Cinema Lab
Austin, TX
2021
Peace of the Gods
An inauguration.
Peace of the Gods is an abstract response to the dark times we are living through. Created in the aftermath of the 2020 inauguration, it draws inspiration from the etymology of the word - inaugurare meaning “to consecrate by augury” . In ancient Rome, the augurs, official diviners, would seek the gods' approval of a course of action through omens known as auspices. This resulted in a ritual offering reminiscent of Caravaggio's dark still lifes that contrasted the grotesque with the beautiful. This resulted in a ritual offering that mixed the simple beauty of Caravaggio's still lifes with the harsh lighting and grotesque horror of German Expressionism.
Waters of March
I love bossa nova.
Waters of March is an exploration of production design and environmental character building. The concept came after an opportunity arose to shoot in an eclectic home off of Austin’s historic South Congress. We were inspired by the colorful bathroom and antique tub which we leveraged to invoke the dark humor of the 1960s-70s New Hollywood films like Harold and Maude and The Graduate. The bouncy bossa nova song Aguas de Marco underscores the contrast between refinement and debauchery in the scene with ambiguous lyrics that are suggestive of narratives beyond the room.
Woolgathering
I wanted to play with a drone okay.
“Sum up your artistic process in a word,” was the prompt, I wanted to capture a sense of movement, the aimless walk you talk that allows your subconscious to sift through gestating ideas.
Snowday
It was fun and games until the snow didn’t melt.
Hi-8 tape footage captured during the Austin’s big freeze of Feb 11-20, 2021.