themselves and their movements, instead of focusing on the movement of the camera. In addition, by using a basketball team from a foreign country, words and appearances become dulled, while the actual movements performed become instense and in focus. The art then becomes the dance that the player's perform (through their warm-ups and tricks).

Hamilton : Just Another Story

After viewing Hamilton, I tried to comprehend why I felt a little anxiety while watching this film. I guess what bothered me was that lack of drama in the film. Being that it was a narrative film, I expected more to happen, and also to see it follow the classic narrative film syntax of introducing a protagonist and antagonist, then a build up, and then climax.
Since this was not the case, I feel it left me wanting more. It seemed to be a drawn out story line that didn't have much to it.

This left me to look at the film in a deeper sense. Why did it not follow the normal syntax of narrative film? Was there a point that Porterfield was trying to make about not including such dramatic events?

Then I reviewed an enlightening quote from Bresson, "From the beings and things of nature, washed clean of all art and especially of the art of drama, you will make an art." It seemed to make perfect sense with all of this. Because of the lack of drama and "artistic will" by Porterfield, the viewer is left to create the art in their own mind. I believe that this is a great idea in experimental film. Playing out a normal life in front of the camera without any tricks from the artist's point of view, the audience can dive into the film from a personal approach, and see the beauty and art of life for what it is.

Jennifer Montgomery : Questioning Human Nature

After having Jennifer Montgomery visit UW Milwaukee to attend a showing of a few of her experimental films, much of our class found themselves bewildered by what they were shown.

Jennifer Montgomery is an artist that likes to use collaging techniques to create and edit experimental films. One of her films, "Age 12: Love with a Little L," caught the attention of most of the audience and became the epicenter of our discussions about her work. In this film, we see many different pieces of her life put together in such an order that helps describe and define her sexuality. Some of the scenes in this film, the students found a little disturbing, but strangely at the same time found them liberating. These scenes included shots of Jennifer's relationship with her girlfriend imitating the animal-like nature of humans to claim territory or preserve domination over one another. In these scenes, we witness acts like Jennifer urinating on her girlfriend (marking territory), pretending to train her girlfriend as if she were a dog, telling her to sit, speak, and wag her tail (domination). While this seems lewd at first, I was surprised to see that other's saw the deeper meanings behind it just as I had. Although it seems somewhat disturbing, the meanings about domination and territorial pissing definitely shined through. It leaves the viewer questioning, "Why did Jennifer find it necessary to include scenes like this? What point is she trying to make? Was it to defend her own guilty pleasures? And would this film be perceived differently if it were created by a man?"

One of the most intriguing scenes was when film strips of a woman painting with her own menstrual blood was spliced with film shots of a group of girls eating pomegranate. The reason that this scene was so interesting was because of the similarities between the two subjects. When the woman was painting with her own blood, it seems uncomfortable yet liberating at the same time. Then we are shown scenes of girls eating pomegranate, with the juices dripping down their chins and hands, it becomes strangely erotic. Obviously, the visual similarities of the juice versus the blood becomes apparent, and the audience begins to make connections between these two entirely different subjects. This helps the viewer to understand that this film is not just about having sexually explicit scenes, but more trying to connect a woman's sexuality to something that has a deeper meaning. As some believe that pomegranate is the fruit that Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge, the pomegranate becomes an icon for what Jennifer Montgomery is trying to express.

What can be learned from this?

In our discussions after viewing this film, we all questioned whether or not we consider this film of a pornographic nature or whether it is simply artistic. Many aspects of the film lead us to believe that it is more of an artistic endeavor that seeks to exploit human traits that appear to be of an animal nature.

This American Life : Explored

I took a little time this evening to check out some episodes listed on This American Life's website (www.thislife.org), I was pleasantly surprised. At first when I browsed through the different episodes, I thought that the topics and ideas seemed a little odd and not so interesting, but my thinking changed after actually taking the time to listen to a few pieces. One of the clips I listened too was about people spending 24 hours inside of a diner called The Golden Apple in Chicago. It was extremely interesting the stories they gathered, each sound clip being taken from separate interviews. Some people had very serious stories to tell about their lives and why they have decided to visit the diner, other people seem drunk and find themselves in the middle of a small argument. Throughout the show multiple chance encounters with strangers turn up some humorous and emotional events, who knew that they would be that productive? Another episode that I checked out, was an inside look at stubbornness and the effects that it has. Whether it be beneficial or not. Interviews are performed with people of all ages, and ranging from lover's spats to the antics of a 7th grader talking about discovery of social status.

After listening to these stories, I have found that the stories have a common theme among them as trying to explore the social lives of Americans through an interviewer's point of view. It seems like the writer's of these shows are trying to show a deeper meaning or existence to the lives of the people that talk to. This is definitely something worthwhile to check out, it has good material and good points to make about every day life.

