more on the aesthetic of the film still
‘Hitchcock clearly preferred the staging of stills completely independent from the film. Striking publicity photographs accompanying films such as the Wrong Man (1957),Vertigo (1958), or Physco (1960) do not attempt to convert a specific scene, but rather to summarise the atmosphere of the entire movie into a single still.’ History and Aesthetic of the Film Still by Steven Jacobs
This a clearly logical approach as these stills are most likely to be used as publicity and to sell the film. The still is set up to give the viewer and overview of the film and to tell them what to expect with the view to them actually going to see the film. Similarly performance artists have used staged shots to sell or illustrate their performance like Vito Acconci’s Following Piece and Franko B’s work Oh Lover Boy.
My work will not use staging in that way although it may be interesting and useful to take digital shots during the process as a way of documenting the documentation process. For this I will need an assistant. Or maybe I can make use of the webcam. I do find the aesthetic of the webcam interesting. Here the idea of the photo-gramme returns. Because of the motion dectecting element you are capturing something in action in the same way a movie film would but without actually recording a series of consequtive images that create seemless motion.
Going back to the subject which will be an open mouth in motion I was interested to see that Jacobs addresses this image in his writing. ‘when someone shouts, the character is forever frozen with his mouth wide open. As a result, the statue gets something strange, uncannily mechanic and sometimes grotesque – precisely what happens in film still capturing characters in the midst of an action.’ Choosing to capture this moment this act which renders the subject grotesque. Looking into the open mouth of another is also deeply intimate. Is it also grotesque and what do we mean by that?
According to the Oxford dictionary the word grotesque means comically or repulsively ugly or distorted or incongruous or inappropriate to a shocking degree. Interestingly the root of the word comes from the latin ‘grotto’ meaning small cave or hollow, which sits nicely with the image of the mouth which is both hollow and in its presentation slightly repulsive.
Keeping with the open mouth, Jacobs goes on to talk about the use of close ups. By zooming in on a detail ‘they mark a moment at which the viewer transforms from and observer into a contemplator.’ A close up still image gives the viewer room to daydream. Without many visual clues the viewer is focused on a detail and with limited visual information the viewer can step in to the work and create their own narrative.
On one hand I am inviting the audience in with a close up but at the same time the repulsion of the grotesque hollow of an open mouth creates disquiet. It reminds me of Janine Anotni talking about her work. She is not aiming to threaten audiences of her performance work. ‘Certainly it’s not my goal to push the audience away or be aggressive. I am interested in extreme acts that pull you in, as unconventional as they may be. Personally, I want to broaden my audience, and I choose seduction over hostility.’ Will I seduce or push away my audience?
