All Videos Tagged Detheux (The Visual Music Village) - The Visual Music Village

Ttai

2015-03-02T13:39:40.713Z

A few years ago, Jean-Philippe Collard-Neven and I were preparing concerts based on an exploration of the trance, and Giacinto Scelsi’s music was very much part of those preparations (as well as Morton Feldman’s and John Adams’ and of course, Jean-Philippe’s magnificent improvisations: http://www.vudici.net/movies/Transe_Demo/Transe_languages.html).
This type of work exists outside of the "entertainment dependency” that seems to have invaded much of our cultural space (if interested, please read the following essay: http://blog.animationstudies.org/?p=1052), it requires from the viewers a willingness and an ability to delay gratification, to suspend judgement, to renew our inherent connection with “the appearing as it appears.”

Quatuor (à Cézanne)

2012-03-24T22:48:20.932Z

Many years ago (1980-81), I had the privilege to be in the audience of a magnificent concert presented in Montréal by the Quatuor Orford. One of the pieces they performed was Maurice Ravel's "Quatuor à cordes en fa majeur," and immediately, that music became totally identified in my mind with the paintings of Paul Cézanne, especially the "Sainte Victoire" and "Les Lauves" series.
For years, I have wanted to work with/for that music, so finally, here's the very first sketch (I trust/hope there will be more).
These images were not created by looking at Cézanne's work, but at the same time, there's hardly any image that comes into being in my work that has not been nurtured by the work of Cézanne (and a few others).

Like the art of Diego Velázquez, Rembrandt, Vermeer and Chardin before him, and Alberto Giacometti since, Cézanne's work is a far cry from the technical plumbing and conceptually-driven disease so prevalent in art history, especially today.
His (and their) work was much closer to a near-clinical mapping of human experience than to the attempt to wow others with clever ideas ("look ma, no hands!" or "I'm smarter than you are") that plagues us now, as possibly, always.

Cézanne said: "The pursuit of novelty and originality is a false need that poorly conceals banality or lack of temperament."
"A minute in the world's life passes! To paint it in its reality and forget everything for that! To become that minute, be the sensitive plate, . . .give the image of what we see, forgetting everything that has appeared before our time."
"He who does not have a taste for the absolute is satisfied with tranquil mediocrity."
"Art is a religion. Its aim is the elevation of thought."

And finally, here's an interesting statement about Cézanne's approach:
"The mature Cézanne had no designs on the field of vision except to uncover the designs he saw in it.
It is this suspension of will power that gives him admission to the undifferentiated world which precedes knowledge,
to Eden as it was before Adam conferred separating names on each form of vegetal and mineral growth."
Yale Review (Spring 1980), Ronald Hayman

"Each one of us is a brand new point of view on the world." (Maurice Merleau-Ponty, who also said that "Perception is constitutive.")

Music in four movements:
1. Allegro moderato. Très doux (7:40)
2. Assez vif. Très rythmé (6:17)
3. Très lent (8:27)
4. Vif et agité (4:57)

Performed by the (great) Lasalle Quartet

Cantus Novus 2011

2011-08-16T20:05:23.269Z

In March 2010, Wilfried Jentzsch and I were in Liège (my hometown), Belgium, attending the "Vidéographies21" festival. We had a few free hours so I showed him the "Musée de la Vie wallonne" (http://www.viewallonne.be/en). I was telling Wilfried how much I enjoyed that museum (and its collections) and he remembered composing a piece, based on music by Guillaume de Machaut, which would be at home in those beautiful surroundings.
He asked if I'd be interested in creating images for it.
This is the result

Civil War

2011-07-25T15:45:06.062Z

First collaboration with writer Carol Novack, done in 2007.

A more recent one, "Destination," is also on Vimeo: http://www.vimeo.com/26782140.

Music of Civil War is by Guthrie Lowe, with additional music by Dave…

Destination

2011-07-22T22:20:21.933Z

Film based on a text written and recited by Carol Novack.
The text may be found in "Giraffes in Hiding: The Mythical Memoirs of Carol Novack." (http://www.spuytenduyvil.net/fiction/giraffes.html)
Music by Don Meyer.
The images dialog with the narrative while following their own logic.
The images were made from a series of photos taken by my son Georges (he's 14) during a recent trip to Belgium, photos he then assembled in beautiful panoramas (used here as well).
His images were processed in a variety of applications (Still Life, Studio Artist and especially, Final Cut Pro).