February 26, 2007

Self- Portrait Challenge- Black and White In A Room In Portland

Last week, my good friend Ari sent me a few drawings he had drawn that he was excited about. He had sketched very simple representations of his surroundings and scribed, in a childlike cursive script, lines like- This has already been experienced for you and crying is exercise. They reminded me of pictures famous people draw once they have made their name in other fields, like Bukowski’s watercolors or something one would find in a Picasso sketchbook. I am not saying that my friend is Picasso, just that his basic depictions of his everyday surroundings made an impression on me.

I am not sure if everyone does this, but I immediately put myself, symbolically at first, into each of his images. I asked myself what would my role be in these spaces? How would I look if I were in these rooms? What emotions would I convey? So I decided to do more that just imagine; I decided to actually put myself into each one of the rooms. Here is my Self-Portrait for this week. Black and White in a Room in Portland:

While I was doing the legwork for this part of the project, I started to see how much what I was doing was like animation. I had taken shots of several the poses in the “room.” So I decided to put them together with iMovie. This first prototype is a bit unsophisticated, but it is a springboard for future ideas. I thought about perhaps using Ari’s drawings as sets. Sets onto which I could add photographic characters, reading lines of dialogue, monologue, poetry etc… I want to try and create what I am calling animated talking comics, or very slow motion animated films, where the background or sets are drawn, but the characters are photographs, or vice versa. I will keep you posted. Stay tuned for the next piece; they will be filed under Lost In Drawings. I would love for others to send me background drawings as well. You can find my email on my profile. As always please let the entire clip load before viewing. Enjoy.

14 comments:

  1. This is purely brilliant.
    The drawings, the photo insets and the timing...
    and I love that pink floyd song.
    I'll be coming back for more :)
    Vx

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  2. Anonymous8:27 PM

    I see the world of technology invading your personal universe - and I love it! First RSS, then the blog, now this! Go BZ!

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  3. Anonymous10:18 PM

    sublime!!!

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  4. Wow, this is great. Something like that would honestly make a really cool music video or something.

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  5. You are truly talented.

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  6. Wow, that is absolutely brilliant. Visiting your blog is pure inspiration.

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  7. I got so much out of that I could write an entire post in your comment section.

    I wish there were things that had already been experienced for me - and that longing is what I got when I watched that.

    Well, that and Pigs on the Wing is one of my favorites. I could live on Pink Floyd.

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  8. Anonymous5:53 AM

    Very creative, nice job getting the perspective of the photos to match the drawing, that must have been time consuming!

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  9. Applause for so much effort. Very cool.

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  10. wow, BZ...i am quite impressed.

    it seems the work that went into this required a lot of patience and detail, that of which i know you have by your writings and other portraits.

    it is a moving and beautiful concept you have here. i can truly feel your emotions with each image of you in that room. what you would be when you are alone.

    the iMovie is fantastic and the music truly resonates with the whole feeling of this piece. i am looking forward to your comic/photography films in the future.

    i love the composition of the post of you laying flat on the bed where your feet are almost the focus.

    as i said...i am quite impressed.

    love to you and your family!

    ps. thank you for your kind words on my site. i've read it a few times just to soak it in.

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  11. Clever idea. I like this image.

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  12. Everyone before me already beautifully articulated how deep the emotion of this photograph is (and the work you did to make it a multi-sensory experience)...so I will just say "Thank you" sincerely, because I loved it.
    Love,
    D.

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  13. Wow, that is wonderful. Clever, creative and compelling.

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  14. Great stuff, mang!

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