(memories of) degraded realms.

"(Memories of) Degraded Realms"

on display as part of "Worlds Within Shadows," curated by Gretchen Heinel

10/20-10/28 - Garner Arts Center

about a year ago, I was contacted to shoot some some footage for what was supposed to be a video for a well-known australian death metal band.

unfortunately, the video didn't get approved and the footage sat around for a while before I began to retool and repurpose it, but I had no direction. this was going to be my first video in a while that wasn't a commission, wasn't going to have a budget, and wasn't going to have a concrete theme around which to center my mind.

"digitally ascendant" had moments of harshness, but I wanted to push everything further. the visuals and the audio needed to be more harsh, anxiety-inducing, and destructive than ever before.

I reached out to the owner and operator of contradiction tapes who, as GRVD, is a purveyor of some of the most enthralling noise I had heard in a long time. he agreed to let me use whatever tracks I wanted off of revenge, so I had my sound.

and although I played around with the visual aspect for months, I still felt lost.

when being creative, I love to have rules and restrictions. they serve as guidelines, inviting me to play along at times and transgress at others, and they help me know where to focus my energy in order to tell a relevant story.

but without a curator and pre-established theme or concept to work from, I hadn't yet devised a story to tell.

I was wandering, grasping, desperate for something hold on to. and then I looked at the ghostly image on the screen and thought of her wandering through worlds of visual brutality and inexplicable forms, desperately pleading with others to join together and see what they might be able to find on the other side.

that was a start.

but the story needed structure, a narrative arc to hold it together.

I thought back to high school. I took a philosophy class called "death and dying," and as my final project, I did my first bit of screen writing that would actually get turned into a film. not a good film, not a film anyone will ever see anywhere ever, but one that fit the assignment: to explore the five stages of grief.

these characters inhabiting this new world, maybe they're mourning their own deaths. maybe they need to travel through that grief in order to find a place, mental or otherwise, where they can exist without fear.

this is that journey.

to visualize this world, I manipulated the original footage using trapcode mir to create expansive wireframe models, and then keyframed particular animations by controlling the various parameters of the plugin. those were then loaded into premiere, colored, mirrored, and blended with additional clips to create something that's (in my opinion) at once ominous and oddly comforting.

I'm honored and excited to be debuting this new video as part of "worlds within shadows" at the garner arts center, curated by gretchen heinel. the opening night coincides with autumn electronix II, curated by lee bartow.

featuring performances from seven sound artists plus merch from cloister recordings and a bunch of others, I can't wait to show off my work alongside so many other talented creators.

getting there from nyc is going to be difficult, but it'll be a trek worth taking.




(autumn electronix II tickets.)

digitally ascendant.

"Digitally Ascendant"

created as part of "Identity 0.0," curated by Leo Kuelbs and Aaron Riedel

11/2 - Manhattan Bridge

11/2 - 11/30 - Made in NY Media Center by IFP

11/10 - 11/12 - Ende Tymes 8

as some of you may know, I've spend spring and summer of this year working on a new commissioned video for a curated show focused on the fluid nature of identity in the 21st century.

the concept was first mentioned to me almost a year ago, and in january of this year I started testing out visual concepts and brainstorming story ideas, but it wasn't until may that the pieces finally started to fall into place.

this video was a challenge...like so many of my past works, I wanted to incorporate narrative text, but there were two obstacles: first, I didn't want the viewer's ability to read to the text to interfere with the viewer's ability to understand the video. second, I wanted the text itself to be interesting to look at, even if the viewer isn't interested in reading it.

unlike a lot of artists and filmmakers I know, I love have constraints placed upon the work I'm trying to create. those obstacles guide me and force me to think in new ways.

because music is so integral to all of my work (and my daily life in general), I had to find a sound artist who aligned with my aesthetic and could create both ambient atmospherics and crushing power electronics. I've been a massive theologian fan ever since the further I get from your star..., and was thrilled when lee agreed to be a part of this project.

and that's when the concept finally came together.

imagine a world, post-singularity, in which mankind exists in a solely digital state. one machine (played by my lovely girlfriend) is responsible for maintaining those digital lives, and as that machine is flooded with requests for identity changes, it slowly begins to malfunction until it has no choice but to reset itself.

the story is told through written text that was designed and laid out by jorden haley, who also created the sacred geometry-esque patterns that turn and rotate like cogs in an ancient machine.

lee and jorden were (and are) fantastic collaborators, and it was their hard work that took my initial idea and visuals to a new place.

from the outset, it was important to visualize the shift from a physical reality into a digital one. after much trial and error, and a lot of youtube tutorials, I found a method that allowed me transform two-dimensional video footage into three-dimensional particles that could be distorted and manipulated on a z-axis. maintaining particle definition with an h.264 codec was also a little challenging, but a few dozen exports later, I managed to get the settings just right.

on the audio side, I think lee sent me about a dozen different tracks, and I pieced together the final mix myself. the score is currently available to stream and purchase on lee's bandcamp.

to make things even more challenging for myself, I created special versions for the media center's 5760x1080 video wall and 9024x800 360-degree projection. so come on out to the opening reception to check out my work, as well as all of the other videos in the show, then swing by the manhattan bridge to see it again in a different format.

and don't miss ende tymes...really excited and honored to be a part of such a stellar lineup. my video is showing on sunday, but the entire festival is worth checking out.




buy ende tymes tickets for friday, saturday, or sunday...or get a weekend pass.

digital fairy tales: album one.

