into abstraction | form and data | on the edge of everything there is | a moment in time we can never bring back
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There is so much one can say about the possibilities inherent in the creative process. Do we move definitely in a pre-determined direction (unwavering, specific in structure), or allow our intuition (and the tool itself (in my case, the computer)) to guide us. Perhaps a little bit of both. Creating contradictions, beauty, and ambiguities along the way: Magic and loss while searching through memories. Finding that time does not stand still at all, but evolve and return. A returning ecstasy. And so does a work of art. And so too the recollection inherent to its evolution. My video work is a collection of memories, images, and sounds, purposefully or unconsciously contradicting and re-inventing themselves. Disintegrating into loops of color, texture, movement, geometric form, data, time, and space. I want my work to reflect our internal and external existence; to visually and musically create a sense of things happening all at once.
into abstraction | form and memories
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Into Abstraction | Form and Memories, the artist Walter Smith continues his exploration of field recordings translated into abstract constructs.
into abstraction | nuances – extended video remix | an abstract thought becomes reality
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Nuances, the extended video remix is a further working towards the abstract in form and complexity. Each element of the video is explored through various micro-tonal nuances via add-on effects. Through this process, I am gaining insight into the various visual options I have via the software and how to implement them to create a visual cohesive construct. The variations seem infinite indeed. Again I am using both my own film and stock film together. Musically I am continuing the theme of electronic ambience, through the use of sound samples, field recordings and piano phases. As I explore the makings of sound for my films, I will be utilizing various sound effects and recording techniques in the process. Slowly things will evolve, as the learning curve for both the visual and aural elements are investigated, manipulated and constructed.
your world beginning | there’s never a dream i need to follow . video remix . piano and waterfalls pt 2 . day 10
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2014 is coming to a close. The major theme has been the two video series entitled “Your World Disappearing” and “Your World Beginning”. I initially created the two series as separate entities, however they have morphed into the same conceptual idea i.e. our lives and the experiences within it are simultaneously disappearing and beginning again and again. There is a merging of the sustainability of the mundane and the wishful aspirations of dreams and a better life. As I worked through the series this year, there was a lot of emotional ambiguity. I have tried to explore the comings and goings of my daily life, and put it into a perspective that negates anything more than what exists in the present moment. However, I can get lost in dreams and desires, the past and memories; believing that there is something significant there. So perhaps the thing that I have discovered is that there is no real disappearing of things or beginning of things just now. The present, mundane, and wishful dreams … inside my head.
Technically the film is a product of several excursions into the process of filming life at home and out in nature. Again, I have used footage from my recent hike along the Graveyard Fields’ trail in North Carolina. Upon reaching the top where the Upper Falls is located, I treaded out among the rocks. I then filmed using a macro (zoom in) setting, the pulsating flow of the falls. It gives the film a lot of its movement in an abstract form. I combined this movement with spatial and ethereal forms as well; fusing the two elements to further the sense of abstraction. These two forms are juxtaposed by the three ‘Transcending the mundane’ clips of life at home; repairing my bike, feeding the cat, and making pasta. The soundtrack continues the theme of “Piano and Waterfalls”. I used samples of field recordings and sublime piano phases to produce a rather delineated and ambiguous sense of being in the moment.
your world beginning | piano and waterfalls – day 8
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The video “Piano and Waterfalls” continues the series “Your World Beginning”. It is an exploration of organic nostalgia i.e. a reflection of the beautiful times and places gone by. “Piano and Waterfalls” was filmed while hiking the Graveyard Fields trail to the Lower and Upper Falls located in the Balsam Mountain range in Western North Carolina. This film is of the Lower Falls which one arrives first after a short hike through the barren fields (a fire burned a large segment of the mountain range in the early 1900’s). Then the trail continues on with a more difficult hike to the Upper Falls. I shot various short segments along the way, which I will feature in a number of parts.
