x[n+1]=x[n]^p-c and other experiments in film

i’m not a filmaker and i’m no longer a taker of hallucinogens so more often than not experimental films are not my bag (there are exceptions of course) but i thought some of you out there might be interested in thorsten fleisch’s work.  the thumb is from his film gestalt. explanation- “four-dimensional quaternions are visualized by projecting variables of the formula x[n+1]=x[n]^p-c into three-dimensional space. instead of modeling objects or scenes of human imagination the realm of mathematics is explored.” i believe the sound is also derived from the formula. pretty cool. (see below for more)

bloodlust “an attempt to constitute a human / machine dialogue. it shows the filmmaker’s blood as seen / heard by the eyes / ears of the machine which is a film projector with optical sound. he affixed his blood onto clear film leader by cutting into the flesh and then pressing the film leader onto the wound. additionally he had blood taken with a syringe and afterwards dripped it on the film leader. fresh and clotted blood was used for a maximum of variety.”

friendly fire “burned filmstrips meet light and invade the screen with structures of residue, ashes, flames and destruction. new landscapes appear in a state of disintegration by fire. the former carrier of conserved imagery is now in full bloom of organic splendor. the lifeless filmstrips have been resurrected.”

kronos “the mystery of the crystals under closer examination. what is it that makes them possess magic powers as claimed by mystics of all ages? through growing crystals directly on film their mystical qualities shine straight to the screen. unfiltered, only aided by light which gracefully breaks its rays into rich visual textures.”

skinflick “three different levels of skin working with film / film working with skin - fingerprints on clear leader - carefully arranged successive skin prints - snapshots of light-painted skin becoming leather. the images are accompanied by soundscapes using aural skin scans performed by the cartridge of a phono-player.”

as pretentious as some of that sounds (at least to my artist statement hating ears) i can’t argue with someone wanting to noodle around and figure out “what would happen if…” experimenting is fun. also in each case the films yield some very nice frames. you can check them out at fleischfilm along with some others. (via mefi)