CONTEMPLATIVE FILMS

Here are a few examples of my most recent art practice.

Some might consider these non-narrative films;

others might consider them chance compositions,

or experimental films;

still others may call them contemplative films.

Because these films all arose directly, unplanned,

while I was in a state of heightened/mindful attention

I consider them contemplative films.

RAIN – My friend and fellow Goddard alum, Brenda Bowyer, conceived of a chance methodology for the creation of new art work, using a set of special die such as those used in Dungeons and Dragons. She asked me if I would like to play the chance ‘game’ and I accepted. After pondering for weeks the six elements that I received with the die toss, I was without a clue as to what I might create. It was my research of the element “non-narrative” in conjunction with my experience of a soft rain as I sat in my living room that brought it all together for me. All footage was gathered on that one rainy Saturday in April. This newly edited version of the film is 14 minutes long. To ensure the viewer has the ‘clearest’ experience of the film, I chose to wait until the end of the film to reveal all six elements which guided the creation of this chance composition.

SNOW DREAM came about one evening as I contemplated the snow falling outside my new residence. This was my first winter and my first snowfall here. The dreamy, magical quality of the snow outside stirred within me a realization of this home as my sanctuary. A sanctuary where I could be mindful of what is without and what is within, fostered by the warmth, the candlelight, and the comforting stillness conferred by the snow.