augenblick, 2014
single or dual-channel video, 20 mins, 15 seconds, looping
In installation form, two video streams are synchronized and projected side-by-side. The version above combines both films into a single stream (HD or UHD). The work is also designed so that individual "sketches" can be scattered throughout a program or exhibited individually.
CONCEPT:
The experimental cinema work, Augenblick, addresses the grammatization of omniscience. In content, form and method, the work considers the transformation of Western metaphysics from a theology of divine oversight to a technology of ubiquitous surveillance. The implication is that responsibility for oversight is now immanent. What is needed is a new image practice of “surveyance.” Following Heidegger, the work explores the notion that the “vulgar” conception of time as a sequence of discrete nows fails to account for contemporary experience, resulting in disruption (both blue sky and black smoke) and potential disaster. The augenblick is a moment of awareness giving access to another dimension of temporality: the decisive moment of opportunity.
STRUCTURE:
Hey Joe..seph, where ya goin with that spear in your hand? 1:44
Sontagian Nausea 6:14
Bugs 5:00
Walden 4:58
Authenticity 2:18
CREDITS:
Thank you to my beautiful wife and daughter for putting up with my foolishness. Thanks to Greg Ulmer for his inspiration for the past several years and help refining the concept statement. I look forward to our collaboration on Augenblick². Of course, thanks are due The School of Art + Art History, Art + Technology program at the University of Florida for providing the resources which were indispensable in creating Augenblick. Thank you Juan Griego for your drone, as well as neighbor Michelle Jensen for allowing me to film portions of the work on her property.
NOTES:
Shot in Florida (primarily Gainesville) using RED Epic (5K) cinema camera.
Canon 100mm macro, 50mm and Tokina 11-16mm lenses.
Software: Final Cut X, Davinci Resolve, Redcine-X, Syntheyes, Max/MSP/Jitter, ImageJ, Pro Tools, Ableton Live