grain elevator from Ethan Philbrick on Vimeo.
hello!
this video is a taste of a project i've embarked on with kim burgas to make dances in the half-demolished grain elevator on cincinnati's west side (before it is entirely demolished).
we've had two sessions so far-- an early morning one that produced this little video and an evening photo shoot with david dewitt. (the pictures are f-ing amazing because david is incredible so get excited to see those some day)
this video was more of a play session, experimenting with how our flesh might fit into this space. i didn't include much of kim (except her glorious feet!) in this one because i wasn't sure if she wanted her booty all over the internet.
we've got lots of ideas, so get ready for more explorations!
<3
ethan
ps. for the summer, i'm going to be making only TWO videos a month instead of four.
three reasons for the decrease-- i don't have enough time, i'm going to be traveling a lot, and i'd like to spend a little more time on each one.
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5 comments:
hi ethan
this is my favorite video in a long time.
i really love the opening shot and your upside down body.
i also really like your underpants and wonder where you buy them?
the music reminds me of music from this haagen daz commercial for some reason. it's very beautiful.
when can i buy a cd of some of your songs?
watching this i was worried about you getting tetanus or fungus though. be careful and don't fall!
I won't look at demolished concrete and metal wires in quite the same way.
almaz almaz---
my underpants came from the jockey outlet in michigan city, indiana. next time i'm there i can get you some if you'd like. they're quite cheap.
i'm putting my songs together for a CD right now! i'll post it here when they're available.
thanks for worrying about me. i'll try not to fall.
<3
This is a beautiful dance/juxtaposition. It suggests vulnerability to me: the deconstructed space, its supports and surfaces all exposed, you inside of the broken-up exposed space, your bare body, deconstructing the "security" of the clothed body, exposing your own supports and surfaces (your actual body being the supports and inside surfaces of the clothed body, the social body). There is a sense of recognition between you and the space, a different kind of security in recognizing a kinship with the space, both uncovered, both exposed, both a little vulnerable.
I love that the broken space still provides support, still allows your (directs you?) to move in new ways, in ways you can't move on your own. Sometimes I think this is the real beauty of any kind of partnering, be it between individuals or with spaces or whatever the circumstances. The partnership reveals something that isn't possible otherwise.
I love the alignments between your body and the space, how their juxtaposition reveals qualities about both (seeing your leg straight or in attitude amidst the coiling steel supports, the ridges in the cement, the ridges of muscle along your back, etc.)
I love the tenderness of your foot caressing the steel at the beginning of the video, or stroking the steel with your hand when you're sitting, a soft and kind of fumbling gesture in which I almost forget that you are stroking steel. The way you relate to the space changes my perception of the space (which seems obvious, but I'm trying to respond a little stream-of-consciousness; some of it might be obvious).
As in most of your videos, I am aware of the layers of focus/gaze, me looking at you, and you looking at the space, me witnessing your witnessing, your engagement with the space. And what that might mean.
The moment of you rocking in the tangle of steel supports is lovely. The shifting body supported by the steel, motion/stillness, cage/cradle, shifting proximity, pulsing, etc.
The feet at the end (Kim's?), and the bending of the steel is beautiful. Up until this point we've seen this fractured space continuing to serve as a constant support, for leaning onto, suspending weight from, sitting, walking, etc. And here we see it give in to the gentle pull of an ankle. If I let myself get intimately involved with the video, it's startling, almost upsetting and raises all kinds of issues surrounding stability and instability.
Again, thanks for your work.
-M
ethan and kim: this is beautiful. reminds me of william forsythe (amazing). looking forward to more on this project....
best,
Lindsey j.
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