development

actual
ideaideaideaidea:
a narrative visual expression of music
(a music video)
with a song made by my friend taylor, living in portland, known as quietly bright

the song is here:
http://www.myspace.com/quietlybright

it's called "spirit"


taylor wrote a story with another one of my friends, ben, and the story became a song
(i'll post the original story once it gets e-mailed to me [tonight])
the story was written with the song and visuals in mind
the song and the story and the visuals are sum parts of a total idea
a multifaceted expression

the story (as i've heard it) is a pretty straightforward (albiet strange) narrative, but my purpose
in doing this project is less the perfect realization of a specific narrative and more about process.
the intended, overall message of the project, to me, is encouraging others not to limit themselves creatively -
to write stories or songs that are absurd, don't make sense, don't follow typical structures
to make things and not worry about illusory ideas of good and bad, but to indulge
in creativity, as an end, not a means. i think taylor's song is kinda weird in a lot of places, and i have
an attraction/repulsion reaction to most of the sounds in the song, because they are, for the most part,
electronically generated using a keyboard or a computer, and i think they definitely sound like that kind of
source, which i want to categorize as uninspired or lacking in creative ambition. but my attraction comes in the
way that taylor embraces those sounds and finds them liberating instead of limiting. my attraction comes in
his sincerity, making sounds and noises that may sound cheesy or funny and embracing that potential cheesiness or that humor. i know it's because i know taylor, and i know his facial expressions and mannerisms, but when he sings "i don't know" "i know" i can see his face, and i can see how he makes those sounds, and it's impossible to make those sounds without committing to it. you can't make them while winking, or with your tongue in your cheek. you have to stick your lips out and suck your cheeks in and feel it in your throat.

to me, the most exciting art happens along thin lines, or borders between (seeming) opposing sides, like good and bad, adult and childlike, political and private. i'm willing to try to walk those lines, to not feel like i always gotta be walking toward "good" art (aesthetically solid, conceptually airtight?) but maybe roll around in the "bad" too, maybe tiptoe along the border, maybe figure out there's no border at all, that there's no difference. the point is, i'm willing to accept whatever happens, to create and deal with the results and create some more. i'm not working project to project. my art is not riding on one assignment. my creative horizons aren't limited by expectations. i think if you're willing to explore, to pursue creation and make the rest up as you go along, you'll find the details fall into place, or fall of the map, or do whatever is that they're gonna do.

for my final project, i will complete the visual component of this idea,
with the collaborative input of other people interested in the creation
of the visuals and the total project. the visuals will be a collage of
hand drawn components, stop motion photographic animation,
video footage, and digital manipulation

creative sessions will be held with all interested individuals, and materials (construction paper, blank paper, magic markers, ink, paint, brushes, pens, pencils, sticks, camera) will be supplied
toward the creation of visual building blocks, to be constructed by me, later, in final cut

constructors:
ben pierce
monica brown
colby painter

each person will get a segment or segments of the song to visually represent

creative sessions will be held:
thursday 16 (video footage will be planned this day)
sunday 19 (video footage will be shot this day)
tuesday 21 (if necessary, future sessions will be scheduled on this day)