Flight of the Crane

Video installation that can be seen at TSKW for the solo exhibition “Conversations of Kami” until December 30th, 2010.

Video installation, "Flight of the crane"

I realized one of the qualities of being an artist is our peculiar nature of seeking out situations of discomfort. This is the opposite direction of our human software, to seek security and safety. The artist can approach what he wants and what he needs in a different way so that more creativity can be generated. Something happens to your senses and perspective when you are outside of your comfort zone. Discomfort can be either mental in the form of self-doubt, not trusting your arsenal of choices or it can be physical in the form of awe, pain, obstacles, being threatened or alienation from your direct environment. Either way both mental and physical discomfort can lead to growth on a creative level. Brilliant drummer Greg Saunier (Deerhoof) would place obstacles in his own way to make sure he is never to comfortable behind his drum set, he would even take parts of his drums away forcing him to think differently in coming up with the same sound in new ways. He explains it in his own words here.

I purposely were interested in attending residencies in the far east for just this reason. Being dropped by yourself in the middle of a new culture were you do not know or cannot read the language and do not understand the customs, food or manners. You automatically switch to survival mode. Survival mode for me is a form of “fight and flight”, all my senses are heightened, I see, smell and hear differently. I even process information differently since my logic is shaped by my culture, and suddenly it do not apply. It is a senses overload and best of all your resistance is lowered. You first need all the new information in before you can process it. When you are in a comfort zone you already have your information and had made up your mind.

This video/stop animation was shot in Seoul, Korea based on a Japanese fable of a man who devoted his life constantly seeking his lost wife(also a crane) after his betrayal of her trust.

Extract from Video Installation. "Flight of the Crane"

It dawned on me that this is another reason I am so interested in working with the idea of the ‘perpetual out-lander’. To always be in a state of discomfort and to never reach a full conclusion, this helps me to see the world in a new and different light in every step I take. The great artist Enrique Martinez Celaya once said at a workshop that I attended that an artist should be in constant discomfort so that he/she can overcome their own weaknesses.
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Flight of the Crane Video was: