Travel the World Without Leaving the States

Screen Capture of Map

Photo of Monica Vitti altered.

13x16 in

13x16 in

paintings

Top 48x11 in

Bottom 13x16 in

both acrylic on cardboard

Electromagnetic Siliceous Formations

The newest iteration of E.S.F. The pieces are colored with black copper oxide, transitioning from dark blue to white with various copper wire inclusions and set in a custom display case. All formations were created using a microwave.

time lapse

I took some stills during the shoot to make some time-lapses. These are those time-lapses one after the other. I'm continuing to think about what I could do with time-lapse so that it's not some koyaanisqatsi stuff, but something else.

Finished Cut

I finished a cut of the film, this is the final version I'm presenting to the designer. I'm having a meeting with her and her art director tomorrow (thursday) to discuss it. I'm not sure how onboard they are with it, but regardless I think it's pretty strong.

Thermal Breath

A follow-up to the previous animation, this time emerging from molten glass.

Termite Architecture

Thermal Breath

Takwin is a concept of medieval Islamic alchemy referring to the metaphysical and material process of generating vegetable, animal/human, or mineral life. The later work of Paracelsus expressed the idea that metals and minerals are living substances grown within the earth that experience growth and death. This is a quick test animation of obsidian inflating/deflating inside of a cage, its movement reminiscent of lungs. I'm thinking about a more compelling video shot through a window in the kiln, alluding to the ideas of artificial life (homunculus), mineral life (prima materia), and the essential element of heat in alchemical processes.

Electromagnetic Siliceous Formations

Recent experiments Ive been doing with various types of glass in a microwave. These tests began as an investigation into the possible physical byproducts produced by ball lightning, a phenomenon where witnesses describe spontaneously appearing mobile orbs of electric light. Some reports claim serious damage induced by ball lighting, from breaking through windows and doors to violent explosions. One attempt at explaining this phenomenon involves a self contained electric field close to the region of microwaves.

Recent Edit

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This is a recent cut of the film. I've got the character narrating, but i'm looking to re record some of it because of the quality of the audio/ performance. The story is there, let me know if you like how the Russian trails the english, or if I should do away with that aspect. The next step is figuring out the cuts with the various outfits, and working that in and tailoring/re recording some audio. The intro and ending are pretty much finished, although i want to move the beginning lines a bit back.

Recent Cut

This is a recent cut of my film. I'm going to break it up into four parts. Intro, narration, photography, narration. It's sort of in a strange place, but I'm only posting it to be able to look at it and show you it's most recent look. I put in a scratch track narration that will be in russian spoken by a woman.

Nuclear Bodies--Drawings

An attempt to fuse the several veins of research into a new body of work.

I have been researching the nuclear waste industry and nuclear science for the past year, under the premise that it is the most recent iteration of alchemic traditions and practices.

Early this year, I was sponsored by Cumbria University in the UK to begin a research project examining the nuclear waste industry of the region.  The ultimate goal being that I would formulate a body of work that would address this industry.  One of the key overlaps between my time in Northern England and the nuclear waste reprocessing facilities was their relationship to time and the land.

The material culture within the English landscape is stunning--one can find shells from recent world wars, pottery from the early 19th century, and neolithic flint waste all within the same field.  Stone henges and circles such as Castlerigg, Long Meg, and King Arthur's Round Table became fascinating intersections of history, human ingenuity, and mysticism--the function of these sites is little known.

Intertwined with this investigation is the unique condition that long-term planning for nuclear waste storage faces--how do you convey over 50,000-100,000 years that there is volatile material buried below?  The oldest extant human structures are only 10,000 years old--the knowledge of these cultures and their motives based on theory and conjecture.  Designers and engineers are faced with the task of creating architecture that can withstand not only the test of time physically, but operate as a sign for a future culture that may have little to no resemblance to our own.

These drawings are an attempt to illustrate how the land can gain and lose "value" by these processes of burial.  Source images come from schematics of nuclear waste containers and mummified remains found in Scandinavia and England, often the result of human sacrifice.

