Interview: THE DIRECTOR OF "LYNCH"

Lynch is a unique documentary on David Lynch which intimately follows his creative process. Filmed over two years, the film follows David's journey through ideas as he completes his latest film, Inland Empire.

The director immersed himself in David's world, living and working with him over the two years enabling him to capture a more personal side to the artist.

Being the first interview with the director of Lynch, I feel priveleged and grateful that unseen forces have chosen SiouxWIRE to begin their campaign.


There's been a lot of speculation surrounding your identity. What is the intention in removing yourself (at least in name) from the production and do you feel it augments the documentary in any way by doing so?
MY CHOICE TO USE AS PSEUDONYM WAS A PERSONAL ONE AND IT IS SOMETHING THAT I DO WHENEVER I ENTER INTO ANYTHING CREATIVE. I HAVE HAD MANY PSEUDONYMS BEFORE AND COULD QUITE POSSIBLE HAVE MANY MORE. I NEVER EXPECTED THIS TO BECOME SUCH AN ISSUE, BUT I UNDERSTAND THE CURIOSITY IT SEEMS TO BE CREATING. IT IS UNFORTUNATE IF IT TAKES AWAY FROM THE FILM IN ANY WAY AND I HOPE THAT IT DOESN'T.


How did the project develop? And what did/do you hope to achieve with the documentary and what initially attracted you to the it?
I HAD KNOWN DAVID FOR YEARS BEFORE THE IDEA TO MAKE A FILM ON HIM CAME TO US----- THE INITIAL IDEA ACTUALLY BELONGS TO JON NGUYEN----- HE CALLED ME ONE DAY IN NEW YORK AND ASKED IF I THOUGHT DAVID WOULD LET US MAKE A FILM ABOUT HIM. I TOLD HIM I DID NOT KNOW BUT IT COULDN'T HURT TO ASK---- SO I HOPPED ON A FLIGHT AND MET WITH DAVID AT HIS HOME IN LOS ANGELES WHAT I WANTED TO ACHIEVE WITH THE DOCUMENTARY WAS TO BE ABLE TO GIVE PEOPLE A PERSONAL VIEW OF DAVID'S CREATIVITY----- CREATIVITY WHICH IS CONSTANTLY COMING OUT OF HIM. FROM THE TIME HE WAKES UP TO THE TIME HE GOES TO BED HE IS CREATING.

What did you learn during the creation of the film in terms of documentary filmmaking? Is there anything you would do differently if you had the chance and would you approach future documentary projects using the same methods?
TO BE HONEST I AM NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING--------- MAYBE THAT YOU HAVE TO FIGHT FOR EVERY SHOT AND THAT THERE IS NOT A SECOND WHEN YOU CAN RELAX BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. IF I WERE TO DO ANY FUTURE DOCUMENTARIES I WOULD EMPLOY MANY OF THE SAME TECHNIQUES AS WELL AS SOME NEW METHODS----- BUT I AM STILL IRONING OUT THE SPECIFICS OF THAT.


To what did David Lynch's own methods directly or indirectly influence your filmmaking?
I THINK THAT DAVID'S COMMITMENT TO EXPERIMENTATION HAS HAD A BIG INFLUENCE ON ME----- I NEVER FELT AFRAID TO TRY SOMETHING NEW OR DIFFERENT.

Personally, what have you learned while working on this film?
I LEARNED THAT WHENEVER POSSIBLE GET THE BEST SOUND YOU CAN.

Prior to starting the documentary, what were your expectations of David Lynch and how did they change over the course of making the film?
I WASN'T SURE WHAT TO EXPECT FROM DAVID TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH. HE IS A FRIEND BUT HE IS ALSO VERY GUARDED---------- AT A CERTAIN POINT I REALIZED THAT HE WAS GOING TO LET ME FILM EVERYTHING I WANTED AND THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE UP TO ME TO EITHER SUCCEED OR FAIL---------- HE WAS GOING TO GIVE ME THE WOOD TO BUILD THE FIRE.


Would you say this is a film aimed at a general audience, artists, fans of David Lynch or all of the above? And generally speaking, what do you think each of these groups will get from watching the film?
THIS FILM IS AIMED AT ALL AUDIENCES, BUT IS PROBABLY A BIT MORE ACCESSIBLE TO PEOPLE WHO KNOW A BIT ABOUT DAVID. THE POINT OF THE FILM WAS NOT TO ISOLATE ANYONE THOUGH---- I WANTED ANYONE WHO WAS CREATIVE TO BE ABLE TO GET INSPIRED BY WATCHING DAVID CREATE---------- I WOULD HOPE THAT EACH GROUP WOULD WALK AWAY FROM THE FILM AND WANT TO GO HOME AND MAKE SOMETHING.

What do you feel separates David Lynch from other directors in terms of his creation process from writing to working with actors and technicians on set?
I WISH THAT I COULD TELL YOU WHAT MAKES DAVID DIFFERENT THAN OTHER DIRECTORS BUT I HAVE NOT EVER FILMED OTHER DIRECTORS SO I CANNOT COMPARE THEM TO HIM. I THINK THAT ALL DIRECTORS HAVE THEIR OWN STYLE AND THAT IS A GREAT THING.

Was there a particular day's filming or event that sticks out in your mind?
EVERY DAY OF FILMING WAS SOMETHING NEW AND DIFFERENT.. THE PROCESS AS A WHOLE WAS INCREDIBLE------------- IMAGINE IT------- SHOOTING DAVID EVERY DAY FOR OVER 7 MONTHS.


