Something about Fluxus

" The misunderstandings have seemed to come from comparing Fluxus with movements or groups whose individuals have had some principle in common, or an agreed-upon program. In Fluxus there has never been any attempt to agree on aims or methods; individuals with something unnameable in common have simply naturally coalesced to publish and perform their work"

Art and certain long-established bounds are no longer very useful, muses Sam Renseiw, videotaping a certain flow of turning tables. View it here or click on the cross-over above. (patafilm 127, 01'30'', 4.9 MB, mov/quicktime)

On Vertigo and Spiral Jetty

"...As I looked at the site, it reverberated out to the horizons only to suggest an immobile cyclone while flickering light made the entire landscape appear a quake. A dormant earthquake spread into the fluttering stillness, into a spinning sensation without movement. This site was a rotary that enclosed itself in an immense roundness. From that gyrating space emerged the possibility of the Spiral Jetty..."

A different Spiral Jetty, this time from some interior. Sam Renseiw's re-make with a kind Vertigo. View it here or enter the still whirling above. (patafilm 126, 01'09'', 4.6 MB, mov/quicktime) / relinked 02.10.15

Something about a choice between two things

"...The auctioneer in Return of the Bad Men is the barker with the chimp dressed as a farmer in Inherit the Wind, the barker selling snake oil in Whispering Smith, the barker of solid gold watches for a dollar in Guys and Dolls, the barker for the Mermaid in The Unconquered, and the barker for the shooting gallery in Friendly Persuasion..."

They say of a two-faced person, "She eats saints and shits devils." Indeed, Sam Renseiw videotaped some chinoiseries for the purpose, balancing the options between going blind or taking a sh... View them here or click on the character above. (patafilm 125, 01'22'', 5.8 MB, mov/quicktime - as always, best viewed on Firefox for windows users)

The room was furnished with taste

"....from the door to the window; from the fire to the bed, from the bed to the door; from the door to the bed, from the bed to the fire; from the bed to the fire, from the fire to the window; from the window to the fire, from the fire to the bed; from the door to the fire, from the fire to the window; from the window to the fire, from the fire to the door; from the window to the bed, from the bed to the door; from the door to the bed, from the bed to the window; from the fire to the window, from the window to the bed; from the bed to the window, from the window to the fire; from the bed to the door, from the door to the fire; from the fire to the door, from the door to the bed..."

And sometimes Sam Renseiw wore on each a boot, or on the one a boot and on the other a shoe, or a slipper, trying to keep up the pace, in the sand. And sometimes he went barefoot. Take a videorun from here, or try to catch the runner above; ( patafilm 124, 01'52'', 4.6 MB, mov/quicktime)/ relinked.02.10.15

First step externalizing

"... Said of the event which transpires when an astrological influence is incited to action by contact with a circumstance of environment. The thought is based upon the theory that astrological influences have to do with the mental and emotional conditioning that determines the nature of the individual's reaction to circumstances, but that they do not of themselves produce events..."

Sam Renseiw exploring the basics of understanding the role of the Vital Force, the law of similars and resonance and the process of the cure. Watch the videographic attempt here or click on the hands above. (patafilm 123, 01'08'', 4.6 MB, mov/quicktime) / relinked 02.10.15

On multiple methods of data gathering

"...The psychologist strives to use the most appropriate methods available for addressing the questions raised in a specific child custody evaluation and generally uses multiple methods of data gathering, including, but not limited to, clinical interviews, observation, and/or psychological assessments. Important facts and opinions are documented from at least two sources whenever their reliability is questionable..."

Sam Renseiw addressing the color yellow's meaning, shifting according to cultural setting. View it appear here as geomantic blessing, or click on the Y above. (patafilm 122, 02'27'', 9.9 MB, mov/quicktime - Best viewed in Firefox !) /relinked 02.10.15

On Andrei Tarkovsky's sacrifice

"..."Sculpting in time" is Tarkovsky's metaphor for the construction of a film's rhythm. The emphasis is put on time and rhythm, rather than on editing, which Tarkovsky considers little more than an assembly process. This distinction clearly separates him from his Soviet predecessors like Eisenstein, Pudovkin, and Kuleshov, whose experiments in montage Tarkovsky refers to as "puzzles and riddles," intellectual exercises that require too little of the audience..."

A short repo-remix, of a central sentence by Tarkovsky; A humble homage. Enter here, or click on the image above. (patafilm 120, 00'44'', 5.6 MB, mov/quicktime)

The acoustic life of silent objects

"Part social experiment, part sound exploration, and part guaranteed conceptual failure, Ed Osborn's Audio Recordings of Great Works of Art was initially intended to investigate the aural side of the museum experience with the expectation that recordings of the acoustic life of silent objects would reveal almost nothing about them. Except in the case of extremely popular art works where crowds gather noisily, this proved to be true."

