Dynamism of a Figure No. 2 was being exhibited Laboratory at the Zuckerman Museum of Art in Georgia, November 14, 2014 – February 21, 2015. My most recently completed and second in a series of works, it peers back to those movements of the early twentieth century, in particular Futurism and Cubism. However the idea of space-time, motion studies and cyborgism are now fused within the digital symmetry of the computer. Utilizing a combination of state-of-the-art motion capture technology and 3D animation, the resulting work is a high-definition video triptych. Visually a complex motion study, however at a more cerebral level, it is a reflection of humankind’s curiosity, evolution and resilience.

(Triptych, Endless Loop, HD, stereo, 3-Blu-ray discs).

Dynamism of a Figure peers back to the avant-garde movements of the early twentieth century, in particular Futurism and Cubism, however the idea of space-time, motion studies and cyborgism are now fused within the digital symmetry of the computer. Utilizing a combination of state-of-the-art motion capture technology and 3D animation, the resulting work is a high-definition video triptych. Simple platonic shapes are attached to a skeleton of X,Y,Z coordinates representing the human form within an infinite virtual space. This allows a 360 degree field of manipulation. Movement can therefore be studied from every possible angle, avoiding any physical and lens-based limitations. Each screen of the triptych displays a “cyborgic” figure (multiplied numerous times) performing a simple dance through a series of 3D/2D environments. Dynamism of a Figure at its basic level is a complex motion study, at a more cerebral level, a reflection of humankind’s constant fear, isolation, evolution and resilience. *See also: Current Work.

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(10min, 16×9, stereo, DVD).

Disjecta Membra parallels the avant-garde tradition of found footage filmmaking, but in addition, utilizes the methodologies of digital technology. Dissimilar shots from 35mm trailers are juxtaposed together along with an original soundtrack to generate a haunting anti-narrative. Motion picture film (safety film) is purposely burnt and digitally assimilated. Perforations, frameline and optical track lose their meaning without claw and pin registration of the image. Reduced to bits of information, physical material becomes untethered to its mechanical past. This new ethereal reality opens up a host of fresh possibilities. *See also: 35mm.

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(3min 30sec. 16×9, stereo, DVD).

Soft Film Poem uses scraped emulsion colorized digitally, creating a gentle barrage of color and texture enhanced by the planetary movement of orbiting spheres. *See also: 35mm.

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(4min, 16×9, stereo, DVD).

X-Rated uses adult magazines adhered to clear leader to produce inconsistent imagery composed of Ben-day dots. An animated disco ball and music add satirical flavor to the idea of “mainstream” pornography. *See also: 35mm.

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(4min, 16×9, stereo, DVD).

I AM A STAR utilizes pop culture icons which are re-contextualized in a display of various reanimated and unflattering head-shots. Vanity and narcissism are reversed as the true nature of their inner selves are cinematically revealed via a black and white laser-printer. *See also: 35mm.

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(13min, 16×9, stereo, DVD).

Three 35mm film trailers are digitally input into a computer, resulting in a rainbow of chaotic “natural” artifacting. Thereby the original narratives are ungraciously pulverized into minute shards of auditory and visual information. This is where celluloid meets the binary in a rolling montage of superfluous gunplay. *See also: 35mm.

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(9.5 min, animated, 16×9, Dolby 5.1, DVD)

Stereoscopic Experiment for Audience No. 2 is composed of the basic platonic forms: the triangle, rectangle, and circle. These monochrome forms converge in repetitive collisions while in rhythm to a meticulously sampled and mixed electronic soundtrack. Simplistic shapes create deceivingly complex structures, which were originally designed for anaglyphic 3D viewing. However, this is an alternate version that does not require the renowned red and blue glasses. Stereoscopic Experiment is my personal homage to the pioneers of abstract animation, in particular German filmmakers Oskar Fischinger and Walther Ruttmann. *See also: 2001-2007

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(Infinite loop, animated, 16×9, stereo, DVD)

Alien Life Study is a hypothetical interpretation of a life form existing in the subsurface oceans of Jupiter’s moon Europa or Saturn’s Enceladus. Organic shapes modulate in shape and color to a rhythmic hum. *See also: 2001-2007

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6 videos for Octa-Screen Display is composed of short re-edited versions of six works, 110303, Light-Bearer, SkyClimber, Stereoscopic Experiment for Audience No. 1, U.F.O.’s (Unidentified Foreign Objects) and the unfinished RAW RAW RAW. It was constructed for viewing on eight large exterior high-definition video screens at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas Texas. The videos are designed to react to one another by pure juxtaposition, as well as the dynamic shifting of imagery between the multiple displays. *See also: 2001-2007

Photographs by Mary Benedicto

(6.5 min, animated, 16×9, stereo, DVD)

Unidentified Foreign Objects (U.F.O.s) takes its ideas directly from pop culture. Based on the crypto-zoological creature the ‘Flying Rod,’ the work is composed of triangular shapes that are organic and/or mechanical in appearance. These triangles move across the screen in erratic ‘flocks’ against a forested background, which warps and mutates producing a Land of the Lost environment. *See also: 2001-2007

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(2 min, animated, 16×9, stereo, DVD)

GridCode is a visually and acoustically repetitious experience. Mechanized and electrified rhythms slide across the screen with the precise punctuality of an atomic clock.Optimum optical and aural efficiency reduce screen time to the maximum logical durational requirements. Looped brain input created by GrideCode ensures an impending synaptic storm. *See also: 2001-2007

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(9.5 min, 16×9, stereo, DVD).

Light-Bearer is assembled from several minutes of individually constructed frames. The video uses bright flickering multi-colored abstract animations which assault the viewer’s retinas, the ‘windows to the soul.’ The result of this ‘flicker’ effect is latent optic impressions in the brain, imaginary objects seem to appear and disappear, or move slowly off the screen, and the viewer may have the impression that they are being subjected to subliminal information. In Light-Bearer these erratic and flickering colored shapes are intended to hypnotize, induce trance, or repulse the watcher. The mind is to be ‘popped’ open and the information dropped inside, ‘flying on the light’ to the brain. *See also: 2001-2007

Low resolution excerpt intended for preview only

(9.5 min, live-action, 16×9, stereo, DVD)

SkyClimber uses footage which is cut sequentially in and out of order. Actions complete before they begin. It is a kaleidoscopic view from an impaired compound eye of scaffold workers outside a multi-story building. *See also: 2001-2007

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