How did you approach editing two years of material and did the structure of the film develop organically from the material or did you have a preconceived blueprint from which you worked? (Out of curiosity, how much material was actually shot?)
THE FIRST 7 DAYS I ATTEMPTED TO EDIT THE FILM I WAS CRIPPLED WITH A FEAR----------- THEN 1 DAY I FOUND THE WAY TO BEGIN WEEDING OUT THE STUFF I DID NOT WANT TO USE AND THINGS FELL INTO PLACE FROM THERE I SPENT MANY MANY MANY MONTHS TRIMMING THE HUNDREDS OF HOURS DOWN TO 50 WHICH IS WHAT I MADE THE FILM FROM. I REALLY DIDN'T HAVE TOO MUCH OF A BLUEPRINT EXCEPT FOR A SMALL STORYLINE THAT JON HAD TOLD ME ABOUT---------- HE WOULD COLLECT QUOTES FROM DAVID'S CAREER AND SEND THEM TO ME AND I WOULD PICK THINGS THAT INTERESTED ME ABOUT THEM AND SEE IF I COULD WEAVE THEM INTO SOME SORT OF STORY. OTHER THAN THAT I EDITED ON FEELING. IF I DID NOT FEEL A CLIP IT DID NOT MAKE IT INTO THE FILM.


Was there anything that surprised you either during the course of filming or looking back at the material?
I THINK THAT THE THING THAT SURPRISED ME THE MOST WAS THE CAMERA WORK AS I WATCH THE FOOTAGE I CAN TELL WHICH CLIPS CAME FROM WHICH TIME PERIOD--------- AS THE FILM WENT ALONG THE CAMERA WORK GOT BETTER.

Does the subtitle "one" denote that there will be an additional film from the material you collected?
A TRIPTYCH IS A BEAUTIFUL THING.

On completion, are you left with fewer or more questions than when you began?
I NEVER REALLY HAD MANY QUESTIONS FOR DAVID----- I WAS MORE INTERESTED IN SHOWING HIM RATHER THAN QUESTIONING HIM------ SO I GUESS I HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF QUESTIONS AS I HAD HAD WHEN I BEGAN BUT TO BE QUITE HONEST I HOPE THAT I NEVER GET ALL THE ANSWERS------------

Thank you.

Links:
LynchDocumentary.com
LynchDocumentary MySpace
DavidLynch.com
David Lynch Wiki

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Interview: MOTHER VULPINE

It is with regret that this interview with the members of Mother Vulpine comes at a turbulent time time for the band and there is some question as to whether this interview is for premonition or posterity.

Based in Leeds(UK), the band have created a guitar-driven gothic fable which has been supported by their artistic talents, not least Matthew Bigland's direction of their video for "Keep Your Wits Sharp".

First off, would you each introduce yourselves and what part you play in Mother Vulpine?
Matthew Bigland - vocals, guitar, visionary frontman
Lindsay Wilson - guitar, backing vocals, renegade female
Tom Hudson - bass, backing vocals, uncontrollable driving force
Ben Waddleton aka Shakes - drums, disco-maestro

On your MySpace it says the band members are the “Vulpine Siblings”. Are you really siblings? And how did the band form and what was the first single you recorded?
Vulpine Siblings refers to the concepts the band is based on - a dark, mythical tale envisaged by Matt, where a woman is left on her wedding night by a man who is said to have the heart of a wolf. She gives birth to their four children, and the true form of these children is unknown - human, wolf or both. The concepts of the band are based around that myth.


The band formed over a period of about four years, where Lins and Matt played guitar together and began the sounds and concepts later to become MV. A while later, they originally enlisted Tom's help as a guitarist, but realised he fitted perfectly as a mean bassist. In April last year, they came across Shakes and decided to give him a try. The dance influenced beats were just what they were looking for to complete the vision.

Almost exactly one year later, we are to release our debut single called Keep Your Wits Sharp (her words are quick). It was released May 2007 on Leeds label, On the Bone Records. We were lucky enough to record it with Justin Lockey from Yourcodenameis:Milo - after we sent him a demo, he called us the next day and was adamant he would record some of our songs. We've gone on to form a good friendship with the rest of the band and we're expecting to play with them later in the year.

At what age did you get into music?
I think music is something that is instinctually built into you – everyone has as much passion for it and that passion has come about in a few different ways – from Shakes learning drums as soon as he could hit a pan, Tom going to see gigs with his dad aged 7, Matt learning guitar from a young age but asking to be taught how to improvise instead of playing someone else’s songs, and Lins, a bit later as a teenager being completely inspired by the sounds a guitar could make.


What are your plans in regards to an album? How far off before we get our mitts on it?
I think it’ll be a while yet – we’ve only been going a year and we’re really trying to get our name and live shows out there as much as possible at the moment, there’s a possibility of an E.P. or another single aimed for Autumn, again recorded with Justin from YCNI:M. We’re unsigned as well which means we’re trying to leave our options open and see how far we can get as an unsigned band.


You’ve written quite a few songs in the last year. Have these been songs you’ve had and only just recorded or are they entirely new? And what’s your approach writing music? Where do the ideas come from and how long does it take to pull it together?
We still play a couple of songs in our set that we wrote the week we became a band – one of which people say is our best song. We’re trying to take some time to write at the moment because oddly enough it sometimes takes a back seat with us doing all our own artwork/posters/videos etc. We’re intent on having a strong identity and all that is just as important, but we’ve definitely got to a point where we just need some solid writing and recording time. Our process of writing is still developing as we’ve still only written about 10 songs. Mostly Matt will head up the main riffs/vision and the band will build around it, or sometimes he’ll have worked on an almost complete song, including drum parts. Some can pull together in a couple of sessions, others can be trickier and we have to leave and come back to.


How has the touring been going? Anything surprise you while on tour? And how was it being the Eagles of Death Metal's main support act? Did you learn anything from EODM while on tour?
The EODM tour was amazing, more than any band at our level could wish for – I mean, we’d never toured and suddenly we were playing the likes of Manchester Academy and fucking London Astoria! I think for ourselves it was kind of how we expected touring to be, and for a pretty hardcore national tour I think we did really well, a lot of people told us we were the best support act they’d ever seen – a lot of the time you end up with a crap band you don’t pay attention to, but we played it like they were there for us and there were a lot of people who were into it. The EODM guys were great – we didn’t know if they would just say hi and that would be that, but they were good to us – made sure we had food and beer and invited us when they were partying. We learnt from them too, and Jesse is a real businessman, he knows the game and he plays it, which was his advice to us.


