Current Film Project

So recently I've begun to explore the sort of, advanced cousin medium to mine own (photography) which is that of the moving image. 

I'm a very form oriented individual. My photographic "parents" as some people like to call them, are Albert Renger-Patzsch, Julius Shulman, and Andre Kertesz. The important one in terms of this blog post is Albert Renger-Patzsch. Renger-Patzsch was a German photographer associated with the New Objectivity active during the Weimar Republic. Now, the New Objectivity was something that, for those who know me, would assume I would hold protest against. However, in looking at the photographs presented by Renger-Patzsch, his focus on recording the beautiful forms that exist in the world, I've found a substantial amount of nearly universal subjectivity tying together all of his work. Yes, the images were recorded at a somewhat "arm's-length-distance" in an attempt to reduce the photographers bias. However, the choice to make the photograph is the biggest form of subjective bias I can think of.

Anyway, his importance in this blog post is that the increased sensitivity to everyday forms and objects, as well as Julius Shulman's increased sensitivity to imbuing a subjective, emotional, aesthetic quality to everything he pointed his lens at helped me in my first (after a long hiatus) film project.

As for the cinematic influences on this project...well, in keeping with the Germanic/ western European love of form I was greatly inspired by German Abstract Cinema of the 1920s and later on Soviet film director (1929) Dziga Vertov's masterpiece, Man with a Movie Camera. < Please, if you have the time, watch Vertov's film.  Specific artists would have to include, Vertov, Walter Ruttmann, Hans Richter, Viking Eggeling and Oskar Fischinger. While the latter four are arguably more abstract than Vertov and my film is much more in the spirit of Man with a Movie Camera, I developed my appreciation for the musicality of forms and their inherent subjective qualities because I was first introduced to German Absolut Film before experiencing anything of Vertov's. (Again, if you can spare the time, please read the short wikipedia article about Absolut Film)

Currently it's called City of Light and Lines but I might as well call it Man with a Blackberry Camera as that's what I chose to shoot with for convenience, ease of blending in and capturing the true environment, and it offered me a lo-fi, old film look that I feel works.


As the film progresses it becomes more and more abstract. Elements of sci-fi and suspense. Light is personified as a concept and a character.

Without further ado...here's my short silent film:

Any feedback, comments, questions, any...anything is greatly appreciated! Please utilize the comment box either on Youtube, blogger, or my email address provided in the right hand side bar.

Warmly,

-steve


P.S. Here is the stable URL link to the youtube page.
http://youtu.be/EWZ0HTJpdF0

Image(s) of The Night #12

It's been a weird (rough) day. It started off quite well around five thirty this morning but then began lengthy downhill stumble as the day progressed.  Last night I accompanied a great friend of mine to a new gallery that a mutual friend of ours recently opened up called Open Space Studio and had a wonderful time. If any of you readers are local (Greater NYC area) I strongly recommend you take a trip over to Long Island City (45th st Court House Sq. stop on the 7 train).

With nothing to do tonight I took to the streets with my camera and these are just a few of the resulting images:

©Steve Shilling Photography 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

©Steve Shilling Photography 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

©Steve Shilling Photography 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

©Steve Shilling Photography 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Sincerely,


-S.


P.S. I'm hoping to arrange for a show or to be part of a show at OpenSpace and will keep you all informed as to any possible show dates to look forward to.

P.P.S. I'll probably be going to THIS exhibit tomorrow (Night Vision: Photography After Dark) and I recommend anyone who might be interested...GO! It's bound to be an excellent display of night photography.

Interesting Thought #1 and Current Obsession

My close personal friend Anthony L. has been a master puppeteer for six years now and in the last two years I've known him I've been able to witness his true passion for the craft and it's close cousin, the art of masked performance.  He's an aspiring screenwriter and among his favorite films are Jim Henson Company originals: Labyrinth (1986), Dark Crystal (1982) and Mirrormask (2005).  I've had the pleasure of sitting down and watching each of these titles with him and I believe I speak for the both of us when I say our mutual favorite is that beautiful fantasy appropriate for all ages, Mirrormask.  
I'm not here to critique any of the previously mentioned films but I am here to tell you about how Mirrormask has spawned my most recent obsession and revitalized my long time fascination with masks.  It's been a while since last I watched Mirrormask and upon my first viewing of it this week I listened to a line of the movie that sparked a simple but compelling idea.


Line:  Valentine: "How do you know if you're happy or sad without a mask[...]?"
          Helena: "I've got a face."


Idea: While faces hold the ability to lie, masks do not. 


Maybe it's a bit difficult to see the connecting lines between the line and the thought that followed.  Well, Valentine states that in the world he lives in masks control the emotions and thoughts of those who wear them.  Helena rebuts with the ever popular idea that masks are too restricting to be thought of as honest because people change throughout every moment of the day as they react to their environment and daily stressors.  I must have been in an especially contemplative mood that night because my brain snapped to attention at the conclusion of the lines delivery.  Later on in the film while Valentine and Helena are in the library Valentine says "You all sort-of look alike to me. Without a proper face you could be anybody," again Helena rebuts saying "Hang on- I've got a proper face" and continues to demonstrate how she has the ability to control and contort her expression to Valentine's disgust.  Here we see the repeated idea that Valentine has about how masks affirm truth through restriction.
Now, though this concept has many counter arguments, some stronger than others and quite valid, I'm obsessed (at the moment) with masks and how they truly grant anyone who is willing the ability to honestly become another person.  In one sense, a complete lie; but from another point of view as long as the person wearing the mask acts in accordance to the expression of the mask they cannot deceptively lie. It's obvious that if a smiling mask speaks of disappointment or there current misfortunate position they're clearly lying.  Masks force a truth, if not from within us than certainly projected onto our everyday audience.


Now, the last time I delved into the world of sculpture (additive not subtractive) was probably freshman year in high school (approx. 6 years ago).  Today I went out and bought some of the necessary tools for sculpting some masks of my very own.  I started around 1 in the afternoon (13:00) and worked for a good four or five hours before taking my first break of the day for food.  I plan on making both functional and smaller scale ornamental masks as well as learning how to properly emote through masked performance.

©Steve Shilling

Sincerely,
-S.




Note: All film titles link to their corresponding IMDB.com page. For those interested in looking further into the films are urged to do a quick 'Google' or 'Bing' search.


I've shared a link to a Youtube video displaying death masks and I urge anyone interested in the conceptual side of masks to take a look at it.


SUGGESTED READING:
-Masks, Transformation, and Paradox By A. David Napier


-Masked Performance: The Play of Self and other in Ritual and Theatre By John Emigh


-Balinese Masks: Spirits of an Ancient Drama By Judy Slattum and Paul Schraub


-Revealing Masks: Exotic Influences and Ritualized Performance in Modernist Music Theater By W. Anthony Sheppard