Comfortably in the Uncomfortable

Many artists strive to push the boundaries with each art piece that they produce. This story is no different with Scott Stark's, "More than Meets the Eye: Remaking Jane Fonda," in which an attempt is made to make the audience feel awkward, perhaps to open up their minds to what he is trying to say. In this video, we follow around Scott Stark as he recreates an old Jane Fonda workout video. He does this in various settings, some public and some private. He is wearing a ridiculous outfit that is far outdated in terms of today's standards. This causes the audience to watch his video with a speculative state of mind, leaving them wondering why he created this video the way that he did.

The possible reason for his wanting to create a sense of awkwardness and make the audience feel uncomfortable, is that of opening up a vulnerability with him and the audience. A lot of people in the present times are unsure of politics, and therefore unwilling to talk about them. Scott Stark tries to break down this wall by showing the audience that he is willing to put himself in a position of ridicule, where he could be laughed and looked down upon. This uneasiness is experienced not only by himself then, but by the audience as well - a bond and relationship has been created between the viewer and the creator. His hope is to then allow the audience to more openly accept his statements that scroll across the screen during the video, or maybe not to accept them, but to at least ponder them.

Creating an awkwardness in a film is one way of opening up a pseudo-dialogue between the artist and the audience (yet another way of breaking a boundary). Although, it is possible for the reasoning behind his awkwardly appearance to be of the essence of pure entertainment, I do feel that there has to be a deeper meaning behind it.

Vladmaster-y : Seeing Like A Kid Again

Aha.... a ViewMaster, who knew that they could be used so creatively? Vladimir really showed us all something new like we have never seen before. This show is incredibly interesting at some points, and also very perplexing at others. A couple of her stories were a little bit much abstract, especially the one titled, "Fear & Trembling," which discarded the use of a narrative. However, in the other stories such as, "Lucifugia Thigmotaxis," and "The Public Life of Jeremiah Barnes," she uses the narration as one of the stronger tools of telling the story. In, "Lucifugia Thigmotaxis," we explore the world through the view of a cock roach that gets into some trouble we encounters a human in the world that exists beyond the back of the refrigerator. As weird as it sounds to tell a story from that perspective, it actually was very interesting and humorous in an odd way. I personally felt an attachment to this little cockroach by the end of this triumphant story.

I feel the greatest use of the ViewMaster was explored in the story, "Actaeon at Home." In this story, we examine the life of a man who is in the midst of writing a letter to his brother. Actaeon tells his brother a story about a nightmare that he has about a train that is coming at him in his dream, and he is stuck on the tracks. Vladimir utilizes the photos found on one disc several times, repeating the series of pictures in a rhythm that exposes the ever-threatening train. Faster and faster, the train seems to be coming at you as you quickly click through the series of pictures.

Throughout the program, the ViewMaster became a stunning example of a tool utilized to tell a story. Due to the nature of the device, the people looking through them seem to get a more personalized experience. When peering through the lenses, you see large black walls that surround a very vivid and bright photograph, causing the reality of the world around to shrink, soon you become the actual character of the story, seeing through their eyes and living the story as they would. Watching the shutter go up and down reminded me of what I feel like when I am extremely tired and still trying to watch TV: staring at an image on the screen, then my eyelids getting so heavy that they close momentarily and reopen to reveal a completely new aspect and image of the story that was being told. It was incredible how the ViewMaster was able to take the audience and put them inside the head of the main character of the story. Much applause to Vladimir, as the intense hours of work it took to create this program were well worth it, providing the world an entirely new way to experience a story.

Camera Obscura : Seeing the world in a whole new light.

Isn't it strange how a new view of the world can be created just by flipping it upside down? Many famous painters and other types of artists have spoken about how to see things differently, to search for a deeper meaning. When I used to go to school in UW-Whitewater for graphic design, one of my favorite techniques for drawing was to take an image of something and flip it upside down and try to draw it from that orientation. It allows the mind to break free of its "wanting" to see life in a type of perfection; it creates a whole new perfection. I was happy to see that someone took advantage of this, and in such a manor as Ethan Jackson did.

The lively colors and shapes that appeared on that wall seemed to create a whole new sense of curiosity and adventure to life for myself, and as I like to believe, many others. Entering into a dark room and seeing this image projected on to a wall, urged my mind to become engulfed in the sense of beauty that is the world that surrounds us. All I could think during my entire visit is how I must again, learn to pause, really pause... and take in the beauty of the world and the things that we see everyday. Our senses, must become dulled by the barrage of images we see constantly through TV, billboards, movies, and art alike. It seemed to me that Ethan Jackson was trying to make a point...

Pause - really pause... Look at something... Take it in... Enjoy it... Sense it... and Realize.... you are living in it.