This video is also the first film I have produced using new software. My computer upgraded (without my consent I must say) to Windows 8.1 leaving me with an incapable AVID Studio. I loved working with AVID. And after nearly two years of using the software, I was really beginning to fine tune my use of it. I tried without success to find and install patches that would enable me to continue to use it with Windows 8.1, but with no positive results. So I just purchased the Sony Movie Studio Suite. And it is a learning curve all over again. My goal is to continue to produce quality videos that mirror the progression of my previous work. With this first attempt, I am discovering that there are some questions to the quality of the final video production as an uploaded internet movie. Formatting is a key. Especially when I am using my own video footage. This is a technical challenge, which I hope to conquer in order to create the most visually pleasing and technically diverse films possible.
your world beginning | a history before now
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Day 6 in the “Your World Beginning” series is entitled “A History Before Now.” This film has a more ambient feel to it than the previous “A Life of Contradictions and Disappearing Things. It is sparse in its visual content, while imploring some elements of poetic prose inspired by a fellow poet. It continues the theme of the exploration of daily life, with hints of ambiguity and historical musings as abstraction. Initially, when I created this series, I wanted it to be a distinct leap from my previous series entitled “Your World Disappearing,” giving birth to a new beginning. However, the emotional content that fueled the “Disappearing” series has slowly found its way into this series as well: ‘Everything changes except a persistent memory.’ To some degree, although everything is in constant flux–giving way to things disappearing and beginning simultaneously, there is an ambiguity and mundane existence to it all.
your world beginning | a life of contradictions and disappearing things – day 5
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Day – 5 in the “Your World Disappearing” series brings us into a life of contradictions and disappearing things. Filmed in part in Asheville, NC, the film examines isolation, entropy, conflicting realities, and reflection. Multiple layers of contrasting elements explore our ambiguities as to what is real and what is an illusion: Life in all its complexity has multiple paths, roads, objectives and choices.
your world beginning | every artistic moment has its place – day 4
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As we move forward in our creative process, we sometimes travel back on the unending edge of everything, endure a storm or two, exist in solitude, and find that every artistic moment has its place.
your world beginning | into the gathering of dreams – day 3
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“Into the Gathering of Dreams – Day 3”, continues my series “Your World Beginning”, which explores the fusion of past, present, and future through the lens of daily life, dreams, and aspirations; beautiful times gone by, transcending the mundane, and an unknown future. The series is an attempt to capture the essence of being in the present moment, while simultaneously reliving moments from the past and dreaming of the future: Into the gathering of dreams.
The central filming in the video is from an afternoon biking at the Forks Area Trail System (FATS) in South Carolina, located on the border of South Carolina and Georgia. The filming of the biking was produced in 2010. The system consists of four machine-made trails, each approximately 6 miles in length. They are fast and free-flowing, making for a wonderful biking experience. Located in the midlands of South Carolina, the trails themselves are not as intimidating as the mountain trails located in North Carolina and are a joy to ride.
“Into the Gathering of Dreams” combines different elements, each having its own moment in time and space. I recently watched again, a documentary on the opera “Einstein on the Beach” by Robert Wilson and Phillip Glass. I had the pleasure of seeing this 4 hour opera in 1984 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. I mention this because the main concept was how time and space interacts with objects, people and places. Place a familiar object in an unfamiliar place and you create a new reality. Surreal, beautiful, conflicting, or contrasting, yet a reality unto itself. Part of my process as a digital artist is to reinvent and remix these “realities”. The digital medium and digital process itself, provides a beautiful, infinite and creative end to this objective. And it is also my objective through the process to infuse an emotional integrity, influenced by the experiences we all share. To touch on something that is universal.
your world beginning | drifting into everything – day 2 : video art HD
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The fourth short film in the “Your World Beginning” series, again explores the connection between our relationship with our memories, dreams, and everyday life. The series is my attempt to delve deeper into those moments when we are living through the patterns of life that we have created for ourselves, while simultaneously feeling the ambiguity and lightness of our dreams and aspirations.