Digital Fairy Tales: Album One

October 6th - 31st, 2016

Opening Reception: October 6th, 6-9p

Made in NY Media Center

30 John Street

Brooklyn, NY 11201

film week crushed all of the my time for the past month, hence the lack of posting...but now that it's over, I can finally announce a new show to which I've contributed work.

this time I'll find you is my contribution to the digital fairy tales: album one group show and, honestly, it's my favorite thing I've created in a while.

shot over the course of five days on location in new jersey and wisconsin, it tells the story of an astronaut who finds herself stuck in a temporal loop of someone else's creation, constantly searching for a way out.

the music was composed and performed by damian master, who most of you probably know from a pregnant light and colloquial sound recordings...harsh noise, ambience, and melody are all juxtaposed here to create a unique, otherworldly feeling.

I know I say this all the time, but I couldn't be happier with this piece. my incredible girlfriend does a fantastic job of capturing the sadness and isolation of the main character, and damian's music is just perfect.

there might even be a cassette release in the near future...

there are six other videos in the show, including one from josh graham, and everyone in the area should come and check them out. josh, myself, and a few of the other artists will be present for a Q&A during the opening on 10/6, so stop by, have a chat, and partake in the free wine and beer that will be available.

a trailer for the show can be found here.

plus, the show will also be projected onto the manhattan bridge as part of the light year series until 10p that night.

don't miss it.



EDIT: the score is now available for purchase via colloquial sound recordings, both digitally and on cassette.

decomposition and transcendence.

Light Year 11: Decomposition and Transcendence

March 3rd - 29th, 2016

Opening Reception: March 4th, 6-9p

Made in NY Media Center

30 John Street

Brooklyn, NY 11201

excited to announce that my latest video piece, starring my lovely girlfriend and featuring music from jarboe (of swans fame) will debut in a gallery setting on march 3rd as a part of DUMBO's monthly first thursday gallery walk.

the opening reception will be held on friday, march 4th, and will feature a screening of all of the works, followed by a panel featuring artists from leo kuelbs' light year series.

and yes, I will be on the panel.

there are a ton of great sound and visual artists involved in this show and it's an honor to have my work alongside theirs, not to mention collaborating with jarboe...words don't really suffice.

the video will be available in full on vimeo and youtube once the show opens.

decomposition and transcendence is a collaborative show, curated by leo kuelbs with aaron riedel "exploring the continuum of beauty, decay, transformation, and rebirth...and emphasizes the human figure as a device to create analogous narratives and meanings."

despite each artist's disparate backgrounds and experience, the whole show is incredibly cohesive and the aesthetic is very much in line with my own and I know that all of you will come away with something.

the panel will focus primarily this show, with a broader focus on public art in new york and around the world.

with armory week coming up, nearly all of the artists who participated in the show will be in town and we're all excited to answer questions about our work, our processes, and whatever else the audience can throw at us.

the curators will also be on hand to discuss how and why they selected these artists, why they chose to pair a given sound artist with a given visual artist, and more.

so come out, say hello, have some free alcohol, and take in the show.

you won't be disappointed.

shoot me an email or leave a comment below if you have any questions.

(official event page.)


(more info on the show.)

better late than never - three years of metallic imagery.

this year has been (relatively) light on posts, but nonetheless it's been really incredible.

I've had the honor of working with some of the most talented, passionate people across the extreme music and video art worlds.

curating josh graham's debut solo show, debuting a short film by david hall with not one but two live performances from mick barr, filming portal and agoraphobic nosebleed at maryland deathfest, debuting some of my own video art at venues around the world...I can't believe it's all happened within the past year.

yes, this blog has suffered a little bit...and the fact that so much is on bandcamp now, including almost every total black release, has made it a little more challenging to find material to present here. but regardless, metallic imagery will soldier on.

thanks to all of you for your continued support.

I'll hopefully have an announcement about a gallery exhibition in which I'm participating in the next month or so, featuring original music from an artist with whom most of you are probably already familiar...but more on that will come at a later date.

my skills are available for live concert visuals, so if anyone out there is interested, feel free to shoot me an email.

this has been a challenging yet rewarding year, and I can't wait to see what the next twelve months bring...so, once again, thank you all for your support.

I couldn't do it without you.

trips.