Sam Renseiw proves himself adept here at sounding out this rarely navigated, nearly silent, and always invisible terrain, in the midst of H5n1, lurking. View how there is much more to sound and noise than can be picked up through microphones here or click on the artwork above. (patafilm 119b, 00'46'', 5.2 MB, mov/quicktime) relinked 02.10.15

On selectivity and perceptual constancy

"...Our focus here is on the perception of motion pictures. As David Cook remarks, motion pictures occupy a central position in our lives and yet few people understand how they work, so much so that "If we made an analogy with verbal language we should be forced to consider ourselves barely literate" (Cook 1981, XV)..."

Sam Renseiw admits that it is hard not to start 'seeing things' in this abstract geometrical video, complete with door handle. View it here or enter on the red above (patafilm 119, 01'00'', 2.4 MB, mov/quicktime)

On Caravaggio and Goya's chiaroscuro

"Caravaggio “put the oscuro into chiaroscuro.” Chiaroscuro was practiced long before he came on the scene, but it was Caravaggio who made the technique definitive, darkening the shadows and transfixing the subject in a shaft of light. With this went the acute observation of physical and psychological reality which formed the ground for his frequent problems with religious commissions. Goya also attempted to "perpetuate" by the means of notable videos of heroic actions of glorious insurrection against tyrants."

Sam Renseiw presents a banal remix of a recent scene, from a frozen moment, to which the over-crowded composition and gestures contribute dramatic impact. View it here or click on the chiaroscuro above (patafilm 118, 01'14'' 6.4 MB, mov quicktime)/ relinked 02.10.15

The blue, sloping Intrado

"Up to the twelfth century the windows of the Romanesque churches had small openings for light, a sloping intrados, and an inclined sill. Originally without decoration, they later received a framework, that is, they were surrounded by a border of slender shafts as by a frame. The most frequent and most artistic form is the combination of the simple frame and the truss-frame, from which spring the most varied combinations, as sometimes the simple frame encloses a truss-frame, or the reverse, or sometimes two truss-frames are combined with each other."

Sam Renseiw combined some frames for a piece of footage, probably transcending time and space a tad, kind of blurrry. View it here or click on the blue sloping intrado above (patafilm 117, 01'23'', 4.2 MB, mov/quicktime) / relinked 02.10.15

On taking a glimpse at the same time

"The bride and groom share images by sitting at a table across from one another, looking directly into each other's monitors, taking a glimpse at the same time, and being very careful to set their camcorders down on the table at the exact same moment. The purpose of this is to keep one of the spouses from dying before the other. The tradition is that whoever is last to set his/her paraphernalia set on the table, will be the first to die. In " San-san-kudo," -- which translates as "three-three-nine times" -- a bride and groom begin by pretending to look into a three-tiered 2,5'' monitors, then actually glean into the image and internalize it in three steps. This series of action is performed for each of three videos. Three is a happy number symbolizing heaven, earth, and humanity. Nine is said to be the happiest number of all."

Sam Renseiw possibly mixing some things up; yet what an infinite, multi-layered approach, simultaniously, head on. View it by clicking here, or tickle the priest's collar. (patafilm 116, 4,6.MB, mov/quicktime)

On Calvino, bricks and brig

"...The Danish custom of hanging the replica of a sailing vessel in the church sanctuary is widespread in Denmark. It has two sources of origin. The custom of giving the replica of a ship to the sanctuary is very ancient. It can be traced back to pre-Christian times, when pagan belief taught that the offering of a miniature ship would assure a safe voyage for the real ship and its crew. Such a gift is called a "votive offering", and many a Viking family have built such replicas of the ships on which their husbands and sons set sail. This folk custom coincided with an ancient Christian metaphor of comparing the church itself to a ship. Even to this day, the main worship area in churches is called the "nave".."Sam Renseiw navigated a bit in a patterned world, where chip or pixel is replaced by brick, and met a larger brig than expected in the videographic space of this footage. View it by clicking here or try sitting on the chairs above (patafilm 115, 01'03'', 2.5 MB, )/ relinked 02.10.15

On Steiner, Beuys and Godard's blackboard use

" He often used the board to either emphasise a concept or date, or to imaginatively construct a complex idea and break it down according to a diagram. Often, initially simple sketches and diagrams were continuously developed during the course of a lecture until, in the end, an "imaginative, colourfully-flowing overall picture" was created which could be directly and vividly experienced. Most of the blackboard drawings were erased after the lecture, until an attentive listener, saw to it that the provided blackboards were covered with black paper. Thus many drawings were preserved after all.."