In composing the music, I am using sound samples to create a layered sonic ambience, with hints of melody and tonality. In the series, organic sounds and industrial technological sounds merge to create dreamlike structures to enrich the imagination and supplement the visual composition.
your world beginning | transcending the mundane – day 1 – video art HD
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On the edge of everything beginning … the further away we are, the closer the moment. Waking, dreaming and making pasta.
traveling without moving | your world beginning – video art HD
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“Traveling Without Moving,” is the bridge between the past and the future i.e. “Your World Disappearing” and “Your World Beginning.” A video self-portrait that is a visual journey of memories, delineated thoughts, dreams and aspirations. There is a slight contradiction at work here. The body is in motion in time, and the mind is still; the painful past and uncertain future struggle against the stillness of being present in this time and space i.e. traveling in the present moment.
give your falling tears to memories and songs | extended remix
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A remix of new and extended audio and visual material to further convey the expressive mood of ambiguity, magic and lost and the ending of things.
give your falling tears to memories and songs | your world disappearing
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This is the seventh video in “Your World Disappearing” series. It is a again, a short film reflecting on the magic and lost of relationships, and our place in the world. Seemingly things are disappearing. I have completed an extended remix version of this video and will feature it in my next post.
we can never go out and play | your world disappearing | HD video art
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Recently I had the opportunity to view a documentary by German filmmaker Werner Herzog entitled “From One Second To The Next.” The subject was texting and driving, and the effect it had on several individuals, including victims, family members, perpetrators, and law enforcement. While watching the film I could feel the emotional pain of all involved.
Texting and driving is a senseless act, and within a moment of lapse concentration can produce tragic results: Loved ones lost, lives ruined.
My video entitled “We Can Never Go Out And Play” was influenced by one family and one child named Xavier featured in the film. X-Man was his nickname. He was struck by a distracted driver texting while he crossed the street with his older sister. She says, “One moment he was holding my hand and the next moment he was gone”. His mother, riddled with pain and sorrow explained his massive injuries. Including paralysis and respiratory injuries requiring constant connection to ventilators to breathe.
What caught my attention, and what was the impetus for my film, was her stating that the most painful thing for her was not being able to say … “go out and play”. She sat there, her eyes focused on the lens of the camera, and repeated that this simple gesture of love, in saying, “go out and play,” would be lost forever.
My film work usually comes from a place of the abstract. My series entitled “Your World Disappearing” explores ambiguity, magic and lost, isolation, and endings. In the series I am imploring, in the abstract, environmental landscapes and organic forms to convey these existential concepts and personal entropy.
Because I see things in the abstract when revealing my emotional state there may appear to be a disconnect between what the viewer is seeing and my personal objective. A perfect example is this series, and this video piece in particular. All my work is created concurrently with how I am feeling emotionally. Presently, I am feeling a sense of separation from a loved one, and from my own aspirations and intentions. And most notably my place in this world. Like the wind blowing fiercely in an atomic storm and tree branches succumbing to the will of the unknown, I find my sense of self searching for its own survival.
form and void | your world disappearing | video art
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My fifth video “Form and Void”, in my short film series entitled “Your World Disappearing” continues the exploration of ambiguity, magic and lost, and on the edge of everything ending. Again, I am using film that I shot from various locales such as the shore, mountains, and forest combined with some sampled imagery to bring this series into an elemental sense of organic ambiance. I composed the music from samples and each piece is constructed to give the feeling of alienation, detachment and a bittersweet wonderment.
your world disappearing | high definition video art
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A short film of ambient minimalism. Exploring the theme of “through art I feel like subtracting” i.e. Memories fading, dreams ending and your world disappearing.
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Images For HD Video: The Night Outside Your Dream (A Blue Moment Remix)
Second in the series of “chance” recordings …
http://youtu.be/Wdrl6O_H1uE – Copyright 2012 Walter W Smith
…
the night
- blue
with restless dreams
– isolated
in scattered refuge
in sudden refrain
– through the darkest storm
“I think we dream so we don’t have to be apart so long. If we’re in each other’s dreams, we can be together all the time.” – Calvin & Hobbs
Images For HD Video: Water For Meditation (Sunrise Remix) and On Water
Exploring nature through video …
I enjoy working with video. It has always been a true love of mine. It is however, a very challenging medium. It takes time to learn new programs and to obtain the right equipment. And it is expensive. Exhibiting video art in a gallery usually requires a grant. And grants are difficult to come by these days. In the 1980’s and 1990’s, I was awarded a couple of grants for a video installation and a multimedia collaboration. All in all, through recent years, and mostly because of the expense, I’ve shifted from video art to digital imaging. 2-dimensional work. Photography, prints, and digital art.