Matthew, you directed the video for the brilliant Keep Your Wits Sharp (Her Words Are Quick) yourself. Have you been interested in filmmaking for long and where did you learn? Would you tell us about making the video, the idea behind it, and how you settled on the look of it?
Hello. Yes I have been interested in film and the making of it for long time, for about as long as i've been listening to music. I didn't learn anywhere, and i've never been to any film school or anything. But I've always imagined images to music i've listened to.

the making of the video

One of my favorite things to do when i was a kid was to plug in to my headphones for hours on long drives with my mum and listen over and over to one song or an album, and create shot by shot video's of my own to the tracks. To a point where i'd memorized the screen plays totally in my head so i could play it in my head when i listened to the songs. I didn't really know what I was doing then, and i didn't know what 'screen plays' and 'pans' were then, but I'm pretty sure it must have helped. I still remember the screen plays to tracks like "Get It Faster" by Jimmy Eat World and endless Foo Fighters' tracks. I blame it on an over active imagination! Making the video was an awesome experience, we managed to assemble a great team of people to work on it, and in the end we had a crew of about 25 people all stood in a wood just north of Leeds at about 7:30 in the morning.


I didn't really know how we'd managed to assemble it all, but we somehow had so I just kind of tried to grab the Camera Operators by the horns and really describe what i wanted each shot to look like. The video overall had taken a lot of planning, like organizing the wolf and its trainer, and quad bike's to film off of the back of and slow motion set up's etc, which took me, Lins, and Matt Maude (best buddy, great producer/co-director) a lot of time and stress, but it seemed like for a debut production I had set the bar pretty high with what i wanted, like wanting it to be outside, in unpredictable English weather and working with animals etc.

"I wanted to convey that panic and helplessness of the butcher and to try to really harness that uncomfortable energy throughout the whole video."

I had story-boarded the video really precisely, more like a film than a music video, so when we came to shoot it really was a case of me standing behind the camera with the operators and matching up the the image on the paper to the image on the screen. We'd go through the shots and the movements pretty methodically and then just have a go at shooting it.

The idea behind the video as a whole was basically to convey a fairly ominous and intimidating persona or situation, and for the observer of the video to feel like they we're almost involved in the plot just by watching it. I wanted it to be unclear as to who we we're in the video, and the relationship between us and the wolf to be really blurry. I wanted to convey that panic and helplessness of the butcher and to try to really harness that uncomfortable energy throughout the whole video.

Some of the longer cuts, which would last up to 20 to 30 seconds (like for the verses for example) we're pretty tricky to shoot, and took a lot of rehearsal and a lot of takes to get right. I wanted the video to look washed out and dark. We we're really interested in the possibilities of colour correction that would be available in the edit. We we're thinking of films like 'Sleepy Hollow' and things of that nature, but obviously we didn't have the budget or the time to involved correction to that degree.

So after shooting, with the help of Jay Cover, our chief editor, we just gradually tried different ways to colour it until we we're happy with what we we're seeing. We wanted green to be apparent throughout the video. Shooting took 2 very long days, and editing took 6 even longer days, as we had to work pretty quickly as we had deadlines to keep to. I think as a first video we're all really happy with what came out.

Would you describe the music scene in Leeds as you see it? And what do you see as the differences and similarities between Leeds and Sheffield? Any other up-and-coming artists from Leeds to look out for?
You sometimes forget how good this music scene actually is after you’ve been here for a few years until you visit another city. You could stumble across a decent band almost every night here. We don’t really intend to be a ‘Leeds band’ because we’re aiming for something more timeless and conceptual, not fashionable – which is what some of the music scene is here. There are some brilliant bands though – Wintermute, Napoleon IIIrd, These Monsters, Sky Larkin just to name a few.

What musicians would you say inspired you and/or do you just admire?
I think we admire musicians that do what we intend to – to make music for the love of it and to create something we’d all want to listen to – I’m still not sick of the songs! (Lins) We love bands like QOTSA, Yourcodenameis:milo, Daft Punk etc. but then everyone has their own input – Shakes’ dance background, Tom’s energetic hardcore (i.e. Blood Brothers), Matt’s poppier background (think Grandaddy/Foo Fighters/Presidents of the U.S.A etc) and Lins classic rock upbringing and love for post-rock. You can hear all that when you listen to the songs and I really like that.

Okay, we know Matthew does video, are there any other arts outside music that any of you do? (writing, painting, photography, etc.) And what artists do you admire outside music? (filmmakers, writers, painters, etc.)
Everyone is really into their art in this band – Lins does a degree in Visual Communications (video production/photography/design etc.), the same course that Tom has just graduated from. He works alongside Jay Cover, the 5th member of the Vulpine family (was a major part of post-production on the video and designed the single artwork) – together they form the NousVous collective (see their website) where they do art for other bands, as well as other music videos/animations, they make zines and put on exhibitions. Matt quit his fine art course to concentrate on music but is very artistically inspired and has a hand in every detail of the band, including visually. Shakes is also on an art degree and gets involved in computer-aided design/animation etc. So we’re pretty busy all round.

What’s there to look forward to from Mother Vulpine in the future? And what does Mother Vulpine look forward to in the future?
There’s a strong likelihood of a tour around September with a big U.K act and potentially a small slot at Leeds festival, should we get through the competition!

A release of some sort in the autumn, then we’ll take it from there and set out for apocalyptic world domination.

Cheers.

Links:
MotherVulpine.com
Mother Vulpine MySpace
OnTheBoneRecords
Drowned in Sound feature
BBC OnTheBone feature

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Interview: SARA POCOCK

Sara Pocock is a young animator who received considerable attention for her animated film Ballvaughan Story(see below). With the amount of Flash-based vector animation around, her hand crafted work is refreshing and reminiscent of Yuri Norstein's work. I hope to see the spark of her talent fully take flame in future.

How did Ballyvaughan Story come about? What was your interest in this period of history and how did you settle on using charcoal for its creation?
Well, the film came about as a result of direct contact with the real village of Ballyvaughan, Ireland. While I was studying animation as an undergraduate, I decided to take a semester off to study abroad and work on my own film. I don’t know what drew me to Ireland, but it seemed like the best possible place to go for inspiration. Ballyvaughan is located in a part of Western Ireland that’s dubbed “The Burren.” The landscape is incredible and almost otherworldly in nature.

