Jennifer's work combining Super 8 film with video created a very interesting aesthetic. I enjoyed watching the way her dream, discussed with friends throughout her equipment retrieval trek, was realized in the final sequence on Super 8. The result was such that I believed it could have been shot in the era that the dream actually occurred, rather than only a couple years ago. Being able to use different technologies and film stocks to create a particular look and feel for various parts of a film somehow makes it appear more real and believable, like capturing family moments on home movies. My childhood was captured on Super 8 and the color was the same, being shot on Kodachrome film just as Montgomery's work was. As ridiculous and dream-nonsensical as the footage was it appeared more realistic because of the format used. It would have appeared contrived shot on DV tape.
(Here is an image I created for Photo 2 class where we had to recreate a dream. My recurring childhood dream centered on being able to fly, but the ground looked like a school wall map)The processing method of the film, where it was crammed into a developing can so that parts were not fully developed was also an interesting aesthetic that reminded me of hand painted animation films. The effect was quite lovely.
Artists need to try and experiment with all different kinds of tools so that the right one for the job may be employed when needed. If we stick to what we know and don't branch into unfamiliar territory, expanding our skills regularly, we won't grow as artists and will stagnate into oblivion. I appreciate artists that can use any means necessary to convey their art and are not limited to strictly one medium. We studied a Latin American artist in my Digital Color photography class who stated how he loves it when he shows his work in galleries and they have no idea which section to put him in (sculpture, film, drawing, etc.) because his work is so diverse and yet has a commonality that ties all the forms together into a single body of work.
I liked that because I get bored easily in doing the exact same thing. I appreciated the dedication that Vladimir had in producing Viewmaster films, how creative and interesting they were, but I would be able to create one of those and then would want to try something new. I love to learn, to grow, to change what I'm doing. I only hope that will never lose my love of learning for it is what makes me who I am.