However, I do want to invest more time in video making. At the heart of this endeavor is having the right mindset for video. Filming. Set design. Editing. Video making is much different from taking photographs. I must remind myself not to think in terms of large production. But rather find inspiration and subject matter in the in-between spaces. Mood. Ambient nature. Form. Simplicity. Lo-tech – high-tech.
The pieces “Water for Meditation” and “On Water” are two perfect examples of ambient nature. They are not very complicated to film and produce, yet fulfill, in this instance, my desire to create an ambient environment for meditation. Transporting the viewer to a moment of relaxation. “On Water” is micro short (26 seconds) in length, while “Water for Meditation” is nearly six minutes long. I prefer long meditative pieces, however I realize that it takes a considerable amount of investment on part of the viewer to “sit” through the minimal motion of a piece of great length. All in all I hope to produce in the future some rather experimental pieces. Incorporating original imagery and music created by me. Work that at this time is a mystery to me.
Below are 2 links to my YouTube channel and the video pieces; “Water For Meditation” (Sunrise Remix) and “On Water”.
Please enjoy. Any feedback is well appreciated. In the future, I hope to post videos more regularly.
Namaste
http://youtu.be/pyYahhz2svM – Water For Mediation (Sunrise Remix)
http://youtu.be/wGXnumdn_Ys – On Water
Weekly Movie-Making Moments In Film: HBO’s Girls and the Video by Robyn – Dancing On My Own
A moment to enjoy a little TV, finding creativity in the work of others….
So I am watching the third episode of HBO’s really cool new hit show “Girls”. During the ending credits, the song showcased is “Dancing On My Own” by Robyn. Okay, I don’t know if I am in the know or not (too much ambient electronic music) but I had never heard of Robyn prior to this song. Where’s my MTV when I really need it? But I digress, this song was way too cool. And when I watched the video, I was totally caught up in the strong, dynamic visual moves of her dancing and the editing with the live club dance scenes. And have you ever considered how interesting it is, when watching a rather good show or movie, the song or songs, during the ending credits can make all the difference? It keeps the mood going–bringing back the emotional pulse of the film. Last year, I was very much into HBO’s “Making It In America” and there was an episode that featured a group of the show’s characters biking after a roof-top party. Through the streets of New York City they trekked—at night. Now that is the way you live in the city. Which reminds me … I miss Philadelphia, the painting parties with artists and the late midnight runs with my boyz Trash (10 miles in 1hr 45 mins, in our twenties). But again I digress. At the end of the show the producers came up with another hip song to keep the flow. The song was “Midnight City” by M83. Pulsating, hip, cool. And yes this band I had heard of before (“Too Late from the CD Saturdays = Youth).
Music can make any art form feel prolific and elevate its content and mood….
I really like the programming on HBO. Everyone I am sure is familiar with their big hit “Game of Thrones” but I really do suggest you give “Girls” a look. And although “Making It In America” is not currently available on HBO demand, you certainly can get a hold of it.
Enjoy the video clips….
Girls – Trailer
http://tv.yahoo.com/girls/show/47563/videos/28822433
Robyn ‘s – Dancing On My Own
M83’s – Midnight City Live on Carson Daly
Weekly Movie-Making Moments In Film: Berlin Alexanderplatz by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
A scene from Berlin Alexanderplatz
It is 2012, and thanks to the Criterion Collection and NetFlix I am able this weekend to once again view the epic masterpiece Berlin Alexanderplatz by Director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. In the 1980’s Philadelphia’s PBS station WHYY aired the entire 16 hour film. I was totally amazed at the dark story of a man and his descent into a personal hell; as well as its historical portrayal of Germany in the pre-Nazi era. This is a disturbing film, yet beautiful and engrossing. It’s cinematography and storytelling captures the imagination with vivid realism.
