The Space Inbetween

September 25th, 2010

Jen showcased a ‘sketch’ video that will be presented in the fall show. Trying to showcase the space between two unspecified states. A shared moment of subconsciousness “suspended” by the moving image to then be grounded by the violent surgence of sounds. The usage of text forces the viewer to move into another space that is personal within the viewer. Becoming move intimate with the work.

Critique:
John McNeil: Source of text is yours, but the ambiguous space isn’t reached because the text becomes a director. “I need you too….”

Jen Frost Smith: Internal dialogue is usually (for myself) apparently a command.

Miranda Lichtenstein: There is a sense that you are speaking to a specific person rather than a collective, as if reaching for a person. The camera doesn’t feel passive but the opposite. The imagery doesn’t seem to reach a ‘liminality’ (might be a buzz word). Why do you want to repeat the footage? Why the text – “Not an object?” If you want to focus on the unsearchable; the repetition doesn’t act like a disjointed experience. Why that footage?

Jen Frost Smith: It has travel log qualities because that is inherent in transition. The pills, western cure-all. The train as movement from place-to-place.

Miranda Lichtenstein: Is it about moving from interior to exterior? Maya Deren is a good place to start, since she deals with symbolism. If you want enticing, you will need more footage.

Jen Frost Smith: I need to focus on what I want to do instead of just creating and then having to explain what it is I have done.

Miranda Lichtenstein: The narration is key (the text) as who you are talking to and what you are saying.

Jen Frost Smith: I think about being selective is my weakest link, to have to focus

Travis Masingale: Take a note of the design of the lettering for its importance. Since it is a standard.

Gavin Stewart: Pacing would be another aspect to take into consideration.

Miranda Lichtenstein: The choice of images are actually very clean and not cluttered. Bruce Conner (atomic testing footage) – Filmmakers in the 1960′s were experimenting with techniques rather than using computer effects.

Jen Frost Smith: My choice with less abstraction is my own battle of wanting to distance myself from abstraction. The lack of sound as a way to have the viewers listen to the environment around them.

Miranda Lichtenstein: It is important to consider whether you are trying to create a space or you trying to represent a space? Is the work itself going to be able to raise issues of: media, art, the human condition? Or are you making a diary entry?