I began studying at the Burren College of Art and met a local man named Jim Hyland, who was a bit like the town historian. He had this deep and vast pool of knowledge about the history of the village and I became interested in his stories immediately. I asked him if he wouldn’t mind sitting down for an interview and he agreed. He spoke for almost two hours, but one of the tales that really jumped out at me was a story about his mother and her involvement in the Troubles in 1921. It was then I knew I had my story for the animation. The original recording of Jim’s voice was used as narration for the piece to preserve the feeling of traditional oral storytelling.

Around the time I began work on the animation, I was spending a lot of time outside, taking advantage of the Burren’s unique and beautiful rocky scenery to create large charcoal landscape drawings. I liked the imagery from these drawings and thought it might be interesting to create the animation backgrounds in a similar style. I drew some smaller images as a test and was pleased with the result, and the style of the animation just snowballed from there.

Would you tell us about the practicalities of using charcoal for Ballyvaughan Story? What were the advantages and/or disadvantages of this medium?
Charcoal is great because it’s a flexible and versatile tool that’s relatively easy to control. The biggest challenge was maintaining consistency in the character animation. It would be distracting if the light and shadow areas shifted too drastically from one frame to the next. Charcoal can also be very messy and is easy to smudge. I would generally add charcoal to one shot at a time (I drew all the animation in pencil first and added the charcoal later) and scan it right away, or else it would smudge. I went through a lot of trail and error to finally nail down an efficient method.

And would you tell us about your integrations of 3D elements? How did you achieve this and what were the difficulties in the process?
I got Ke Jiang, an amazing 3D animator, to help me out with the 3D elements. Originally the film opened with still drawings of the charcoal landscapes, which felt was a bit too static. I still wanted to use the landscape as an establishing shot, so I asked Ke if he could help make it look more interesting. He basically took my original charcoal drawings and built a topographic map of sorts in Maya, a process called 3D mapping. He then built a camera in Maya and used subtle pans and zooms to create depth. I was quite pleased with the result.


There’s a wide variation in your work and you’ve used a variety of techniques from stop motion and CGI to the freeflowing forms of your latest works. Would you say you’re still experimenting with your styles? And what advantages do you see in the different methods you’ve used?
I’m definitely still experimenting. As I’ve only taken baby steps into the independent animation world there are obviously many techniques I haven’t had the chance to try yet. And because of my relatively young age and inexperience, my own technical skills aren’t developed yet.

I hope to work in as many animation mediums as possible. Each type of animation has its own charms and drawbacks. I’m most drawn to classical 2D animation because of my love for drawing and interacting with a pencil and paper. But I love what artists are doing with 3D animation and especially mixed mediums. My next piece, in fact, is a 2D/3D hybrid that combines traditional ink drawing with cut-out character animation and 3D environments.


How did the collaboration with Ke Jiang develop? How do the two of you approach collaborative work and have you learned anything while working with Ke Jiang?
Ke and I attended the same undergrad college, where we both majored in animation. We’ve been working together and helping each other out with our respective films for a while now, but the new project marks our first directorial collaboration. I think we’re both very detail-oriented people who know how to use our personal strengths to balance the other’s weaknesses. Ke is very good on the technical/computer/troubleshooting side of things, and also has an incredible flair for strange and unique stories and characters.

I tend to be a little softer in my approach to animation, with roots in more traditional storytelling and emphasis on character movement. For the new project, I storyboarded the animation and designed the characters, while Ke handled art direction and experimented with ways to animate the characters in a 2D/3D hybrid environment. We’re in the process of animating the film now, and I’m very happy with the initial tests.

Would you tell us about your upcoming animation? Are you experimenting with anything in this film in terms of story or design?
It’s loosely titled Monkey and Bear, and Ke Jiang and I are co-directing. The story itself is rather folklore-ish, and won’t rely on dialog to tell the story, but rather the characters’ interactions with each other and their environment. The design is all over the place—we’ll have sequences entirely in 2D animation, and some sequences that are entirely 3D animation—but the overall art direction is heavily inspired by 1970s Russian animation. Ke and I both admire the work of a famous Russian animator named Yuri Norstein. His films, specifically Hedgehog in the Fog and Tale of Tales, were a huge influence for the look and feel of this piece.

"I originally planned for Ballyvaughan to be completely black-and-white"

What is your approach to colour? In Ballyvaughan Story and your upcoming collaboration, the colours are almost entirely absent with the exception of the characters giving it a brilliant folksy feel—How did this approach to colour develop?
It just seemed to happen. I originally planned for Ballyvaughan to be completely black-and-white. But somewhere along the way I decided I needed a visible symbol for the protagonist’s development—her growth from a scared little girl into a courageous young woman. And I intuitively decided to gradually turn her from black-and-white to colour throughout the piece.

In the new film, again, I’m borrowing a Russian colour theme, with slightly more vibrant colour on the characters to match their complicated personalities.

You’ve sourced elements from your childhood for Memory. How much would you say growing up in Bremerton/Puget Sound area influenced you and your work? And in what way? Likewise for other places you’ved lived/learned like Ballyvaughan?
Well, I moved around a lot as a child. I lived in Bremerton for five years, in a tiny rural town called Macungie in Pennsylvania for six years, and finally in a suburb of Houston, Texas for another six years. I moved to Minnesota after that for college. And I live in Los Angeles now. Because of this, my memories from childhood are divided into very specific sections—I have the Washington era, the Pennsylvania era and the Texas era. Out of those, I think it’s Pennsylvania I feel the most nostalgia for.

Whenever I imagine the “good old days,” it’s always in that small countryside town. I was at a time in my life then (6-12 years old) when my imagination was free to roam unchecked and the country provided more than enough inspiration. Most of the crazy ideas I have stored in the file cabinet in the back of my brain originate in that age, and the themes I’m drawn to—folklore and coming of age tales—are stories I want to tell to that dreamy, fanciful little Pennsylvanian girl.


