|
| Filmmaking, Painting | |
I work in two media – film and painting. As I continue to process the info. I got at the IFP Market while promoting SISTER BEE and preparing for Open Studios I’m asking myself “why the heck do I work this way? Why film AND painting? Why not either/or?” This is a question that I feel like I’m always in the process of answering. Here’s the answer that seems right today. The impulse or curiosity that drives me to create a film is the same impulse or curiosity that drives the creation of a painting. Right now my questions revolve around the differences (or connections) between humans and animals. What’s a human quality and what’s an animal quality? What’s wild and what’s domestic? (I know this seems straightforward but once you start spending time with social animals like bees it gets harder and harder to answer.) Working in two media feels like I’m asking the same question of two listeners each with a unique response. A film responds with language, others’ voices, movement and rhythm. Because it’s a medium whose perception requires the passage of time it inevitably tells a story. A painting responds differently. It has physical presence. It provides a more physical, less intellectual response than a film does. I deliberately refrain from using words in my paintings so people won’t have to use the language-processing parts of their brains to take them in. Paintings and the process of painting seem closer to the animal side of human experience. Films are more uniquely human. P.S. More details on the IFP Market coming soon… | |