Sam Renseiw postulates that we can hear the 'drawing', the plan on the ground; at another level we find dissonant emphases, at the next level a voice, which is softly bound from its diction, and then another that is rigorous and hard in its articulation. All of this is synchronous. View it unfold here or click on the blackboard above.( patafilm #114, 01'42'', 15.3 MB, mov/quicktime)

The retinex theory of color vision

"...But I wasn’t interested in those kinds of fetishistic objects; I’d rather have a cork on a string or a broken piece of wood. The appeal of an object for me has nothing to do with its age or material value, and even less to do with the fame of its former owner. Goethe was a great writer but also a great traveler and a manic collector..."

Sam Renseiw layering some simultaneity. Reminiscences of Grcic's Goethe exhibit, chairing out, with some soundings by Kelly Davis from up north. View the melting pot here or click on the yellow arte-fact above ( patafilm # 113, 01'14'', 2.4 MB, mov/quicktime )/ relinked 02.10.15

On pattern recognition

"...The front page opens, familiar as a friend's living room. A frame-grab from #48 serves as backdrop, dim and almost monochrome, no characters in view. This is one of the sequences that generate comparisons with Tarkovsky. She only knows Tarkovsky from stills, really, though she did once fall asleep during a screening of The Stalker, going under on an endless pan, the camera aimed straight down, in close-up, at a puddle on a ruined mosaic floor. But she is not one of those who think that much will be gained by analysis of the maker's imagined influences. The cult of the footage is rife with subcults, claiming every possible influence. Truffaut, Peckinpah ...."

Sam Renseiw's video examines the work of contemporary patterns that explore, in various ways, the human struggle to create and to understand our individual and collective identities. View it here or enter by clicking on the blue square above ( patafilm #112, 01'23'', 5.3 MB, mov/quicktime )

From headland to headland

"In the history of maritime intercourse there was a time when the timid seaman crept from port to port, feeling his cautious and wary way from headland to headland, and daring no distant voyage where seas, and winds, and rocks, unknown to him, increased the dangers of his uncertain life. Then a bolder race sprung up--tall ships danced proudly upon the waves, and many brave hearts manned and guided them; yet still they rarely ventured from sight of land."

Such is the view for todays inward panorama: Sam Renseiw, stranded, caught a tall ship, waiting. See it developp here or click on the hull above. ( patafilm # 111, 01'53'' , 3,7 MB, mov/quicktime ) / relinked 02.10.15

Tina Modatti, Frida Kahlo and my cappucino

"Until recently Tina Modotti's reputation was based on her personal association with Edward Weston, for whom she modeled during the 1920s. However, her sharply focused portraits, still-lifes, and abstract compositions, made in Mexico contemporaneously, show her to have been an accomplished photographer in her own right. Modotti's work combines a sophisticated sense of design with socially and politically oriented subject matter. Her images of the Mexican working classes and Mexican artifacts became powerful revolutionary emblems..."

San Renseiw seems to catch up with anything these days, in the snowy danish winter meeting Frida (flash movie) enjoy the video here or click on the feet above.('patafilm # 110, 01'01'', 6.5 MB , mov/quicktime )

Dissolution and Precipitation

"The process of dissolution occurs when a solute is placed in contact with a solvent and dissolves to form a solution. If solvent is removed from a solution, by a process such as evaporation, eventually the solute will be found to separate from the remaining solution. This separation is called the precipitation of a solid or the evolution of a gas. The concentration of solute which the solution contains at the onset of precipitation or gas evolution is the maximum concentration of solute which the solution can contain. This concentration is called the solubility of the solute."

Sam Renseiw recorded some diffuse algebraic moments in an otherwise unsaturated and cliché diluted set-up, in the midst of some sublime spacial settings. View it here or click on the characters above. ( 'patafilm #109, 02'04'', 2.4 MB, mov/quicktime ) / relinked 02.10.15

Satie said one day to Cocteau

Satie said one day to Cocteau: "I want to write a play for dogs, and I already have my set design: the curtain rises on a bone". It often happens with Satie that, amazed by the arresting image he suggests, we forget to dig for meaning beneath the proposal. Such a magic formula - we're happy just to mull it over, even pass it on, to transmit it intact. Why ask ourselves about the details of such a play? About its plot, its dialogue? Why did he go out of his way to describe the set?

Simply to raise the question touches on the pedantic or superfluous. In a play "for dogs," the bone is at once the content, the set and the plot. The set is the play. For Sam Renseiw the short 'patafilms are the massage, the content and the plot, set-up. View 'patafilm #108, fresh from the Mac here ,or clik on the coo-coo clock above. ( 00'49'', 5.3 MB mov/quicktime ) relinked 02.10.15