When I learned that The Delian Mode had won a prize which entailed a 3 month artist residency in Kassel, Germany, one of my first thoughts was, ‘what the hell am I going to do in a small German town for that long?’ The only thing I knew about Kassel was that it hosts the popular contemporary art expo Documenta, but only every 5 years and sadly not the year I would be there. Given that my assignment was to create a video work based on the location, I decided to get up close and personal with Kassel, exploring it to its outer limits by foot.
90% of Kassel’s city centre was destroyed by bombings in 1943. Much of the current, function-forward architecture is from the 1950’s but a few scattered old gems remain or have been restored (such as the Museum Fridericianum pictured above). I gravitated towards these singular structures and gardens whose stateliness seemed to permeate the town, solidly asserting its history. I spent many hours in the solemn reverence of churches and fragrant presence of cherry blossom trees in full bloom. I scaled rocky terrain to get a closer look at the city’s stone guardian, Hercules, and tip-toed amongst the Old Masters in halls of antiquities. And, over the course of the residency, I developed a real affinity towards Kassel. It is a great luxury to have 3 months to wander around a place and get a feel for it from the ground up; something I should find the time to do in my own city.
more photos of my European adventures here.
Bogart und I at the Deutsche Kinemathek in Berlin.
I had the pleasure of spending a few days in Osnabruck, Germany for EMAF 2011, a great aggregate of new works in media art. Definitely left me thinking outside the screen.
Stoking the fires of my long-standing Lotte Reiniger fandom at the Filmmuseum Düsseldorf.
Can we build a miniature forest in multiple seasonal states? Yes!
Can we build a full scale forest in a low-ceilinged church basement? Yes!
Art director Corinne Merrell has been making my dreams come true on many projects. With help from Louisa Schabas, DOP Michel St. Martin and a wonderful extended crew, we made magic happen for the music video Ringer.
The Delian Mode!
On the set of Albatross with the enchanting Marianna Reis.
And on location at the infamous Cinema L’Amour with smoke, mirrors and our other superstar, Brad Barr.
Copenhagen, despite being cold and wet in November you still managed to impress with your implausibly beautiful people, bike parking lots and smørrebrød! Some exciting highlights of the CPH:DOX festival included The Delian Mode‘s first screening inside a geodesic dome, meeting long-time hero Peter Mettler and being given a special mention in the Sound & Vision award category.
“The rarest jewel in the crown of the festival-going experience.” – Variety
I’m not sure if it was the altitude or being within spitting distance of many of my film idols (luckily for Herzog and Haneke I restrained myself) but this fest was definitely a high point for me.