Friday, March 4, 2011
Holy Bat-fork, Batman!
I enjoyed Kristen Bohem's lecture about taking art into the real world. I feel like I can identify with her in a way because I also sell small trinkets. I like the idea that one form of art can support another. In Kristen's case, she does graphic design to help fund her artwork. I've always planned on making fork sculptures on the side of whatever I end up doing. I want to go into film in some way or another, so maybe selling forks can help me fund that ambition. Selling forks allowed my to buy my first first camera a few years ago, so I think I'll keep that up. I am curious to see if I will actually sell any bat-forks at the screening next week...
The artist that I researched is Rupert Murray. In 2009 he directed a documentary film about overfishing in the worlds oceans called The End of the Line. It shares a lot of characteristics with my video, in that it has a strong conservation message. It is structured very much the same way as I plan for mine to be. It clearly states the threats that humans pose against the fish, but it ends with a hopeful message that encourages the viewer to do their own part in helping to solve a problem. I plan to do this as well. One thing that this film has is a narrator, and this is something that I have wanted to avoid from the start. I don't want my video to have too much of an "outsider" perspective (though it will inevitably have some). I want the story should be told through the interviews, not an outside narrator.
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I agree that one form of art can support another especially in your case. I'm surprise you bought your first camera by selling fork art. I think it's especially hard to find a job as a studio art major myself after I graduate, so I think building up networks in the field is also really important which was mentioned in her lecture as well.
ReplyDeleteFrom the clips you showed of "The End of the Line" in class, it did look like a very well put together piece with a strong and effective aesthetic. Perhaps a similar use of editing tactics and types of footage will lend some of the feeling of that documentary to your piece, and add even more strength to its message. I agree, going too over the top with a narrator and such could be too much, seeing as you want to approach the viewers at a more even level. It sounds like your progress so far is really good.
ReplyDeleteI think that your fork art is a bit different than the type of cozy-items Kristen produces, but it is good that you can think of them in a similar way as something you can continue alongside other pursuits.
ReplyDeleteI found the correlations between your work and that of Mr. Murray to be very interesting.
I think your video will be great. I do not think it's bias at all. I also think it is clever to try and narrate your documentary through the interviews of the natives. I also see how your work and Kristen's can relate with the products you sell and how you market them
ReplyDeleteThe zoomed in interviews with the shallow depth of field also stood out in Murray's documentary. It was very seductive and it looked like gels were used on the backgrounds of talking heads and there was lots of sumptuous close up footage of creatures and elements. Your footage of bats quivering and breathing alludes to their fragility. Selling fork art to earn $ for a camera is heart warming and cool!
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