Cyanoacrylate Cultures

Some recent experiments made by adding super glue to water/ water to super glue with various additives. Thinking about the difference between growth and life...synthesized organisms...

26 Monitor Surround Sound Interactive TV Installation

This will be the first installment in a series of works that will lead up to a final performance which will include a multi-monitored, surround-sound, interactive installation.

Within the installation, the performance will include Dancer Renay Aumillier in a choreography to an Electro-Acoustic Bach influenced piece written by Barmey Vishnu Ung (www.BarmeyVishnuUng.com) and performed by Kmang Kmang (www.Kmang-Kmang.com), Gaudete Brass Quintet (www.GaudeteBrass.com), and by members Bach and Beethoven Ensemble (www.BachandBeethoven.org).

The exact music and images for the monitors have not yet been decided.

Enjoy!! It's going to be lots of exploration and a very long ride! Comments and constructive thoughts are always welcome : )

The Rad Sponge

The beginning of a new body of work, addressing time, technology, and the biological world.

"Athanor--The Rad Sponge" depicts a glass sponge carved out of uranium glass.  A plaque attached to the display box informs the viewer of the United States' involvement in testing hydrogen weapons in the Pacific Islands.

Conducting Chaos, screen shots

Screen shots from "Conducting Chaos," shot last week with the help of Ben Hirt. Editing in progress...

Latest Version

Latest version with some sound work experimentation. I'm writing the narration currently. It's still a sketch at this point. I think I'm in a good spot with it now. A story is forming from working with the video.

Conducting Chaos, shot with polarized light

In looking into the mechanics of LCDs, I discovered an exciting parallel to what I was doing by shooting this video in polarized light. My hope for this video is to allude to the torch breaking the glass from behind the screen, or "inside" an lcd monitor (which it will be displayed on). By having the glass literally between two sheets of polarized film as I heat it, I am figuratively placing myself inside the layout of the LCD, where the tempered glass stands in for the liquid crystal, and the torch for the voltage.

there's no sound on this draft because it hasn't been designed yet. before you read further respond to the piece alone before reading what i've written. my writing could alter your perception:

i'm continuing to work on this. i really like the scanning vernacular brett brought into the equation as well as matt's elevator idea. i want to use the scanning idea. i'm still messing with what i want to do. i'm battling not trying to make eye candy. i want to put a narration on it in russian because the character (the model) is russian and i want to make a story out of it similar to this piece I made over 14 months ago. that aside i'm still working with the material and seeing what i can do. i want it to be narrative, not some pretty fashiony video. it's early in the stages of the making of it, i've been sorting the footage out in bins so i can piece it together to see what it looks like, similarly to modeling a design (in the architectural or industrial sense). let me know what you think. i'm open at this point but the direction i want to pursue is narrator in russian, a small story, scanning elements and elements of photography without being too overly commentary on modeling or female models in general.

Working on a video for an apparel designer. She asked me to shoot video during a photo shoot for her look book. I've been organizing and working with the footage to come up with something. I made this today as a test. I'm looking into what I can do with the flashes. I'm just starting this project so this is the "first" thing I've made with the footage shot. There's no sound.

Time tales of the man at night.

each night, over the next couple months I will keep evolving this drawing.

Matt, this is the video I was referring to. I'm more interested in ideas of embodied work, ritual, duration, and effort creating its own meaning, than I am in the editing/documentation of the piece. Thinking about incorporating similar ideas into your project, but open to any inspiration you may have.

New work in progress, "Conducting Chaos." In this work I am applying a torch directly to 12” x 8” sheets of tempered glass. The way in which the heat is applied greatly influences the break pattern of the glass; however, there remains an equal amount of unpredictability and randomness. I am interested in this balance between the human hand influencing the material, and the ultimate reactions made by the material itself. I hope to show how something more tangible can emerge from a molecular system that is largely disorganized.

Welcome to Crit-space.