I'm on a little roll right now with film projects that feature public art pieces as though they think and wonder, and sometimes act. Two short films are now in stages of post production. I admit, large audiences are probably not in the cards for these films. But it thrills me to invent scenarios for pieces of public art, outstanding in their own right, whether murals in Los Angeles or garden sculptures in Dallas, and cast them in myths or fantasies for adventurous groups that like to see experimental films.
My errand with the camera is all about celebrating the "awe" feeling. It's a feeling that rewards an examined life.
I don't claim every waking hour an examined hour in my life - - not that by a long shot. But being hospitable to art, allowing it to work within me, press and pull ideas, dialogue, even, with stuff of my own invention - - this sort of interaction is fulfilling to me.
Generally speaking, an
examined life is developed through one's critical, creative, and imaginative
interaction with one's environment. In art, we recognize a union between
materials and ideas. Somehow, a material object is invested with symbolic
significance. Art critic Dan Siedell points out premodern cultures called this union "magic," whereas today we
call it the "aesthetic."
The term
"awe" has lost much of its authority. But I know the feeling is still
there, somewhere in that mysterious union that enables the self to move beyond
and outside itself toward an object, whether a piece of art, an heirloom, a
religious symbol, or the location of a significant event.
The art that works best in me is folk art. Art made of humble materials and visionary schemes. It keeps that magic from primitive times. It is just that stuff that inspires me as I assemble these movies.
And I hope you will find out more about my projects by visiting www.TropicPictures.com