What animators do you admire and inspire you? And what other artists inspire you and why?
I always get nervous when this question arises because the sheer amount of artists I admire is so large I could talk, literally, for days on end. There are so many talented people in the world using their gifts to inspire, inform and delight—I wish there was a way I could broadcast my appreciation for every single artist whose work I’ve encountered in my life. Just to name a few, though…

Yuri Norstein is my biggest animation inspiration right now. His work is so incredibly delicate, both in its storytelling and its visuals. I admire how he can invoke powerful emotions with relatively simple imagery, without words and traditional story arcs. I hope to someday create a film that can touch someone’s heart the way Tale of Tales affected me.

On the technical skill side of things, there’s a Japanese animator named Shinji Hashimoto I’m currently in awe of. His character animation is stylized and wonderful (and decidedly un-Japanese) and I could watch it for hours. His drawings are very free-form and often break away from the model sheets, and his senses of timing and movement are similarly unique. I hope to one day achieve the same level of expression in my character animation.

I’m also a huge fan of Kurt Vonnegut’s writing. He was a brilliant satirist who encouraged people to think outside the box. I’m in love with his prose. Finally, there’s a harp player named Joanna Newsom whose music I can’t get enough of. Not only is she an amazing songwriter, but she’s a brilliant lyricist as well.

Would you choose a colour (it doesn’t have to be a favourite) and explain the ideas and feelings it generates for you? This doesn’t need to be a straight answer – express yourself in any way you feel is suitable from an explanation to a haiku or image
I love green, especially in a natural, environmental context. It makes me feel relaxed and nostalgic. Green is a colour I wish I saw more of in Los Angeles. The greys and browns of concrete (and polluted air) get depressing after a while.


Also, would you select an image that you feel is powerful (it can be a painting, a photograph—and does not need to be art, it could be a package design or an object) and explain why it has an impact on you?
Wow, that’s a tough one. Hm… it may be a cliché, but I get goosebumps every time I look at Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night. Can you imagine what it would be like to look up into the sky and see those brilliant flashes of light and color—stars and galaxies as large and bright as the moon? I enjoy stargazing myself (although I’ve never been an expert on constellations by any means) and love the idea of a vast and infinite universe. It’s perfect for stirring the imagination.

What are you aspirations and where would you like to be in 10 years? And when do you expect your latest animation to be released and are there any other works in development?
I’m crossing my fingers and hope that I’ll still be an animator 10 years from now. I honestly couldn’t see myself doing anything else for a living. There are a lot of things in the animation world I’d like to try. I definitely want to spend more time in the independent scene and attend more festivals. I admire and respect independent filmmakers so much for all the love and determination they pour into their films. As long as I can keep creating art I’ll be happy.

Thank you, Sara.


Links:
Sara Spot
Ke Jiang
Sara Pocock (No fat clips)
Sara Pocock (Animation blog)

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Interview: AHNDRAYA PARLATO

In her series 'Inscape' and 'other orchards', Ahndraya Parlato has created a solid though intriguingly indefinable body of work. Into everyday settings, she inserts a grain of discomfort whose resultant tension wears over time and in turn makes repeated viewings of her work a new revelation.

Following her work, it is anything but linear, full of tension and contradiction, exposition and mystery. They are hard to grasp and without a definite trajectory, I am looking forward to seeing what she will will come up with next.

Born in Kailua, Hawaii in 1979, Ahndraya received a B.A. from Bard College and went on to graduate from the California College of Arts with an M.F.A. where she returned to lecture. She now teaches at Ithaca College in New York state.


Your images have a lot of variety in content and location, which seems to imply spontaneity even for images, which are obviously setup (or so it seems). Would you give us some insight into how your images come about and what typically sparks an idea into an image?
I very consciously work at creating a body of work that is thematically & conceptually cohesive rather than say, uses one subject matter as the premise for an entire series. I have never been drawn to work that is “all photographs of” couples, abandoned houses etc, they always seem too succinct and all-encompassing – a bit smug – rather like they’re telling us something instead of asking – for me, making photographs is also an act of exploring, so I may have ideas I want to work on, but I don’t know exactly what it is I’m looking for – if I did, I feel like to a certain extent, there would be no point in making the images. Subsequently, I tend to be interested in more expansive bodies of work – or ones that although conceptually or thematically unified, might allow for a certain diversity or range within subject matter; I am thinking of artists like Jeff Wall, Collier. Schorr and Wolfgang Tillmans.


Sometimes, before taking a photograph I have specific ideas I want to convey and I will write them down and think about the things that for me visually connote these ideas.

Things like:

• Trying to contain the uncontainable
• A private language
• The inside is unsafe
• The outside is an extension of the inside
• Where do people place their reality w/in a socially constructed/accepted reality and how much do they deny it to fit in?

(I love list making)

I am, however, a bit of a creature of habit, the image ideas I come up with usually are sparked by something I have seen a million times, a thicket I pass in the car everyday, a gesture someone often does, I am TERRIBLE at shooting on the fly or in a new, unfamiliar location, I travel a lot and I never even bring my camera – despite it being a 4 X 5, which can be a bit cumbersome, I hate the stress of creating an image at a place I can’t readily re-access or don’t already know.

"...it seems we’re often lead to believe that placing your own desires above social conventions suggests mental askew-ness."

Sometimes the process changes, and the thought to make a photograph is triggered by a visual experience and I’ll realize later that it’s serendipitously tied to the themes I’m exploring. For instance, the image of the boy sleeping with the shirt over his face is literally something my boyfriend does all the time, for years I would look at him doing this, and to me it really connoted the desire to shut off your senses. I also like the idea of how it’s somewhat socially frowned upon to sleep during the day, (definitely something suburban soccer mom’s would gossip about) as it seems we’re often lead to believe that placing your own desires above social conventions suggests mental askew-ness.


I do usually stage the occurrences I photograph – although, I try to keep a mix of images where “the staging” is quite apparent and others where it is not so obvious, I like when the images affect each other - either questioning or solidifying verisimilitude. Over the last year, as an attempt to further push these tensions and to some what thwart viewer expectations I have begun making photographs where there is no intervention at hand; rather I have tended to look for places where I might have wanted to intervene, and have then made a “straight” photograph.