So again, I must encourage others... even those who are not really into art. That sometimes, you just need to really "look" at something... Stare at it, for as long as it takes, 5 minutes, 15 minutes... however long - Just enjoy the beauty of the world around us... it is in everything.

Time Lapse : Speed Painting

I just wanted to share something with everyone that I thought was extremely interesting. It's called speed painting, a recording of a portrait being painted that it condensed down to a few minutes. More and more video's of this type of work is being posted everyday on YouTube. Try checking some video's out sometime.

Disengaging to Engage

After Laura Mark's presentation on Monday, a few things sank in to my mind that I felt were worth sharing with everyone. My ideas relate to experimental film by trying to define what we are doing when creating experimental film.

In the film "Vacuum" by Adel Abidin, we watch a man take a vacuum out on to a frozen lake and begin vacuuming snow. The point that the artist was trying to make by this video is mystifying. But to demystify this mystery for myself, a thought ran through my head, "Engaging by disengaging." I'm not sure how I came across this idea, but I believe that it is very relevant to the video. Basically, my thoughts were that when we watch experimental films, is it the point of the artist to engage the viewers by showing them something they don't understand? In this sense, the viewer is shown a perplexing barrage of imagery and auditory information that form a puzzle for the viewer to solve. This makes the viewer's senses become heightened and make them more aware of even minute details within the film. In "Vacuum" I feel we (the audience) are left to interpret the film for what we ourselves think, I'm not sure if any one answer is correct. Maybe the idea is to be incorrect, forcing ourselves to think of numerous answers to the problem - all of which can help explain different aspects of the film, in the hopes that we do come to some sort of conclusion or interpretation.

Another idea that ran through my head that seemed to be enlightening to me was, "Believing is seeing. Seeing is believing." Again, I don't know how it popped into my head, but during the film "In This House" by Akram Zaatari, we are shown video clips of a man digging a hole in the ground next to a house. He is surrounded by men that we cannot see. The man holding the camera is told by the people surrounding him to not shoot their faces. This leaves a little mystery behind as to why they do not want their faces shown, furthermore what else are they not showing us? The obvious answer seems to be that the people who requested their faces not be shown in the film are trying to avoid some sort of persecution for being there and taking part in this dig. But what if there is another reason? People's faces get replaced by anonymous tone sounds that signify which person is speaking, creating the feeling of a high-tech computer or even a computer game. With two frames in the picture, one showing evidence and other items that have some sort of significance to the dig and why it took place - again the feeling of a confidential video file being portrayed to a person that shouldn't be seeing it, is conveyed.

After the presentation given by Laura Marks, I was content with the understanding that sometimes artists are forced to disassemble something, in order to recreate it in different lights or perspectives. I enjoy this idea that the death of an idea can lead to the rebirth of an entirely new state of thinking. I believe that this is the driving force in many of art installations. Creating by destroying - in itself - seems to be an art.

So remember, next time you are struggling to see something new from something you have been looking at for years, maybe decades. Disassemble it in your mind... destroy it... let it rebirth a new concept, a perspective, a light. This is art.

More about Jonas Mekas

Today I read an article about an interview with Jonas Mekas (http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/01/17/mekas_interview.html). I found out a lot of interesting things about him and his life. How he used to be involved with underground anti-Nazi movements and the likes. I realized how much of an impact film, especially experimental film (or avant-garde), made his life and his way of thinking. The amount of ground he has covered as a film maker is truly inspirational.

I also wanted to share with everyone, a little bit of poetry that Jonas Mekas wrote. I believe its very deep and profound, searching to describe his feelings about film and his life. About his struggle to speak to people that are not supposed to hear what he has to say.

FROM NOWHERE:  1

I will speak
only
in pronouns,
verbs,
things,
possessive
adjectives,
such as
wide,
blue,
fragrant.

Translated by Vyt Bakaitis



FROM NOWHERE:  2

There is the word,
and music
of the word.

And there are
things,
dreams
and
images.

I pick
one thing,
the
thing itself
is
poetry,
dream
and
reality:

ars
poetica.

Translated by Vyt Bakaitis



FROM NOWHERE:  3

The one
desire I have:

to say
the word
for real,

palpable,
plain,

and speak
straight to the heart
of those
still able
to hear,
way under
the ice.

Translated by Vyt Bakaitis

A Daily Diary

The idea of keeping a daily account of anything is a great concept. Personal journals are something that grab my attention and are something I consider to be of great importance. Many artists find inspiration from a collection of thoughts and ideas, often times journals are like a gold mine filled with them.

Video diaries are something we explored recently in class. I am glad we covered this area, because I believe that they hold so much value, both physically and aesthetically. In Jonas Mekas' diary, we got to actually accompany him on a Monday morning walk through a field with his dogs. I thought it was a unique experience because I always wondered what the morning sun rise looks like in Europe...

... Anyway, people, keep journals, they are massive help and inspiration to us all.

