FOR SEVERAL YEARS, I HAVE BEEN EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PAINTING, VIDEO, CINEMA, AND CINEMATOGRAPHIC CONCEPTS (SUCH AS STORYBOARD SEQUENCING TO CREATE NARRATIVE), RESULTING IN WORKS THAT ARE HIGHLY PROCESS ORIENTED. I BEGIN BY RANDOMLY SHOOTING DIGITAL VIDEO. BACK IN THE STUDIO, I SELECT FOOTAGE AND PULL SMALL SERIES OF STILL IMAGES THAT I FIND FORMALLY ARRESTING IN TERMS OF LIGHTING, COLOR, ABSTRACT QUALITY OF COMPOSITION, ETC. NEXT, I CREATE PAINTED NARRATIVES AT A HANDHELD SCALE-WHERE EACH PAINTING IS INTELLIGIBLE AS AN INDIVIDUAL IMAGE, BUT WORKS WITH OTHERS TO FORM A SEQUENTIAL WHOLE. THE DECISION TO TRANSLATE A VIDEO STILL INTO A PAINTING COMES FROM PAINT'S PROFOUND ABILITY TO STOP VIEWERS AND MAKE THEM LOOK AT AN IMAGE THAT WOULD NORMALLY BE UNEXCEPTIONAL, BUT IS TRANSFORMED BY THE TRANSCENDENT MATERIAL PROPERTIES OF PAINT INTO SOMETHING REMARKABLE AND ARRESTING. THE SMALL FORMAT PLACES THE VIEWER IN A PARADOX: ONE HAS AN INTIMATE PROXIMITY TO THE WORK WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY EXPERIENCING THE SENSATION OF DISTANCE SINCE THE PANEL OCCUPIES THE SAME PROPORTION OF THE VISUAL FIELD AS A MOVIE SCREEN FROM THE BACK ROW OF A THEATER OR A TELEVISION SCREEN FROM A SEAT ON THE COUCH.
IN ESSENCE, THIS APPROACH TO NARRATIVE IN PAINTING IS ENTIRELY BACKWARD FROM TRADITIONAL FILMMAKING TECHNIQUES, WHERE A STORYBOARD INDICATES KEY EVENTS OVER TIME AND THEN THE FILM FILLS IN THE NARRATIVE STREAM THE STORYBOARD IMPLIES. I, ON THE OTHER HAND, HAVE THE FULL VIDEO TO WORK FROM, ALL OF THE MOMENTS CONNECTED; I THEN EXTRACT PIECES FROM WITHIN THE NARRATIVE TO CREATE STORYBOARD-LIKE SEQUENCES. USING THIS INVERSE PROCESS, I FEEL I AM BEST ABLE TO CAPTURE THE QUOTIDIAN AND OVERLOOKED INTERSTICES BETWEEN SIGNIFICANT LIFE EVENTS.
DEBRA GOERTZ