WORKED AT THE NORWEGIAN SHORT FILM FESTIVAL
GRIMSTAD, NORWAY
15-20 JUNE 06
I work as a volunteer at the Norwegian Short Film Festival each year, documenting
seminars and special events. It is a colourful and educational job, and as
I have intimate knowledge of the archives of these events, I have often drawn
on them for my own research and for use in teaching.
This year, in addition to learning how to make lesbian porn and filming the notorius black metal band Enslaved as they brought music to the 1920's silent film Terje Vigen, etc, there were two relavent events in relation to my own project - a presentation of John Whitney by Martijn van Boven (I have previously seen this presentation at Sonic Acts XI in Amsterdam earlier this year), and the work of Keiichi Tanaami, presented by himself! For more info on both, please see the links below.
Tanaami's animations are psychedelic, to say the least. 70 years of age, his current works still appear as fresh and vibrant as his earlier works. During the Q+A session I asked him whether the extreme psychedelic content of his work stems from halucinations that he has experienced - either with or without the use of drugs. He replied that, on the contrary - they had nothing to do with drugs, but fear.
As a child he experienced the US invasion of Japan and it is especially the experience of the extensive carpet-bombing of Tokyo, and the resulting, enduring trauma and fear that these bombings generated that has inspired and influenced much of his work.
LINKS AND REFERENCES:
JOHN WHITNEY
(PDF From the short film festival catalogue)
KEIICHI TANAAMI
(PDF From the short film festival catalogue)