Kimberly

1.     Paul Strand "Manhatta"- http://www.ubu.com/film/strand_manhattan.html

·       I read a short book of Paul Strand once. Much like his photography, “Manhatta” is very straightforward; it’s just imagery of New York City. Yet I really enjoyed this video of Paul Strand because it really captured the industrial liveliness of New York during the 1920s. It’s like a moving portrait. Seeing rough clips of cars, people, and landscapes in motion is very poetic in a sense, because you start to see a pattern over time. It’s expressive.

2.     Takeshi Murata "Silver"- http://www.ubu.com/film/murata_silver.html

·       I liked the abstractness of Takeshi Murata’s “Silver”.  What he did in this video was take an old movie and manipulate it so you can see the pixels up close. At first when I didn’t know what I was watching, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen anyway. This video is very open to interpretation. It seems more like a feeling since there isn’t much a narrative. The music plays a huge part in this.

3.     Toshi Matsumoto "Atman"- http://www.ubu.com/film/matsumoto_atman.html

·       I think it’s very hard to create a visual representation of the term, “atman”. So I think Matsumoto’s attempt at such deserves some credit (or a place on my list). It’s very colorful and hypnotizing. I keep wondering what the guy in the mask is going to do. He mostly just stares at you in the most saturated colors ever.

4.     Kota Ezawa "The Unbearable Lightness of Being"- http://www.ubu.com/film/ezawa_being.html

·       This is an animation that starts with the assassination of president Abraham Lincoln and then the assassination of John F. Kennedy. It then is supposed to go into a loop, so all you’re seeing is Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy dying over and over. I’m actually not sure what I’m supposed to feel about that, but I like this nonetheless. Obviously there has to be some sort of connection between the two presidents and their famous public deaths. I’m not sure how this is supposed to relate to the title “lightness of being”

5.     Cao Fei "Whose Utopia"- http://www.ubu.com/film/fei_utopia.html

·       Much like Paul Strand’s “Manhatta”, I enjoyed this video because the straightforward representation of a factory workplace becomes like a moving portrait. You get to see people working at the machines and stare at the camera. Since the film’s title is called “Utopia”, I suppose Fei is trying to be ironic because the people aren’t happy or sad. They just seem to accept the living conditions they’re in and make due with what they have. It gives an insight to capitalism.

6.     Annika Eriksson "It Did happen Soon"- http://www.ubu.com/film/eriksson_happen.html

·       In this video this guy simply reminisces about his past political activities inside the room he’s currently in that is vacant. The main focus of the video is the man and the room. Yet when he talks about the past, it makes you visualize or imagine all the strange things that might’ve once taken place in the room. I think the point of the video has to do with change and the passing of time. You just want to let him finish his story.

7.     Takeshi Murakami "Superflat Monogram"- http://www.ubu.com/film/murakami_superflat.html

·       I like Takeshi Murakami’s “Superflat” animation. He takes the artistic style of anime and turns it into more than just a style but an art form that could be taken seriously. Just as he’s trying to advertise Louis Vuitton, he gives the notion that anime is a super powerful art form, and in many ways it is. I also think the animation is fun in general.

8.     Fred Astaire "Bojangles of Harlem"- http://www.ubu.com/film/astaire_bojangles.html

·       I’m a fan of Fred Astaire and I think dance can definitely be viewed as a visual poem. Here, Astaire uses camera tricks to better his dance scene. That requires a sort of skill. He’s very much an artist.

9.     Hart Broudy "When I was Young One Summer" http://ubumexico.centro.org.mx/text/vp/boudy_when_i_was_young_one_summer_1972.pdf

·       I really enjoy this illustration, it’s very much like a visual poem. It’s very basic but fun. It’s also super cute.
Takeshi Murakami’s Inochi- Inochi is just super bizarre. I’m not sure what else to make of it. It’s supposed to be very humorous and creepy at the same time. I really like it.