Artist Statement – Macy Harrell

Love, Hate & Censorship (2014)

After carefully considering cultural universals such as love, hate, currency, and food; censorship made my list. This piece addresses censorship laws around the globe. This theme is significant and timely. Art and expression is universal, and with that universal liberty we also are met with censorship. This gif is comprised of 85 separate images framed within a vintage television set. I chose a TV set for its traditional nature in conveying information to the masses. Using a medium as contemporary as a gif is an ode to the development of digital art and everyone’s easy access to it.

Most of the images in this gif are either censored works or their creators. It features the banned cinematic work of Iranian director Jafar Panahi, Chinese director Chen Kaige, American director Seth Rogan, Russian director Sergei Eisenstein, American Gary Ross, American screenwriter James W. Horne among a few others. Titles include “The Interview (2014)” “The Mirror (1997),” “Farewell My Concubine (1993).” All the cinematic works featured in this gif have been banned in some part of the world.

Cinema is not the only creative medium plagued with censorship laws and limitations. News and art are also marginalized.  To emphasize that, I included the banned album artwork of Kanye Wests’ “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010),” Tracey Emin’s contemporary Sarah Lucas image of a Christ made of cigarette buds being crucified on the cross of the English flag. Images of journalists that have either been murdered, jailed, blackmailed for expressing truths to the public are also featured (Georgiy Gongadze – Ukraine,  Mohamed Sokrate – Morocco, Walgney Assis Carvalho – Brazil).  I strategically selected artist and public figures from opposite sides of the world to emphasize the universality of censorship.

This gif is quite literally a referential work of artistic appropriation greatly inspired by Soda_Jerks 2006 film ”Hollywood Burn.” In the Mckenzie Wark reading we are reminded that “What digital technology makes possible is a vast outpouring of the gift.” This gif and “Hollywood Burn” are testaments to this statement.  Because consistency is seemingly absent, the viewer’s viewers mind is never at ease. Despite its wacky design, these works are challenging in that they demand a rich understanding of pop culture, and patience to consume all the messages.

The Yochai Benkler’s discourse “The Political Economy of Commons” encompasses the message of this work perfectly when he says “The ability to control who gets to say what to whom with the core cultural signifiers of our time.” The global stipulations bestowed upon artists are usually perceived as hindrances in the creative process, but some of the greatest works in cinema I’ve see make subtle political statements. Many artists still manage to flourish artistically. In Thomas Y Levins “Rhetoric of the Temporal Index: Surveillant Narration and the Cinema” he says “surveillance has become the condition of narration itself.” Levins is addressing a larger theme of this project: surveillance.

I went to see Sean Bobbitt that day he visited the BC film department. I totally forgot to write about it. I think most listeners including myself were charmed by his honesty, his accepting of his own flaws and his overall humility. He approached this discussion with a great sense of humor and genuine desire to inform and guide the film hopefuls in front of him. i took some notes. A few things he mentioned that really stuck with me (All paraphrased extracted ideas and not direct quotes from Bobbitt):

— Film is a subjective career. As with many creative fields there really is no definitive wrong or right to do thing. Sometimes you have to let go of conventions to unleash your greatest creative work

— He peaked his own level of intelligence at about 17

— He’s been fired

— Clarity comes from doing 

— Don’t be surprised if you’re not where you want to be in the first year the first five years or even the first 10 years

— If you really want to work in this industry KEEP doing it despite the inevitable “nos”  and less than favorable jobs you’ll encounter

— Keep practicing. Film is practiced skill that is not born.

— Telling the story is what is most important

I am considering doing a visual essay. a compilation of short video clips and photos. The visuals will travel through our very own diverse city (NYC) to find cultural universals, whether those commonalities be in beauty, food or love. This idea was very much inspired by Megacities which was probably my favorite movie from this semester.

If there’s anything the films and readings of this course have drove home for me, it’s our similarities. People are always looking for ways to separate themselves. Even if we were all the same color, had the same features and spoke the same language, we’d still find a way to separate ourselves. Distinguishing ourselves from others and setting a hierarchy for what is better or worse than something else is human nature. At the root of it all however, we are more alike than we are different.  Many times it seems the very thing that’s suppose to make us beautiful (diversity) is the very thing that tears us  apart. My purpose for this project is magnify the beauty of diversity while highlighting the things that streamline through our existence.

When you consider the barber shops and hair salons that exist in every neighborhood, you are reminded that vanity is cultural universal. Every bodega, delicatessen, and 2-4 deli ran by a different group of people we are reminded of fundamental human needs. We all need to love, eat and feel beautiful. When I actually begin this project the themes of love, food and beauty may change as I discover different commonalities but these themes are what I intend to capture. I also plan on using original clips and photos.

Mograbi sounds like his films will be interesting. Every proposed summary peaked my interest to some degree. So I’m looking forward to seeing how he tells his stories and if it compares to other filmmakers that tackle similar subjects. I tend to enjoy films that experimental while sticking to the truth. We don’t always have the opportunity to see the middle east from a middle eastern perspective. The National Cinema course I took last semester focused on Iranian films, and I absolutely loved it. The subtly these filmmakers practiced to make such huge political comments was incredible. So many creative limitations were bestowed upon them and yet those same impediments allowed for an unparalled cinematic style that is so fun to watch. I’m curious to see how another Middle Eastern filmmaker compares to the likes of Abbas Kiarostami and Jafar Panahi.

