I just want to make sure that I announce a special set happening at the Delancey for Warper next Wednesday night. I’m excited to say that this will be my first time collaborating with electronic musician Kodomo, and the first time that he will be playing live! We’re on at 9:30PM for a 40 minute set. I’ve been developing a bunch of new work for this so I hope a lot of you can make it out to meet up with us!
Last Thursday and Friday I was privileged to spend my normal workday at the F5 Motion Design conference held at Roseland in NYC. I kept my eye on this conference from the early stages last year and watched it bloom into one of the biggest, baddest lineups of designers from all over the world. After being exposed to all the presentations, I’m personally going to keep my eyes on 1st Avenue Machine, Dvein, and Moment Factory. These guys blew my minds eye and have opened me up to some new ideas & approaches to design. Here are some of my other favorite speakers from the day, to note a few:
Dvein, Prologue, Psyop, Black Heart Gang, 1st Ave Machine, Imaginary Forces, Rachel Maddow, Moment Factory, Jonah Lehrer.
Since having worked in the corporate world of video production for the last few years, I haven’t had much opportunity to immerse myself in the art world (or even the commercial world) of motion graphics the way I wish I could. Thankfully, conferences like F5, after effects meetups and the VJ world have brought this back into my life in many ways. Most nights after I come home from day to day editing, I begin to collage my own new work and find myself experimenting into the early hours, to create a bigger, more original and more ecclectic library for future live video performances.
The F5 conference reminded me just how powerful motion graphics are, and how much I love that world & the people who make that sort of magic happen. Not only did the conference showcase some of the best work I’ve seen in years, but there was a really interesting discussion about the state of creativity, and how it works from a scientific angle. We talked about how to better access innovations from the left side of the brain, and how we should be open to all new endeavors that allow us to create connections, and draw inspiration from experience. Insights seemingly flourish best when not forcing creativity. Some highlights for me were seeing & hearing all of the bizarre places that people reach to for inspiration. Found everywhere from rubberbands that were made into stop-motion spaghetti to one person dipping their hands & feet in cement just to see what it would feel like to wear on their limbs for a week! Ideas are formed in some of the most oddly beautiful ways and it has always been a passion of mine to explore how other people’s brain’s work.
Later this week I’d like to transcribe my notebook that I had with me for the two days and capture the raw thoughts I had while listening to these fabulous heros of mine. As a result of the festival I’ve already taken some of the advice and put it towards a new identity scope for my danger visuals.
A few frame grabs from new Danger intro visuals
Lastly I want to mention how VERY excited I am to say that a new collaboration is underway with electronic musician Kodomo. It looks like May 6th will be our first performance at the Delancey for the next Warper Party. Details soon to come!!
Over the last few days I’ve been diving headfirst into a huge number of experimental films and collections. The last film in particular that caught my eye and is holding a fascination for me right now is called Color + Modulation by Rob Tyler. With a variety of oil & ink mediums he hand-painted glass frame by frame and caught them on 16mm film. It was then digitally manipulated and edited to music to produce 8 films within this collection. I find them each to be an absolutely alluring piece of work that keeps my eyes entertained and my brain stimulated throughout the entire transition from one color to the next.
Rob’s music videos are also pretty incredible. The one posted above is just one example of many beautiful pieces. He captures something that I’ve been digging deep to find within my own work. A sort of innocence and simplicity that exudes an energy that holds you in the moment until it’s ready to release you back to earth.
Inspired by the hauntingly beautiful music of the Cutlery ladies and the poetic words of Nick Cave. I created this piece with an old wooden frame & collaged imagery found from fashion photos from around the world. It almost came together in a seemingly unconscious way, and became an animated photo album that expanded from the corners of my imagination. The photography was altered, animated, arranged and woven into these treasured memories. This piece was created to be projected during the Cutlery’s live performance of this song, and was debuted on the four walls of Monkeytown last Friday night. Looks like we’ll have another gig there in June!!
Lately I’ve been feeling nothing less than colorful & vibrant. The world is opening it’s doors down all the paths that I’m curious to explore, and I’m happily skipping down each one with wide eyes. I had some time today between edits to remind myself how much I love layering in photoshop, and how much I love doing work that is purely for the art of enjoyment. For the last many years I’ve been working insanely long hours, and insanely hard for other people. Finally I have time to make art again, for myself.
This piece is inspired by one of my all time favorite design heros, Scott Hansen. It reminds me that as a designer, sometimes we don’t have to over-think our work down to every last detail. Sometimes if we just start having fun and doing what attracts us, you get the best results and are happier for it.
Copyright © 2010 Holly Danger. All Rights Reserved.