2002
6 minutes
super 8
silent
“monochrome blue (a year of skies) was created by shooting 9 frames (or 1/2 second) of super 8 film of the sky every single day for a year. the work was shot in many different locations – although approximately half of it from my home in pasadena. it was a project that allowed me to re-visit one of my earliest films – book of seconds – which was created by shooting 10 seconds of sunlight and /or shadow every day for a year. while this film is related to shooting a film sequentially over 365 days, it involved two new interests : color and a deeper sense of abstraction.
i was also interested in using the sky colors as a kind of ‘background’ for the activities that take place upon the surface of the film itself (referencing nam june paik’s ‘zen for film’ where clear leader runs through a projector gathering dust, scratches, etc.) while these gatherings upon the film’s surface are usually viewed as a kind of ‘noise’ – the scratches, dust particles, hairs, splice tape, etc. are allowed to become ‘active’ elements of the film.
there are two black sections within the film, both consist of 9 frames with the camera facing the sky, but shooting with the lens cap on. the first occurred sometime in february, on the day of the death of a friend. the second set of 9 black frames was shot on september 11.”