The gift economy that Wark proposes is one I get but I’m still a little on the fence about. Though it is seemingly idealistic, an economy that moves based on social relationships and gifting is a more plausible direction than many of think. Free File sharing, free labor via through interns, tradeoffs and barters deals in business are all becoming very normal things. The idea of people without out the financial means being able to have things they wouldn’t normally be able to attain seems like a dream to me. My only concern in this utopic gifting model is that people wouldn’t be fairly compensated for their contributions, work, skillset etc.

-Macy Harrell

The idea that it is more probable that the world will end before we can see an end to capitalism is a heavy one. I think it’s quite telling of the Western Culture. I say “western” culture in particular because it is the only culture I have been fully immersed in and have an understanding of that would allow me to speak on it.  I have learned that Eastern cultures tend to be centered around collectivist values that do not largely exist here in our country. Somehow so colorfully united, we are a nation divided. We are the United States of Separation and we’d like to stay that way. Indivdualistic is the term cultural psychologist use to describe the US.I am not by any means knocking capitalism, but I do view it as a sign of our obsession with power and status. If we were a nation of fully utilitarian a capitalist system would be out of the question.

This past weekend one of my clients invited to a small annual film Festival hosted by ACT NOW called “NEW VOICES IN BLACK CINEMA: SHORT FILM COLLECTIVE.” The event was hosted right here in Brooklyn and 100% of the films were shot in the NYC area. It was incredible to see many different perspectives of NYC living. All six films captured a different POV ranging from children, young,old, women, men and even animals. The film that stood out to me the most (besides my client’s film) was a short film entitled “B.L.B” directed by A.V. Rockwell. It’s a beautiful black and white that touches on globalization in a very subtle way through transportation and survival. You can see it below.

The tone of the article “Look Who’s Watching” and the “Domestic Surveillance” video gave me the feeling that many are surprised to learn that Americans are being monitored to the degree that they have been for years. It just doesn’t scare me. I don’t have anything to hide and I tend to doubt very highly that the government would have any reason to listen in on my phone calls. I for one am pretty aware that all that my data is available somewhere and viewable to whomever is responsible for collecting it. This is NOT new. Phone records are “records;” they’ve always been. Why is it surprise that they are retrievable by someone? We are monitored when we walk down the street and when we shop in the grocery stores via security cameras. We are monitored when we fill out an “about” section on a social media page. We are monitored when we send an email. All of these everyday mediums are traceable and it’s our job to be conscious of what we publicly reveal. The more reliant we become on technology the less privacy will have. To me that is to be expected. Most of its used for marketing purposes.

These conspiracy theories are all signs of a nation that distrusts their government, that’s true of America and other nations. I think the paranoia is unnecessary.

For the midterm paper I am considering tackling topic one and using the film we saw this week (“Sleep Dealer”) namely because it was the only film that reminded of another film I’ve seen. Memory is a huge component of the plot of Sleep Dealer, and is also a major theme in the 2004 film “Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind.” I don’t see many ties to globalization when I consider the plot “Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind.” I may have to dig a little deeper or re-watch it.

Raising the Red Lantern” is also a film that Sleep Dealer had some similarities to. The main characters father dies and she marries into a wealthy family to survive. This theme causes me to draw some comparisons to the Clair Denis reading and the differences in qualifying yourself as a man or a woman. Since this story is set in China I figure maybe I can find some themes related to globalization that way.

Sleep Dealers also makes me think of the film Artificial Intelligence. I’d love to write about that. It’s a fantastical portrayal of globalization and technology. In fact I think I like that idea best.

I really wanted to use “Mega Cities” for this paper because it has been my favorite film thus far but I’m having a hard time finding something comparable that doesn’t bore me to death, and is easy to find (Netflix, Hulu). Do you have any suggestions?

I realize I’m rambling and thinking out loud. So I’ll stop now.

The Claire Denis interview entitled “Journal of European Studies” particularly stood out to me in this week’s reading. Denis’ comments about the roles and standards of masculinity versus the the standards that apply to femininity; and they were vastly contrasted. There are statements This director made that I can identify and agree with, while some of her very strong politically charged ideas about gender roles I am on the fence about. I disagree with the claim that “When there are several men together, something clicks immediately. A group of women cannot experience that.”  I think women can be just as bonded and work cohesively as men do in complete civil harmony.I think the notion that women CANNOT experience this pigeon holes them to the age old stereotype of being intrinsically catty, less than capable and ever-quarreling. To me that claim couldn’t be more false nor more insulting.

Conversely, I do understand the claims Denis made about men proving their manhood in groups and women proving their womanhood namely to themselves.  The concept of women losing from the same situations men “gain” from also is interesting and very valid point to me. When you consider the general societal view of a woman who chooses to live a promiscuous lifestyle versus a man who does the same Denis’ point is driven home. I’m eager to see how this director’s views and perceptions of our social conditions come across in her work.