Week 7: Robert Smithson "Sprial Jetty"

Overall I thought Smithson's "Spiral Jetty" film portrayed an interesting subject manner and was thought provoking. Some things that raised slight confusion for me though, was his constant cutting between an image of a spiral jetty and then something completely off kilter; such as a lizard or dinosaur. At the time this seemed vary bizarre and distracted me from the other elements of the film. But after thinking about it i came to the conclusion that perhaps Smithson was using these objects to draw a connection between his works of art and other elements of nature. Kind of an "everything is connected" statement. I also thought it was somewhat off-putting that way he continually displayed a peaceful image of the spiral jetty in the calm lake, and then contrasted it with loud heave dump trucks depositing boulders...the polar opposite of what would to me, be considered peaceful. Notably, i thought it was interesting to get a little insight as to how these massive jetty's were constructed.

Table Top Video Artist Statement

For the table top video i chose to make an origami frog and at the end have it hop around the screen. The message i intended this piece to exhibit was how simple things, with a little creativity and imagination can often be transformed into something completely new . Its not necessarily the materials you have, it's how you choose to utilize them. Previous to my taping i rehearsed umpteen times to try and perfect my timing, the final results of this seemed to only leave me with a unnecessary number of paper frogs of various sizes. During my rehearsals i was just around the 2:30 mark each time. But, unfortunately during the final taping my folding time sped up leaving me with an extra ten seconds. I had considered using a song for some backing noise but had doubts that it wouldn't fit the piece and would just make it awkward. These thoughts quickly changed when i entered the taping room and realized how quiet it was. I feel as though my piece could have greatly benefited with some sort of sound wheather it would had been musical or just some sort of ambiance noise. However, i was pleased with the results of the final frog. I was a little nervous that some of my folds weren't going to line up resulting in a frog that would not hop but every thing went just fine.

Week 5: Alex Bag "Untitled Fall '95"

After sifting through several youtube videos i decided to select one entitled "Morning Meest" created by a woman named Christine through HappySlip. Several aspects of this video reminded me of "Untitled Fall '95" by Alex Beg. To begin with, the most obvious, is that the three characters presented are all played by one person, Christine. All characters have drastically different personalities and traits much like the different characters that Alex Bag portrayed in "Untitled Fall '95." The second most notable similarity was the issue of direct address. It is made very clear within the first few seconds of the video what its purpose is and who the intended audience is. There is no attempt to create a fourth wall, but instead Christine invites us to look in to her world.

*click video to play*

Week 3: Hollis Framption "Lemon"

Personally, i greatly enjoyed this piece. Although it was only a lemon, a simple piece of fruit, it forced the viewers to interpret it and associate it with their own meanings. Therefore everyone comprehended the piece differently, which makes for interesting discussion. Because the 7 minute piece showcased a close up of a lemon, lighting was the main thing that carried the film. Often times i think it is easy to forget about all of the technical aspects of a film unless it is something out of the ordinary that captures your attention or you are consciously looking for those aspects. Quoting Frampton himself, "The light first reveals the form as a sculptural entity and then devours it, transforms it into a graphic design". Frampton did an exceptional job utilizing many different aspects of lighting to captivate his audience, after all since the only shot of the piece was a close up there was no room for further viewing. I feel as though this piece is a prime example of how no matter what object it is, if there is no forced narrative or outside influence it is human nature to form their own connections with the piece.

Week 2: Maya Deren "At Land"

This video was extremley captivating and curious at the same time. More often than not my mind tends to wander during silent films based purely on the fact that an essential element is absent and they tend to loose my attention rather quickly. With the quirky and unexpected situations Deren presented herself in, from being washed up on a beach, to climbing up rocks on to a dinner table and the attractive editing i was enthralled thoughout the entirety of the film. The main motive behind this piece was to play with the conventions of time and space, as quoted from Deren's essay; "The fact that a camera can be moved from one location to another, and that the various shots can follow each other immediately, in the process of editing, is also a capacity unique to motion pictures" (135). One particular scene that stands out to me and that best puts this quote in to context is when the woman moves over a hill but then disappears only to reappear somewhere in the distance. Editing tricks like this kept me on my toes and curious as to how they were achieved. Perhaps she used matting or double exposure seeing as this piece was filmed on a 16mm camera? Thus proving that it is not always the equipment you have but how you utilize it.

Week 1: Miranda July's "The Amateurist"

To be perfectly honest I was slightly confused through the entirety of this film and could not really grasp the concept of it. Clearly there were two characters, "the professional" who throughout the totality of the piece analyzed and critiqued the captive "amateurist."
The professional seemed to always default into counting and utilizing numbers to describe the caged womans behaviors, and often her emotions would change while observing. Ranging anywhere from blatantly laughing to being on the verge of tears. I was slightly unsure how to interpret the situation, i found it mildly disturbing but at the same time i also found myself investing emotions with the two characters. I was glad to see that through the class discussion i wasn't the only one who had these feeling. It was brought to my attention through this weeks discussion that both characters were played but the same woman and subtle details, such as how the ameturists clothing matching the backround and the potential "hidden meanings" behind these observations. sadly, i doubt i would have noticed these things with out them being pointed out. Sitting through discussion i had the thought that perhaps the "professional" was not analyzing a presumed "stranger" at all, but possibly it was her alter ego or personality that was put on display and she was analyzing herself. Thus, putting her wide range of emotion in to a more understandable context.