The Illusion of Dreaming and "Gently Down The Stream"

Disorienting disconnected thoughts of perversion, sexuality, homosexuality, and animal-like rage.

These are the feelings conveyed by the imagery that plastered itself across the screen in this film. Flickering lights and blips of swimming, a woman, water, light, faces, rowing, seals, thrashing, religious iconography and birds: all developing a landscape of thought that represents a dream-like state.

The words etched into the film, "I saw a woman..." and "saw her pubic hair." They all seemed to not have any connection to the images being forced upon the viewer, except that of raw and thoughtless feelings and portrayal of what may have been seen by the person dreaming it. Besides simples connections of the word 'woman' and actually seeing a woman, I got the feeling that it was more than just the sum of all its parts. I felt that the connection was deeper. It was meant to suck you in, to make you dream this... or as if you already had. Many of our own dreams, as hard as we try to remember them, seem an illusion of coherence, when really they are far from it. I felt when staring at the flickering reflections of light on a swimming pool that is being disturbed by a woman gracefully and slowly swimming, that I was almost gliding through a liquid collection of thought, which could somehow represent a dream. The imagery of religious icons and the words about entering a church, were meant to delve into an intense feeling that all are familiar with. The feeling of a being or power greater than ourselves.

It is these connections that made the film seem so raw. It almost tapped into emotions that we all cycle through in our own dreams. Including thoughts of sexuality, of making love. The intensity of the words "moans... Howls.... ROARS," seemed to grab the actual essence of the imagery being proposed: a woman in a bathing suit, her swimming through waters that engulf her, flashes of light and things that cannot be explained. Holes that were punched in film helped to disorient the viewer. They flicker and flash, dizzying me, and pull me into a trance.

In summation, the words reflected much of the imagery that was shown. However, the imagery was limited and left to be developed by the viewer in their own mind. The thoughts were etched into the film. And even though they were flickering and dancing about on the screen, they left resonating meanings of what was to be seen and interpreted by the images. The purpose of this, I believe, to help them enter what was an illusion of a dream state and explore the thoughts of Su Friedrich when she created this film, disoriented as they may be.

Mental? or Experimental?

I feel experimental films are a way of exploring reactions of the viewer to specific visual/auditory images. Many of the films that we have watched in our classes pertain to this. I bet that if the creator's of these films had the chance to sit in on one of our classes to see how and why the audience reacts the way it does, they would be there without a moment's hesitation.

In terms of whether or not an experimental film can have a narrative, I say sure, why not? Narrative in itself means, the telling of a story, and I believe these films can do that. However, its whether or not these story's are obvious that we notice them or not. I think, even if the film is basically an account of someone's experiments playing with film, images, audio, and the audience's perception of any one of these aspects, it is still proof of a narrative. It can tell the story of what the film maker is learning, or their thought process while creating and shooting their next scene in a film.

I also believe that a narrative can become an experimental film, in a vice-versa sense. Just because a film has a narrative, doesn't mean that it cannot contain any form of experimenting. Whether it be the use of a color, a specific sound or dialog, all can be played with to see the outcome (thus making it experimental). One of my favorite examples of this is Sin City, with the use of overtones of red throughout a specific story in the film, it definitely played with the viewer's mind and made them aware of the impact of color, even by itself, can make on an audience.

I feel that many of these films are important, though not all. It really depends on what the artist decided to do with the information that these experimental films produced. As I stated previously, I am sure any one of the artists that created the films that we watched, would love to sit in and watch the audience's reaction. I believe, for good reason. The data that can be obtained from the audience (ie, if a specific color can convey a specific feeling the audience, or if a specific Beats Per Minute in a music sequence can almost in effect control a viewer's heart beat) is invaluable. But the only time that that data can live up to its worth, is if it is utilized in subsequent films to help control the impact, feeling and message that a movie can convey. The value of experimental films, can mostly be seen in the cause and effect relationships that exist between certain elements of film and an audience member's reaction.

... Signing Out

Bloggin' It...

Hello all...
This is my first attempt at blogging, so I hope I don't just sound like I am rambling on. Anyway, I thought I would talk about why I am majoring in Film Studies, in hopes of finding a common ground with other students in the same major.

Ever since I was young, music has made a tremendous impact on my life. To quench my thirst for music, I was always indulging myself in listening to new music, and also creating my own. I taught myself how to play guitar when I was 13, and have since found that my thirst had come to a plateau. I found a brick wall where I was having writer's block in creating music.

To make up for this, I began thinking about how I like to see things. I began a major in Graphic Design, and found that it was too static for my tastes. That is when I found film to be a more appealing opportunity. By combining my interests of music and film, I could create music videos that would hopefully fill the void of what my mind has been looking for.

So that's it... music videos. I want to make them, shoot them, and maybe even star in them.

I guess we will see what happens.