TRIPS

September 3rd - 25th

Opening: 9/3, 6-9pm

Made in NY Media Center

30 John Street

Brooklyn, NY 11201

so...I've been dabbling in the digital art world by creating various video installations over the past year or so, and I'm happy to finally have my work in a group show that's debuting on thursday.

normally I wouldn't necessarily share something like this here, but a) I'm really proud of this work; b) it's the first time my work has been part of a legitimate exhibition; and c) I was lucky enough to have some of my favorite musicians contribute music to score my two pieces.

the first piece, "intersecting journeys," is composed of stock timelapse footage that I colored, edited, and digitally manipulated. 

it was designed as a three-channel installation and features a track from damien master's purple light side project as the score.

my second piece in the show, "infinity crashing," is made up of footage that I shot, edited, colored, manipulated, and arranged.

it was also designed as a three-channel installation but could easily be configured for different display options.

and zen from cremation lily was gracious enough to give me permission to use "conquering heat," from his latest collaboration with false moniker, to score the piece.

I couldn't be happier with how these two pieces turned out. I shot some test footage for a new project this past weekend and I can't wait to dive into that next.

and while those embedded clips are in fact the full videos, they're mere approximations compared to seeing them in person displayed across twenty-seven HD monitors.

the whole show was curated by leo kuelbs and the other artists involved in the show are really special, too - one is actually a noise artist from hungary whose video is definitely the closest visual approximation to aural noise that I've ever seen.

another artist, ryan uzilevsky, designed and installed the projection system at the facility where I work...this guy travels all over the world doing absolutely astounding projection mapping installations and never disappoints.

plus, there's free wine and beer at the opening on thursday, from 6-9p.

stop by, check out the pieces, and say hello.

and I'd like to extend one final "thank you" to zen and damien for letting me use their music - you guys are the best.

feel free to leave any questions in the comments.

(official event page.)

(facebook event page.)

examining darkness.

Examining Darkness

May 7th - 29th

so, here's the reason for my lack of posting lately - I've been killing myself for the last three months curating my next gallery show, and I'm finally able to announce it.

examining darkness features a diverse array of artists whose works all approach darkness, both internal and external, in different ways. The outcome, however, is always cathartic and cleansing, and presents a renewed sense of faith in the self and the organic order of nature.

in addition to existing works by polynoid and susi sie, I'm proud to be exhibiting new digitally-manipulated photographs from fellow tisch school of the arts graduate alex schaefer, as well as two new short films from david hall, the man behind handshake, inc.

david commissioned mick barr, guitarist for krallice and orthrelm, to compose scores to both of his films, and mick will be performing these scores live at the show's debut on may 7th at 7p.

wow.

this was all a huge undertaking, unlike anything else I've ever produced, but I couldn't be happier with how it's all turned out.

I hope anyone in the new york area will come out, see the art, witness the musical performance, and say hello.

both david hall and alex schaefer will be on hand to mingle and discuss their respective works with attendees, plus there's free wine and beer, as always.

the incredible unartig will also be there to film the performance for anyone who can't make it, and I'll be sure to share the video once it's available.

feel free to comment or shoot me an email if you'd like any additional info.

for every event or show that I put on, I try to create something that I'd want to go to even if I had no affiliation whatsoever with anyone involved.

and although bias is impossible to escape, I'd like to think that I hit that goal with this show.

I sincerely hope to see some of you there.




(official event page.)


(facebook event page.)

standard model catastrophes.

you all know that I don't usually ask for much other than to buy physical releases to support the artists we all love. you probably also know that I don't often mix work with everything that I do outside of work.

but if you're in the NYC area, I'd love it if you could find the time to come out to brooklyn for an incredible art show focused on the works of josh graham that I've spent the last two months curating.

as I'm sure most of you already know, josh is an amazing artist, having worked with bands like neurosis, dillinger escape plan, isis, and eyehategod. he's also been a member of battle of mice, red sparowes, and a storm of light, and did all of the graphic design and concert visuals for all three acts.

more recently he's been serving as soundgarden's creative director, overseeing every visual aspect of the band - from music videos and merch designs to concert visuals and album packaging, josh does it all.

although I've been handling all things audio-visual at the made in NY media center for more than a year now, this is the first show that I've curated, and josh's work is perfect for the space.

on display will be videos he's created for soundgarden, neurosis, a storm of light, vattnet viskar, isis, dillinger escape plan, eyehategod, and even jay z and drake, as well as a couple of josh's own art pieces.

but the centerpiece of the show is a brand new, custom-designed piece, "watchmaker," made specifically for our 360-degree projection system that's edited to one song by gazelle twin and two of josh's own ambient soundscapes.

here's a statement on this new work from the artist himself:

"The question is being asked all over the world: Are we entering a new Cold War? Some say we are already in the midst of it. Others are more optimistic. Regardless, the global deterioration of peace is impossible to deny. While the idea of a full-scale nuclear war seems impossibly ridiculous, the number of nuclear weapons around the world are both astounding and terrifying. Will mankind destroy itself? Maybe. Maybe not. In the meantime, Watchmaker focuses on the strange and surreal beauty of these weapons, and what the last “minutes to midnight” might look like."

as much as I'd love to post photos, they just don't do this piece justice...it needs to be seen, heard, experienced.

anything else just falls short.

the opening reception will be from 6-9p on thursday, 12/4. admission is free. josh will be in attendance and there will be free wine and beer.

so come by, say hello, and show your support.

the work is absolutely amazing and I couldn't be more excited to finally be able to show it off.

you will not be disappointed.

I promise.




(official event page.)