first report to lee

some actions which haven't been defined yet in the revolution by sun xun has remained lodged in my brain since we first saw it, and only solidified its presence further after a second visit to shanghart. afterward i realized—seemingly out of nowhere, surprisingly—how, of all the projects i have worked on as a studio art major, i am probably most proud of the short film i made for digital media. the perfect human: movement was an attempt at abstracting the human form by selecting very small portions of a model's body to display, removing as many of the anatomical markers we rely on for recognition; only at the very end were any obvious parts revealed—in the case of the film, it was the simultaneous panning to a flexing hand and a balanced foot. even as the assignment was intentionally inspired by another short film we watched as a class, the project was one i approached as someone already comfortable with the medium—i did some short movies in high school—which allowed me more control over the nuances associated with the many variables of film; in other words, i felt as if i made a piece that stood not as a copy but as a thoughtful, deliberate response to the original.

 

my point in bringing up this film is to explain why the film by xun has maintained my interest so far. it reminded me especially of the interdisciplinary nature film possesses as a medium: one that can include sound work/music composition, any number of 2D (and even 3D) components, human movement through dance and theatrics, and digital processes. it has become clearer throughout my third year at grinnell that focusing on a single medium to mastery, at the potential cost of developing other skills, seems debilitating in some ways to me as a growing artist. rather, some relationship between mediums, especially the visual and aural is where i am drawn the most. in any case, film may be the medium with the most possibilities for this kind of multi-faceted art practice. and while theatre and dance are obviously fully capable of existing without visual or aural art components, i have come to value the relationships and power inherent in their combinations (especially through events including bread & puppet, naked, and now you see me); film can both document and contribute to these productions in fascinating ways, especially with socially-conscious focuses.

 

as for the project and exhibition ahead of me, then, i remain curious about pursuing my first animated film. the largest hurdle i have faced so far in attempting to make an animation (which i have conceived several of in the last five-or-so years) is time: it is a highly consuming activity to carry out even a short animation, and my interest in multiple disciplines at any given moment has never afforded me the energy or ability to dedicate the appropriate amount of time towards animating.

 

my ideas for the animation are still in the earliest stages, limited generally to how i might approach the medium of woodcut that's both reminiscent of xun's film but also pushing or tweaking it in a unique, personal way—to react to, rather than duplicate. for instance, i was considering the effects of the ink on a woodcut when first applied versus when cleaned off: obviously the first application of ink on a slab of wood has that stark look of negative and positive shape and line; the process of cleaning a woodcut after printing, however, allows soapy, watery ink to soak into the cuts themselves, permanently coloring and muting the discrepancy between surface and relief. it could be interesting to play with such differences in appearance and quality, as the washed woodcut loses harshness in favor of beautiful ink blends. this process could be further developed by re-cutting the inked-and-washed wood, adding a new layer of clean cuts. the image i could see this process resulting in especially beautifully is of the surface of water, wherein the original cuts, washed in diluted ink, define ripples and reflections, and the further cuts create the glints of light gracing the tips of the undulations. it could be gorgeous to animate in this way, though i am not yet sure what place the subject matter of water has. another image includes a chandelier whose lights flicker individually, as do the reflected metals. again, i am not sure where or what these images fit into, but there is plenty of time for that. other, similar ideas include the introduction of color, especially as part of the ink wash; and the potential interaction between woodcut and print, within the animation itself. alternatively, other mediums may bode better for certain subject matters, such as animated conté/charcoal drawings for the delicate subject of touch.

 

perhaps the remaining sights and galleries of shanghai will help; perhaps i must wait for beijing. regardless, my excitement is growing and i have little doubt that, save some even more exciting artwork that exists in a very different spectrum, a work in film may very well be the final outcome of this MAP.

[blog edit: i will be including images to better explain myself in future reports, so keep an eye out for them as they will hopefully help!]