VISA 0120 Foundations Media: Computation + Art

liv003

Though a very rudimentary sketch, the final “Olivia Processed” will be based on shots from the short film I made focusing on her, entitled “Olivia”. I will draw from the colour scheme I employed — warm yellows and pink, and also clearly from the main focus of the short film: my sister. The animation will take place on the upper right side of the 600 by 700 frame, as pink ‘flowers’ will appear and disappear with the click of the mouse. I’m planning to juxtapose the combination of abstract shapes (parts of her hair, an eye-form, lips) and harsh, more graphic lines (ie. of the counter surface). I’m interested to hear what others’ plans are, because I’d like to add more layers of interaction on this piece, but I’m still not sure where I can go with it or what the potential for movement really is.

The concept behind my rather primitive piece is based on the hypothetical question, ‘what if ones allegedly most defining features (in this case, my glasses) weren’t there?’  The text reads ” What if even my glasses didn’t help me see in 3D/ or stop me from sinking into the background / two one none”, capturing both my frustration with not being able to actually make the piece 3D and also the very fading into the background the character fears. 

 
Into the Background

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oliviaweb

This video stems (however obliquely) from my “slow-moving-time” exercise, Breathe. I maintained my use of cross over and additive transitions and also my use of slowing down the clips to evoke a lazy, calm feeling. Here however, the character has changed (well, for starters, there IS a character) and is of a more personal nature: my relationship with my twin sister.

The short film was influenced by Brian Eno’s “Thursday Afternoon” – a part of his 14 Video Paintings (1981 & 1984)  @ http://ubu.com/film/eno_14.html –  in which he films a female  friend (also blonde) of his in extremely slow time. The piece is reflective and calm, drawing on the abstraction of the human body and the observation of female beauty. His music is a piano track – very simple yet beautiful. It is, as the Ubuweb review writes, “a nostalgic diary, a musing on the life of a person now departed”.

Naturally in my piece the intention is a bit different, though much aesthetic value remains true to Eno’s intention. One might also argue that Olivia too is “now departed” (ie. no longer by my side, sharing a room, etc.) and that the video records her like a ‘diary entry’ (ie. an afternoon together in NY).  

In blurring Olivia towards the end of the piece I hope to also allude to some of German artist Gerhard Richter’s paintings of people in his life, who he famously depicts in a similarly hazy manner:

In my view, the effect creates distance from the subject, in my case Olivia – someone I love very dearly but am separated from in our present situations.The prominent cyclical element in my film furthers this idea, stressed through the repetition of the roof-top chimneys, two at the beginning but one at the end.

I increase opacity towards the end, layering images of carnations – some of Olivia and my favourite flowers – and then just in the final moment, with an empty chair (the one that she had sat in).

I tried to stick to yellow and pink hues in the piece to create a warm, loving ambience for viewers.

I created the music with a keyboard-synthesizer and aimed to create a fluid but expressive emotion that flattens with the ‘loss’ of Olivia towards the end.

I’d love to know what you make of it all.

Isabel

BRIAN ENO: Artist Background

Brian Eno was born in 1948 in Suffolk, England. Already noted as a student at Winchester School of Arts for his questioning of contemporary perceptions of an artist’s role, Eno has become a primary figure and promoter of cultural criticism. He joined in eaerly with the 1960′s discussion of ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture (think ICA, Warhol, Rauschenberg, etc.) Largely influenced by the minimalist movement of art, his own style is largely defined by what is known as “ambient music”. He has performed in various groups and bands, worked solo, produced records (ex. Coldplay’s Viva la Vida, composed for video games (Spore), and even developed video software. He is a famous collaborator, working with the diverse names of David Bowie, David Byrne, Microsoft, and Peter Jackson. Within the context of this class, I have observed a few of his more famous videos that incorporate his music, and have tried to analyze what it is he values in video art. His use of colouration, particularly in “Thursday Afternoon” is sensual and vibrant, and the pairing of music to image seems extremely (well)calculated.

The following sources were consulted:

Brian Eno

http://www.enoshop.co.uk/

http://creativegames.org.uk/MA_CreativeTechnology/input_output/Pop/pop_eno.htm

Richter:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/arts/artexhibition-20653712-details/Gerhard+Richter:+Portraits/artexhibitionReview.do?reviewId=23654511

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version3-1

Though the root of the problem in the first versions of “Breathe”, the literal reference to grass serves here a far less literal role. I feel as if my juxtaposition of the physical, intense, and beautiful Mande dancing with the reeds and water of nature crafts an interesting and relaxing view of our relationship to the world around us. We share movements and patterns of life, even sounds, with nature that this slower time allows one to reflect on. The sly smile at the end is an intentional nod to those who “know” or think they know what’s really going on. Yet who’s to be the judge of what I really mean?

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birdsonlife_low

In “Deep Thoughts on Life: Seagulls Edition” I combined elements from my previous videos (sound and footage) and tried to import and entirely new sense of humour. The irony of the piece plays with that of SNL’s Jack Handey– the thoughts here really are not so deep. In fact, the whole minute is a pair of seagulls reflecting on why life is so difficult, so full of motion. The fact of the matter is, it’s not.

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fasttimev2_low

“Fast Feet” depicts time moving quickly, from the perspective of feet. I choose feet (mine) to be the feature of this film because I wanted to structure a narrative about the human body/part of it. In my mind, feet do most of the work when motion is concerned. I think I was most successful in ‘speeding up’ time because of my distorting the actual speed within FinalCut.