“Hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT) through The Great Smoky Mountains”
The audio was recorded on the trip to and from the trail.
A sort of “cut-up” method to create the film - Also thinking about Karlheinz Stockhausen.
- My reintroduction into the wild - from trail - to hostel - directly onto the freeway - the lives of modern human beings are fast and full of “purpose” - the speed of production and hum of industry no human can keep up with - or run fast enough alongside - we need wheels to hurry us along - categories to organize our lives and shaming to keep us focused on being productive members of society - our needs are no longer defined or basic - our wastefulness and gluttony has taken over - our value for materialism is based on social ranking systems - life is no longer easy or simple - it is a struggle for power and popularity.
- Originally theorized in 1921 by Benton Mackaye, The AT was to be a network of work camps and communities in the mountains from highest southern point (GA) to highest northern point (ME). Mackaye was convinced urban/industrial life’s pace was harmful to people and the trail was a place to renew oneself. The trail was “completed” several times - 1937 - and again in 1951 - after WWII settled and people returned to some sort of normality - today work continues. A great majority of The Appalachian Mountains have been logged - most of its trees are from second growth.
- The Smoky Mountains are being destroyed by acid rain - as well as an East Asian invasive insect - lady bugs have been introduced in attempts to control the pests - this past winter season brought a lot of wind and ice and toppled a great number of shallow rooted trees through the park. Since human aviation - 50+ planes have crashed in the Smoky’s - some along the trail.
“Painting Time Lapse”
Drawing energy from the room and accessing memories. Long term, short term, or sensory memories can last a life time. There is a pool of unconscious information swelling inside of us - some of it was archived there by choice, some was branded there by others, and some of it is genetics - theres a lot going on up there.
*Sounds created by upright piano guts.
“Regressive Progression”
Inspired by William Burroughs and his “Cut-Up” method. Take a collection of thought out pieces - “Cut-Up” - and put fitting pieces back together to create something new, predetermined.
“The Burning of My Work”
There is something terribly beautiful about the destruction of work. Like Tibetan Buddhist Sand Mandalas - this collection of colorful and symbolic art was compiled and then “dismantled”. The remains put into a container and transported to a moving body of water where they were released back into nature, completing their cycle.
“Orderly Confusion”
This film is about the duality of a moment of my life. I had just returned from a trip to Alaska, no more than a month later my cousin passed away. I consider this time the best and worst moments of my life to date. It is an attempt to balance my greatest life adventure with my greatest life loss.