From: George Griffin (email suppressed)
Date: Fri Aug 28 2009 - 12:58:12 PDT
I want to thank this terrific list for disseminating my July 1
announcement far and wide. The response was enormous: so many artists
engaged in making and showing animated films by eclectic, non-digital,
sprockety methods. Most folks wanted just one or two pieces, some
teachers and students tried unsuccessfully to get their schools
involved; quite a few had strong motivation and creative aims but
lacked the logistical support. The Winnipeg Film Group came through
with enthusiasm and a plan for shipping. The 35mm moviola (very heavy)
stayed in NYC where plans are underway for a public sculpture
installation.
The curbsides of NYC, like any other American city (but ratcheted up
by density, affluence, media technology, deracination), have always
been a virtual gold mine of discarded stuff that my generation of
impoverished makers gleaned for our diverse needs. Offices, schools,
factories and the restless millions who clear their apartments to move—
all still abandon tons of treasure daily. "Dumpster-Diving" doesn't
really adequately describe the critical, thoughtful scrutiny and
sorting at the heart of technical scavenging; one must weigh the
inherent value with the sentimental attachment; will I really use it
or will it become a curiosity on the shelf (another use perhaps); does
it really complete my collection of a certain arcane series, or is it
just a duplicate, maybe an inferior one at that.
Agnes Varda's "The Gleaners and I," updating Millet's painting to the
contemporary condition, is a brilliant, unsentimental riff on the
process, Maybe using an old piece of mechanical/industrial equipment
is less elegant than foraging for a forgotten potato for your soup,
but when you're making art you've got to grab whatever tool works.
GG
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For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.