Here is a short synopsis.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s controversial, fifteen-hour-plus Berlin Alexanderplatz, based on Alfred Döblin’s great modernist novel, was the crowning achievement of a prolific director who, at age thirty-four, had already made forty films. Fassbinder’s immersive epic, restored in 2006 and now available on DVD in this country for the first time, follows the hulking, childlike ex-convict Franz Biberkopf (Günter Lamprecht) as he attempts to “become an honest soul” amid the corrosive urban landscape of Weimar-era Germany. With equal parts cynicism and humanity, Fassbinder details a mammoth portrait of a common man struggling to survive in a viciously uncommon time.
The English trailer for the film Berlin Alexanderplatz
A short tribute to a modern Berlin Alexanderplatz
Gotye: Eyes Wide Open
Well I am enjoying my day discovering this really cool artist. So I thought I would pass on the delight. Visually intriguing and lyrically profound.
Thanks Daniel for the introduction
Eyes Wide Open.
Weekly Movie-Making Moments In Film – The Woman in the Dunes by Hiroshi Teshigahara and based on the novel by Kobe Abe
I have recently seen the wonderful Japanese film Suna no onna (Woman in the Dunes) 1964 by Director Hiroshi Teshigahara. It is an extraordinary film. Beautifully crafted. Surreal and mesmerizing. I highly recommend it. Below is a link to an analytical review and a link which contains the featured film. The film is available on Net Flix as well. The film is 2-hours and 27 minutes long. I have included a short synopsis of the film below.
http://youtu.be/P-2xec9Ebg0 – video essay by James Quandt – part 1 (please note, I was unable to find part 2 of the essay). Part 1 ends abruptly.
http://youtu.be/H-5fY8hZdTs – Feature Film
An entomologist, Jumpei Niki (played in the film by Eiji Okada), is on an expedition to collect insects which inhabit sand dunes. When he misses the last bus, villagers suggest he stay the night. They guide him down a rope ladder to a house in a sand quarry where a young widow (Kyoko Kishida) lives alone. She is employed by the villagers to dig sand for sale and to save the house from burial in the advancing sand.
When Jumpei tries to leave the next morning, he finds the ladder removed. The villagers inform him that he must help the widow in her endless task of digging sand. Jumpei initially tries to escape; upon failing he takes the widow captive but is forced to release her in order to receive water from the villagers.
Jumpei becomes the widow’s lover. However, he still desperately wants to leave. One morning, he escapes from the sand dune and starts running while being chased by the villagers. Jumpei is not familiar with the geography of the area and eventually gets trapped in some quicksand. The villagers free him from the quicksand and then return him back to the widow.
Eventually, Jumpei resigns himself to his fate. Through his persistent effort to trap a crow as a messenger, he discovers a way to draw water from the damp sand at night. He thus becomes absorbed in the task of perfecting his technology and adapts to his “trapped” life. The focus of the film shifts to the way in which the couple cope with the oppressiveness of their condition and the power of their physical attraction in spite of — or possibly because of — their situation.
At the end of the film Jumpei gets his chance to escape, but he chooses to prolong his stay in the dune. A report after seven years declaring him missing is then shown hanging from a wall, written by the police and signed by his mother Shino.
Moments In Time (A Yesterday Video Remix)
Sometimes moments in time are like the possession of precious jewels only remembered briefly…..
My latest video entitled “Moments In Time (A Yesterday Video Remix)” starts off with clips from previous videos and a multimedia performance before evolving into my most recent ventures of 2012; finding new forms in the mountains of Western North Carolina. My early video work began back in 1988. Of course there were no digital cameras, and we had to use those large, bulky, VHS Cameras. At the time I was fortunate to have some rather unique video editing software, and hardware courtesy of my Amiga 1000 digital suite and the third-party supplier of a video mixer called the Genlock. Now with a HD digital camera, there is much higher resolution, creating a more definitive, sharper image. I recently purchased the Avid Studio Pro video software, and hope that the quality, and versatility will yield several levels of high performance (within a modest price range).
One of the major traits in the processing of my previous video work, has been my ability to layer video sources. So I am looking forward to using this new capability (the latest digital hardware and software) to continue this process. In the end I hope to create thought-provoking video imagery that is abstract, ambient. and minimalistic.
So I hope you enjoy what I think may be a transitional video on the path to new ideas, and processes.
Moments In Time (A Yesterday Video Remix)….
n e w d i g i t a l s c a p e s 