Abstraction - Austin

 Abstraction is such a wild and unpredictable mode of media and that’s why it has intrigued me so much. The idea of not having a set story but rather a set of emotions is really powerful and it feels more like art in the traditional sense. I enjoy how it focuses on the viewer’s emotion rather than their critical thinking. Having this allows the viewer to sit and gaze and most importantly feel. In the Pipolotti Rist interview, she explains how everyone is allowed to perceive things differently because there isn’t one way to interpret things. Rist experiments with how laying down and looking up at the art and being able to walk right through the art changes how individuals interpret the art. It is evident that abstraction can be heavily dependent on symbolism and this is a point that I think Rist nails. The segment of the imagery ingesting the view rather than the viewer ingesting the imagery really stuck out to me. The idea of having different frame sizes inside the “container” allows the filmmaker to make it clear what is important and what is not. I didn’t quite understand it at first but as the video essay gave modern examples of framing through things like windows and doorways, the idea became much clearer. I think shrinking frames will fit this assignment very well because there are no set rules/expectations; it is not supposed to be an easy-to-digest film, the goal is to have individuals feel something rather than directly handing them what they’re supposed to think. The Black Refraction music video makes it very clear that color is a huge influence when compiling an abstraction film. The blurry look with all of the vivid colors allows me to feel like I’m in a hazy dream which is a very cool effect. Another cool effect I’m excited to play with is the green screen, in the Peter Campus video we get to see some cool green screen techniques that will really add to the abstraction project.