What would you say is the common theme between the images in Inscape and in Other Orchards individually? And how did you approach naming these series as well as defining their content? (I have read descriptions of these series but never directly attributed to you)
Well, for me they’re very connected thematically – they just represent different points of my own awareness. While making Other Orchards my senior year at Bard College, I was thinking a lot about when normalcy starts to become abnormal – exploring 19th C notions of hysteria and how when women were diagnosed w/hysteria they were often prescribed bed rest, but to me how this would be more crazy-making (think The Yellow Wallpaper or Fassbinder’s Fear or Fear). The whole time I was very research-oriented about this aspect of my work and although I grew up the only child of a mother who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia – surprisingly, I was unable to consciously connect that experience to my work.


The fall before grad school, my mom passed away and it just sort of hit me, how much the work (Other Orchards) was about making sense of her world - the world I had been raised in - the “real” world, and, the grey area in which the two overlapped. In our relationship I often had to be the responsible one; I was always trying to get her to “pass” as normal – which I had a lot of guilt about – but we were very poor and often her antics would cause financial repercussions (eviction) and I felt I had to keep her in line so to speak. But I’m actually not very invested in social conventions of normalcy, so I was somewhat forced to take on a role which was incongruous to my personal theologies. I think unconsciously my photographs were a way for me to bridge this gap, and acknowledge the validity of her world, in a way that I was unable to do w/in our relationship.

I think as soon as I realized the connection between our relationship and the series, I was sort of paralyzed from making work (or any good work). I was just too aware, and I was also turned off by the stereotypical types of work that are often done about mental illness (which I knew I didn’t want to do at all). I knew I wanted my childhood to be a springboard for the exploration of many things rather than specifically communicating something about mental illness. It took a few years of mess-ups for this to come about I suppose this is where Inscape comes into play.

"...I have always wanted my images to exist in the actual world rather than make their own world..."

Visually, I would say that Inscape is a bit more sophisticated, I have always wanted my images to exist in the actual world rather than make their own world – I think Inscape is more successful in this, as it is less theatrical, and perhaps also a bit less angsty.

Honestly I feel that I am a terrible namer! That’s why my images are never titled. As embarrassing as it is, my boyfriend, John Duvernoy, a poet, actually came up with both titles for me.


What are the key events in the development of you as a photographer? And what first attracted you to the medium and how old were you when you started?
I started staging photo shoots around 7th grade – I first became attracted to images through fashion magazines, I wld go to the local library and rip out images from spreads I liked and bring them home to put on my walls. Beyond that, key events were learning to use a 4x5 camera, forming relationships with people who I felt comfortable directing (hence the re-occurring characters – most notably, my best friend Lily) and, as mentioned, my mom passing away.


In your artist’s statement, you talk a lot about the absurdity of ideals. What is your feeling toward the segmentation of photography and other arts into categories such as “fine art”, “lowbrow art”, or “outsider art”? Does it serve a purpose?
It serves a purpose for the people who talk and write about art but I don’t think much of one for artists themselves.

"...sometimes, even if only briefly, we must know that categories (like everything) are just things we make up."

Marie Curie said, “Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.” Do you agree with that sentiment and why/why not? And what is your reaction to the stigmatising and stereotypical representations of mental illness in mainstream media? And in what way do you see your work addressing the issue?
I think America has a terrible way of dealing with mental illness, I just read that you can get antidepressants for your pets!! All we want to do is “fix” things without really looking at why the problems occur in the first place. I used to be obsessed with the etymology of the word schizophrenia – it means a fragmented mind – and I couldn’t believe how we just decided that a mind could ever be whole in the first place rather than, say, assuming that minds can be built just as differently as bodies. This derivation got me thinking about how we are imposed upon by ideals such as perfection and wholeness so that there is always a semblance of moving forward, and hence, of order. Without these ideals, there would be disorder and chaos, probably the most unsettling things to us – people fear the unknown, we are unable to accept things without categorizing them – however, sometimes, even if only briefly, we must know that categories (like everything) are just things we make up.


One of your works was featured at Conscientious in a series where photographers selected an image and gave an explanation as to why they felt their selection was great. Would you introduce us to an image by another photographer that you feel is great and explain what makes it special for you?
I am terrible at picking favorites. These are two photos, my friend, Elizabeth Moy, made. I see them as rather an ideal pair, although I’m not sure that she would consider them as a piece. In the image of the girl falling, I love how in general, the act of falling is a scary thing, but within this photograph, I read it as a metaphor for accepting the unknown, and thus, as hopeful-making. As opposed to being pushed or falling, I assume that the girl has consciously chosen to jump - despite what she may find upon landing - and because she has consciously taken this chance, as a viewer, I root for her.

from the portfolio of Elizabeth Moy (click to enlarge)

I think it works well with the firework image. If the falling image is about accepting the unknown, the firework image is almost like trying to make sense of, or control something that is uncontrollable. Which in a sense is also an acceptance of the unknown, as the gesture of lighting a firework designates an acceptance of an unknown outcome. I can’t not relate fireworks to fire, which as people we have a love/hate relationship with; we need it, yet it often destroys us, our land and things we love. Fireworks are almost a physical manifestation of the proverb “playing with fire,” we have made something for entertainment from something that we essentially have no control over, so there is a tension resulting from the knowledge that something out of our control could happen, despite the cautions we take.

In truth, I guess the images speak to my own interest in the notion of containing the uncontainable or ordering chaos.

"Something that really appeals to me about both art making and teaching is that to a certain extent they’re both about problem solving..."

Which non-photographic artists do you admire and/or inspire you?
I’m mostly inspired by writing and film. Some film makers I love: Ingmar Bergman, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Jane Campion, and Wong Kar Wai, some writers: Michael Ondaatje, Marguerite Duras, Jose Saramago, Don Delillo, Rosemarie Waldrop, Paul Auster, and C.D. Wright, some artists: David Shrigley, Roman Signer, Sophie Calle, William Wegman (early work), Gabriele Orozco, Henry Darger, Marcel Dzama, Andrew Wyeth (Esp. Helga Pictures), and Sarah Sze


In your work as a lecturer and professor, what have been some of the key things you’ve learned? And what one piece of advice would you give to aspiring artists?
Something that really appeals to me about both art making and teaching is that to a certain extent they’re both about problem solving – which is something I quite like to do.

I think I’m too young to start dolling out advice without sounding pompous. Maybe just work hard – any kind of creative process involves a lot of work.


What projects are you currently working on? And are there any other arts, which you would like to try in future outside still photography?
I am trying to make a book dummy of my photographs, but I keep coming up with ideas for new images that I feel like need to be in the series - so it has been dragging out a bit.

Collage - click to enlarge

Collage (detail) - click to enlarge

Over the last two years, I have started working on a body of work involving representations of crystals and “bling”, there two big collages that are stones cut of from magazines, some crystals I grew from a crystal growing kit children would use and a sculpture from ice cubes made out of plastic. I’m not sure where it’s going I just got a bit obsessed with the idea of these elements that convey wealth and glamour and how they get watered down when we try to represent them, but then how in real life they are actually mind blowing....

Thank you, Ahndraya.


Links:
ahndrayaparlato.com

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Interview: ESZTER BALINT

Born into a life of art, Eszter Balint has been a musician, an actor in both stage and film, and a witness to the vibrant art scene of New York since the late seventies. Known to many for her role in Jim Jarmusch's "Stranger than Paradise", her deadpan performance as John Lurie's cousin Eva encapsulates a beat mentality that together with Lurie and Richard Edson create the fascinating trio that's the backbone of the film.

At the age of 10, the Squat Theatre group for which her parents were members was exiled from their native home in Hungaria after angering the authorities. Wandering through Europe and performing in abandoned spaces (hence their name), they eventually moved to New York in 1977.

With encouragement from her grandmother and mum, she took up the violin at 6 and the passion for music would foment during her teen years when the Squat Theatre's New York home would transform into a nightclub for which she would DJ. During this time, she made her recording debut playing violin on an early rap track produced by Jean Michel Basquiat and featuring rapper Rammellzee, made a cameo in Basquiat's "Downtown 81", and featured in Jim Jarmusch's classic "Stranger Than Paradise".

In the years to follow, Eszter aspired to work in film though a move to Los Angeles soon took the sheen from this endeavor and she returned to her musical roots creating music for films, forming a short-lived band with Sixteen Horsepower's Pascal Humbert, and finally returning to New York to write and record her debut album Flicker in 1998.

In addition to her musical work, she also made appearances in other films over the years, most notably Steve Buscemi's "Trees Lounge" (1996) and Woody Allen's "Shadows & Fog" (1992).

This interview was conducted shortly after the release of her latest album, Mud, in 2005 and is part of the Ramble Rocket archive. It is also significant in terms of SiouxWIRE in that Eszter was the first person for whom I requested an interview and her enthusiasm has to a great extent remained with me to this day.


SIOUXFIRE: It's kind of strange. Before getting this set of questions together, I read a lot of reviews for your albums Mud and Flicker. It's this kind of thing that makes me think I'm not listening to the same thing or I'm in an alternate reality. A lot of reviews describe your voice as harsh and the music as "heavy". (Your music is uplifting to me - Mud is like sitting in a cabin in a bayou drinking cognac by candlelight where you can smell the wood and earth, and friends are all around) What do you think about reviews and some of these descriptions they
attribute to your music?
ESZTER: Well, I'm not entirely sure we're reading the same reviews. I love the way you describe Mud, that's just fine by me, lovely in fact. Thanks. But there were a number of reviews here that did seem to hint at something similar. On Flicker I think my voice probably is a bit
harsh, harsher than it has since become, so that may be somewhat deserved. (I've worked on becoming a more relaxed singer. And still have a ways to go, it's an exciting and probably never ending process.) I don't recall reading that so much about Mud, but if the words harsh and heavy popped up, it maybe because my lyrics, musical sensibilities, and well perhaps even my vocal delivery has a bit more edge than a lot of the material these reviewers listen to within the so-called "singer-songwriter" genre. Which, for better or worse, is the context in which they're going hear me; obviously what I do is not hip hop, or a punk-rock thing. For a generally earthy, warm, somewhat rootsy, and very much song-driven record, Mud has a few harsh and maybe even heavy touches. (Honestly I am not thrilled with the word heavy, but if it means the opposite of light, well, I can live with that)


SIOUXFIRE: I read an article recently where these scientists watched people put together puzzles. Some put sides together and worked their way in, some made little islands and then joined them together, and some just started with one piece and worked their way out from there. How do you go about putting your songs together?
ESZTER: Funny you mention puzzles. Putting songs together is very much like a puzzle to me. But sort of random at the same time, which sounds like a contradiction, but it's not really. The process is certainly not linear. i think at the start it's kind of random and abstract, and then
these random abstract elements, pieces of music and words, fit together in a way that finally has to feel inevitable, like a puzzle.

SIOUXFIRE: What time of day/night do you work best?
ESZTER: Right after waking up and at night. Before and after the bullhsit of the day. But it's not always feasible to get the perfect times, so lately I'm challenging myself to rise to the occasion when it arises. It just takes longer and more concentration to get to that sort of neutral, other place during the day.

SIOUXFIRE: Do you get itchy feet?
ESZTER: To be on the move? yes. To work? yes. To dance? Not really.

SIOUXFIRE: Are there any instruments that you don't know how to play, but would like to try?
ESZTER: I have so much work to do on the instruments I do play. Or pretend to play. I would love to actually play the piano (or any keyboard instrument) for real, for instance. I can play simple melodies and stumble my way around basic chords but that's it. And I have so much to learn on the guitar, which is what I tend to write on. And working on my singing is a lifelong project (but in a good way.) And just to maintain my abilities on the violin, which is a very unforgiving instrument, takes work. And I'd like to write on the banjo which I can barely pluck a few notes on. Thankfully I think I'm fairly musical and have enough basics down to figure out a simple line on a number of instruments. But as you can see, I have my hands full - so no, I don't want to take up and master a brand new instrument.

"In a very unfriendly music business where most anybody trying to do decent work is out on their own, the digital breakthroughs have quite simply made the difference between being able to afford to do your work, or not."

