Unterwerk

superimposed horizontal and vertical patterns in rich, dark colours flow across the screen at pleasantly slow tempos. in contrast to the video´s meditative effect, these abstractly floating visual sensations were created with footage showing speed. krzeczek obtained the effect of blurriness caused by movement by shooting everything from moving subway trains. as a result, the digital video camera´s eye was not able to produce sharp images.

in Unterwerk, paul virilio´s "nihilism of speed" is stylized into a formal and aesthetic event. abstraction is achieved by intentionally exceeding the limits of what can be filmed (or perceived). while the many-layered combinations of screens and superimpositions constantly produce new visual patterns, the soundtrack is a monotone loop. this noise ­ an unaltered sample of the rhythmic sound produced by a ventilation system ­ takes on musical qualities through constant repetition. after being forced to listen to this "acoustic waste material" more closely, one seems to notice minimal variations. however, they are not on the tape and result solely from the situation in which they are heard.

set pieces from the real urban environment are transformed into a clearly structured abstract scenario which, in addition to its convincing aesthetic quality, offers a striking reflection on everyday patterns of perception.

(norbert pfaffenbichler)

Orig. Title
Unterwerk
Year
2000
Country
Austria
Duration
2 min 40 sec
Director
Dariusz Kowalski
Category
Avantgarde/Arts
Orig. Language
No Dialogue
Downloads
Unterwerk (Image)
Unterwerk (Image)
Unterwerk (Image)
Credits
Director
Dariusz Kowalski
Concept & Realization
Dariusz Kowalski
Available Formats
Betacam SP (Distribution Copy)
Aspect Ratio
4:3
Sound Format
stereo
Frame Rate
25 fps
Festivals (Selection)
2000
Helsinki - Avanto Media Art Festival
Winterthur - Kurzfilmtage
Barcelona - Sonar Int. Festival of Advanced Music
Luzern - VIPER - Int. Film und Video Festival
Locarno - Festival Int. De la Video et Arts Electroniques
Austin - Cinetexas - Int. short film&video&new media festival
Denver - Int. Film Festival
Augsburg - Kurzfilmwochenende
Linz - Ars Electronica (Special Mention)
Graz - Diagonale, Festival des österreichischen Films
2001
Osnabrück - EMAF - European Media Art Festival
Utrecht - Impakt Festival
New York - Film Festival
Zürich - VIDEOEXperimental; Video & Film Festival
Wroclaw - WRO-International Media Art Biennale
Hamburg - Int. Kurzfilm-Festival & No Budget
Chicago Underground Film Festival
2002
Rotterdam - Int. Filmfestival
2004
Pesaro - Film Festival