Project Plans (CalArts MFA, EA 2012)

"Project Plans" essay submitted for my application to the MFA Experimental Animation program at CalArts for fall of 2012.

One of the many reasons animation attracts me is the ability the artist has to manipulate the composition detail down to a fraction of a second. The human brain is great at filling in potential gaps in order to recognize patterns and create full pictures. I am interested in pushing the envelope on the imaginative freedom we allow the audience. I think audiences in general need to be given more credit for their ability to figure out the puzzle. I think the most powerful pieces are those that leave space for the viewer to fill in and figure out what the work means for them. Using the viewers mind to my advantage, I want to explore providing definitively minimal and abstract images that leave an impression, but allow for free interpretation and application.

In order to create works that resonate deep within an audience, it is essential to consider every sensory input that is delivered in a composition. Through directing and stage managing I have been able to spend large amounts of time playing with how to coordinate the dance of elements for the most effective and all encompassing impact. I seek to further experiment with the careful creation and marriage of sensory input for maximum intellectual and emotional growth. Sound and sight are the two main inputs inherent in film, but I am very interested in exploring how to involve more of the senses in the experience; bringing in touch, smell, and even taste by crafting the environment in which the art is viewed. I believe this could manifest in both installations and in live performances/viewings.

A project that I have been cooking up for years now is an installation of sorts. I would like to transform a large venue (possibly a warehouse space) so that all sharp corners are eliminated. This would be achieved with a structure completely composed of hexagons that round the room out into an encompassing undulating bubble. I chose the hexagon because of its great cosmic significance. It is found within the structure of just about everything. From the base structure of a DNA cell to large rock formations, clouds on Saturn to a honeybee’s comb, the hexagon determines the structure of the majority of what makes up this place we call home.

The structure would be composed of three main elements: two way mirrors, sharkstooth scrim, and clear glass (possibly plexi). The idea is that in between the actual venue walls and the structure there is an endless animation of swirling cosmos lightly overlaid with other abstract visuals reminiscent of things we see in our everyday lives. The cosmos would be animated from small scale close up shots of liquids, dust, oils and other such materials interacting. A series of lighting environments would be created and when the viewer looks up and around, dependent on how the light is hitting the structure at any given point; they may see cosmos, or they may see themselves reflected, they may see someone across the expanse of the room, or they may see the inside of the structure illuminated with animation. Once one has entered into the room they should be transported. There would be a soundscape and environmental manipulations (temperature, air flow, etc…) that enhance that transport. Periodic blackouts and silences will give the viewer a break from the stimuli, but will also help to enhance their ability to observe and make their own conclusions about the experience. My goal with this is to emphasize the idea that no matter how different our life experiences may have made us-we are all conscious beings searching for some kind of meaning.

For all of my work it is extremely important that each element of the composition facilitates the other. There is music that vibrates throughout the human body, which in turn allows the human spirit to vibrate through music. This is a large reason why I believe in complete underscoring. Even the silences should be considered a part of the auditory composition; creating a soundscape that washes around the brain enhancing the visuals and concepts as they are presented. The use of sound to support the journey is a very effective way to enhance interpretation, comprehension, and feeling.

I have a great desire to interpret the works of classic playwrights in stop motion. We see plenty of fairy tales, but not many plays depicted in animation. I think that there are many of them that would do very well in the medium. It still allows for the dramatic stylization of theater and the use of the abstract, but in a more sustainable format. I believe that the visual interest of stop motion would help to introduce and draw people in that are not familiar with the works of great playwrights. Beckett, Ibsen, Miller and Shakespeare can often be seen as stuffy theater that only applies to the World War II generation. Many people stay away for that reason-they think that it’s boring or outdated. These plays have stuck around for a reason, though – there is something to be found there, something to discover. There are many plays that seem limited by their time simply due to the lack of a fresh approach. The delivery must be contemporized. I do not mean simply changing the time and location that the story is told in. I believe that the key to making a classic play fresh for a new audience lies in the approach. The way audiences experience entertainment has changed dramatically over the past few decades, and so must the way in which it is delivered – the format needs to be altered to bring in a new audience. While I certainly feel that the theater community should continue exploring these works on stage, I do think that there is an entirely new audience that can be brought to the lessons and inquiries that theatre provides by bringing these plays to them in a medium that stimulates the modern mind.

I also plan to continue collaborating with artists of other disciplines to devise new works. I am currently looking to focus in on the subjects of outsiders, confinement, gender, and sexual identity. Anyone can relate to feelings of isolation and confinement. There are many elements to be explored and great potential to ignite reflection. I think a first step in helping those who do not understand the plights of the LGBT community is to try to foster a better understanding of the deep inner hurt the community experiences. I think that to approach the subject with those who do not understand, we have to present the information initially as having nothing to do with gender or sexuality, but instead present ideas and concepts that they can relate to. My goal with these devised works is to encourage a broader spectrum of empathy with humanity.

Through the act of capturing motion and creating a dynamic marriage of sensory input, I seek to explore, question, and feel our universe as well as humanities relationship with it. I create out of necessity; a necessity for expression, understanding, and mental evolution.