SIOUXFIRE: What do you think about digital vs. analogue music?
ESZTER: I'm not very militant about it, but I do think there is a warmth and depth, an extra dimension to the analog medium which I tend to prefer. I can usually hear or feel it, but that said, that whole subject takes a major back-seat to the work itself. Just to state the obvious. And
the never ending advances in the digital realm make me shy away from any final verdict. Getting closer and closer. In a very unfriendly music business where most anybody trying to do decent work is out on their own, the digital breakthroughs have quite simply made the difference between being able to afford to do your work, or not. I did my last record as a combination, basics and mixing in analog, overdubs at home on digital - It was still expensive and difficult but ultimately the happiest compromise, I've no complaints about it sonically whatsoever. I'd probably like to do it the same way again.

SIOUXFIRE: Will you tour outside the States anytime soon?
ESZTER: No plans right now.

SIOUXFIRE: Have you ever heard music from Mirah or Tennessee Twin? (If not, I'm going to have to get you onto them)
ESZTER: No but I will check it out. I need something new to listen to.

SIOUXFIRE: I have you on a mix tape with Nick Cave, Bjork, Beck, PJ Harvey, Johnny Cash, and Tom Waits. it's kind of my happy work tape. Does that sound offd? Do you listen to any of these people?
ESZTER: Yes I listen to all of them. I"ve spent less time with Nick Cave than with all the others. Thank you, wonderful company. If this is your happy tape, what's your sad tape?


SIOUXFIRE: I know you make music and act - do you paint, photograph, write poetry? Is that your art on the website?
ESZTER: I can't paint for shit. I haven't tried in ages, maybe I should again. I love photography but seem to have no talent for it whatsoever - can't even take a decent snapshot. I once took a snapshot of a weird dried up tree/root thing sticking out of the sand on the beach, somewhere in
northern California, about 10 years ago, it is the only cool picture I've ever taken.

Yes I write poetry, love poetry, and sometimes feel that's maybe what I should really be doing in the long run because I end up torturing some of my poems into songs when I need words. And I end up not writing many poems meant to exist just as poems, because I think I should be writing songs instead.

SIOUXFIRE: A coupleNew Yorkquestions. (I used to live there for a while) Did you ever go the Princess' restaurant onHouston Street? The Princess only ever had one table and no windows and she'd cook this amazing food. The reason I ask is that again, I'm reminded of it when I listen to Mud and I have this psychic vibe that you've been there...
ESZTER: Sounds great. I don't think I've ever been there, and I'm pretty sure it's no more. Sounds like the old New York.

SIOUXFIRE: That photobooth picture on the cover of Flicker - was that made at Little Ricky's in Greenwich Village? (I used to sit in that booth and think about the famous people who sat there - I was a real goof)
ESZTER: No, it's from a video arcade in Chinatown, Mulberry street I think. Actually, I believe this one is also history now.

SIOUXFIRE: Has New York changed a lot in the time that you were in LA? From a distance, it seems to have become a bit conservative.
ESZTER: See my answers above. yes, but it was starting before I even left. But more and more it's a completely new place with new people. I am not sentimental really, certainly not about misery, I just don't relate to the new version all that much. It costs like fifty bucks just to step on the sidewalk. But the garbage still stinks in the summer. And the construction workers are still at it on Canal street. So you see, some things never change - just not sure it's the best things.


SIOUXFIRE: This is all starting to sound a little too serious to me so I'm just going to say a random word.. Sandwiches.
ESZTER: Efficient. Perfunctory.

SIOUXFIRE: Just curious, do you read much? And do you ever read comics?
ESZTER: I've never gotten into comics, not even as a kid. Too bad cause it would be so much cooler if I could say yes.

I go through phases of reading. I wish I got around to more. I recently read my first Graham Greene, The End of the Affair, and honestly thought this may be one of the three best books I've ever read in my entire life.


SIOUXFIRE: A little about the films you've been in - what was it like for you when you were in Downtown 81? You were, er, 13 or 14? The credits of that film are like Who's Who of contemporary artists.
ESZTER: I was 14 or 15 in downtown 81. (which was actually shot in 1980 I think, or at least in part)

I remember being a little sad because in one version of the ever evolving non-script I was supposed to have a bigger part.

SIOUXFIRE: Have you every eaten a TV dinner?
ESZTER: Once or twice, when I was like 13. I thought it was the greatest thing in the world, for like 30 seconds. I quickly outgrew that phase.

from Stranger Than Paradise, Jim Jarmusch 1984
(Eszter & John Lurie)

SIOUXFIRE: Were you a fan of Screaming Jay Hawkings when you were in Stranger Than Paradise and was it your idea to include his music in the film?
ESZTER: No, had never heard of him.


SIOUXFIRE: How did you end up in Woody Allens' Shadows & Fog?
ESZTER: I auditioned for it. He wanted to see me, I think, but maybe I'm having illusions of grandeur. But at the very least his casting director requested me for the audition. which went as follows: i showed up in some extremely air conditioned and extremely dimly lit fancy uptown
hotel lobby, (the whole thing had this aura of a very well kept secret.) and Woody came out, greeted me and shook my hand, sort of glanced at the ground and said thank you. I went home and an hour later my agent called and screamed: He loved you!! True.


SIOUXFIRE: You knew John Lurie before Stranger Than Paradise - when did the two of you meet and how did Jim Jaramusch come along?
ESZTER: I met John when I was just a kid, I think I was 12. (and he'll never let me forget it either.) I was living at Squat Theatre on 23rd street, he had just moved to NY from Boston, I think, and did a performance there. This is pre-Lounge Lizards. Then he became friends with one of the members of Squat and started hanging out there a bit. I think he introduced me to Jarmusch much later - they knew each other just from the downtown scene, but I'm not exactly sure how. John may have been the one who suggested me for the movie.

SIOUXFIRE: What do you see in your crystal ball in say er, 5 or 10 years?
ESZTER: Hmmm, I'm not sure. I'm not really looking. Maybe because I don't want to set myself up for disappointment, or because I'm too busy trying to catch what life throws my way. Wow, that is such a personal question. kind of caught me off guard. Should I think about it?
SIOUXFIRE: Not sure. I haven't thought about it. Probably not.

Links:
EszterBalint.com
SquatTheatre.com
Chicago Sun Times, Hedy Weiss - article

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