Sightlines

"Chased by the Light"

Sunday, March 16, 2008. Imagine that you are professional photographer with decades of experience. You're burned out, your creative juices are drying up. What to do? What if you set a project for yourself: take just one picture a day for 90 days? That's just what Jim Brandenburg did. He lives near the Boundary Waters in Northern Minnesota and his project ran from the autumnal equinox to the winter solstice in 2003 (?).

No second shots, no second chances.
 

The result is a stunning body of work  called, "Chased by the Light." It's in both book and movie form. We watched the film the other night.

He described his project as both "arbitrary and rigid." He also said, "My work would be stripped to the bones, bringing together whatever photographic and woods skills I have."  Watching the film was an almost meditative experience.

This was a weekend of film-watching, and it was a very diverse foursome: Besides "Chased by the  Light," we watched "The Brave One" with Jodie Foster; Ang Lee's Lust, Caution (I recommend both!). Then I caught the second episode of the Yatra Trilogy, about Buddhism in SE Asia. The word "Yatra" is the Sanskirt word for pilgrimage or spiritual journey.

Jim Bush, the film-maker of the Trilogy was on a Yatra, and it occurs to me that Jim Brandenburg was as well.

The Seattle Asian Art Museum is screening the Trilogy, and the final one will be next Sunday. Cheers.

Roundup, from Salem to Seattle

Sunday, March 9, 2008. Last weekend, Salem; this weekend, Seattle and the NW Film Forum. Last Saturday Dave (Bro) suggested we motor down to Salem to catch the James Lavadour show at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University. The show is called, "The Properties of Paint," and among the many quotes next the paintings, this one caught my eye:

"Like a river or a cloud, a painting is a moving, dimensional moment. A painting does not happen in one sitting. There are many layers, twists and turns as it develops through time, just as a river continually takes new tributaries into its current. Turbulent and smooth, it flows forward. A river starts in the mountains and finds its path over great distances. A painting is a destination of many forces."

Is he talking just about painting...? Maybe life...?"

Anyway, the Ford was a delight find, an inviting and intimate sort of place. And just an hour south of Portland. Incidentally, there are several Lavadour pieces at Swedish Medical Center, on the main floor, just off the lobby, as I recall.

Yesterday what caught my eye was an event at the NW Film Forum called, Seattle Moves. It was part of an annual series, BYDESIGN, and it featured "motion designers" ( new term to me) showing their videos  and talking about their processes. The designers work for niche c0mpanies like Digital Kitchen, World Famous and Superfad, and their clients range from Target to Playstation to Microsoft to US Air and Pioneer.

Superfad's work includes slow motion video that was originally captured using a camera that can record at 2,000 frames/second!

I learned that Seattle is an up and coming place for motion design work. LA and New York are the real hot spots, but Seattle is growing talent and the work I saw yesterday blew me away. 3-D, animation, all kinds of fancy graphics, and stuff I can't even describe.

My video work is a tricycle compared to their Ferraris.  Actually it was a bit of an education to hear them talk. Some of it I couldn't even follow. It was like watching/listening to the next generation taking over...

This image is from Superfad's site. Cheers.