hammer head

Into round 3 of inspection- still standing...it's looking great (even with the artistic influence of the fire marshall)! 

bathroom floor

Sometimes I really can't believe these pristine museums are ok with the pieces of our beautifully rugged film set resting in their halls during install, especially before everything comes together into a sensical little world of it's own...but then I see the dozens of bug traps they've tucked in the corners in anticipation of our outdoor, wooden microcosm and it reminds me that every museum is prepared for whatever may come through it's halls!

throw the crib door wide, let the people crawl inside

Officially fireproof and building away...so exciting to see everything come (back) together!

We Didn't Start the Fire

Yesterday we got extremely nervous when a fire alarm went off fearing that it was unknowlingly our fault. Brent even strayed behind saying "If it was our box that was on fire that box was coming with us." False alarm (thank goodness) but still keeping us on the Fire Marshalls hot list (of course the pun is intended). We've been repairing and sorting and touching up things but the building part is basically at a standstill until the anti fire spray arrives tomorrow morning...here are some shots of the space as we try and figure out what can and cannot be built- either way it is going to look great and everyone here at ASU is pretty fantastic & understanding about the whole thing!

Don't Take My Sunshine Away

Arizona is, well, hot. So hot that they are afraid of making it hotter through a fire so...enter Fire Inspector! That's right! The local Fire Inspector descended upon the Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then install today at the ASU Herberger Institute for Design & The Arts! I'm not sure exactly what this means yet but it does seem like things aren't going to be quite the same as they were on our Pennsylvania farm...especially since he said nothing can be higher than (gulp) twelve and a half feet. What an exhausting day! What will tomorrow have in store in this boiling Sunshine state? 

 Here is a pic of half of the set in (slow, mountainous,desert) transit.

...that looks like (New) Mexican leather

The strip of Albuquerque that Guild Cinema is on is a bit neon, Route 66, alien inspired and a bit gelato, upscale consignment clothing, espresso and, personally, I couldn't love it more! A small crowd of people came out, mostly folks who have seen the shows Brent has been a part of over in Santa Fe (including the current animation show which we did get to stop by and which was every bit as amazing as everyone has been saying! They even had those future speakers!). All of these screenings always end with great folks that make the whole experience even better, this one with the wonderful artist Joanne LeFrak (whose crazily detailed photorealistic shadow sculptures photos can't do justice) and the ever so lovely wonderman Dave (whose family farm I still need to get to one of these days) in their beautiful home overlooking the desert mountains of New Mexico. It was so nice I practically had to drag Brent back into the truck to move along to Arizona! 

The Guild screens amazing, independent, small release, progressive films and the audience is a nice mix of hardcore cinema buff and locals just wanting to see a movie (including one woman who, when leaving the screening before Gravity, was really unhappy with the way the film was shot "You guys show some out there stuff but this one...it was ugly!"). I love that this theater shows so much "out there" stuff and I hope the locals appreciate it in all of it's warm projector glow!

We're Not In Kansas Anymore

Slowly making our way over to Albuquerque for tonight's screening! Kansas was oddly pretty this time around and Oklahoma? Well...it's a long drive! Yesterday we saw a small wooden cross perched on a hill that vaguely looked like the cross that lives on the weathervane in Leonard's house in Gravity and an entire forest submerged under water with only the peaks of dead trees sticking out which is an image that Brent mentions in the film as well. I know Brent probably wasn't actually influenced by these things but I still am amazed when I find likenesses to the film reaching outside of our backyard, it makes you wonder how universal most things are? For now: Breakfast! Later: Texas/New Mexico border!

Columbia, MO, the best town ever?

 

Another great Gravity screening! First off RagTag Cinema is pretty much the coolest place to see a movie I have ever been to. The whole atmosphere of the theater was so perfect: a few couches in the screening room, people sipping on glasses of beer or wine or coffee, eating a cucumber sandwich or cupcake or popcorn from the in house restaurant, others renting a video from the wildly comprehensive videostore. It only makes sense that this is the environment the True/False documentary film festival would come out of- a fantastic cinematic experience but in the most comfortable & real feeling setting you could want! 

Ending the night with a swim in a lake during a meteor shower (once again with great company in the form of True/False co-founder David Wilson and John Herschend who is part of the genius behind The Thing-both filmmakers as well as all around great people) wasn't too shabby either I might add! Tomorrow: No screening drive-a-thon. Saturday: Albuquerque, NM! That is if Brent can pry me away from this wonderful town...

Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue

Tonight's screening in Columbus Ohio was really nice!  A small group of people in a chilled, medium sized theater at the Wexner Center came to see the film on this hot Wednesday evening. We also amassed a wonderful group of after screening dinner mates including scholar/writer/film lover/Wexner Asst. Film & Video Curator Chris Stults, the filmmaker/Wexner ArtTech studio editor Mike Olenick and some of the adorable/handsome/hilarious folks behind the local gallery Chop Chop. Also, I had no idea the Wexner Center had such impressive film resources including a residency program that has attracted some serious creative talent. In fact the film wing of the building had an entire wall of poloroids dedicated to those directors who have been lucky enough to make use of the departments vast cinematic resources, including a pic of Jem Cohen who shot some of Gravity- what a small film world! Tomorrow: Columbia, Missouri! Now: zzzZZZzzzz

Canada!

It's official: Gravity will be part of this year's annual Ottawa International Animation Festival! I am oddly excited about this for some reason, maybe it's because I remember happening on the cartoon showcase "O! Canada" on tv (which is where I saw What On Earth- an animation that I will never, ever forget) when I was a kid and seeing some spectacular shorts, or maybe it's because I spent a whole day (so so sorry) watching cartoons at an office job when I discovered that the intriguing student animations of Canadian film schools were available on the internet or maybe it's because the festival seems pretty amazing in every single aspect! All I know is that Gravity will be screening in the company of one of my favorite animated filmmakers and I cannot wait for this event! Did I mention the festival has a pumpkin carving contest?! At a picnic?! YAY! Or a AYE!

aura

When we finished taking down the backyard last week it was unexpectedly sad, we didn't realize just how magical it was to stand in this whole little world that we had built for the film until it was gone. I think when we rebuild it some of that feeling will return but it just won't be quite the same and it definitely won't be in our backyard...!I think I get that whole Walter Benjamin (Brent in the distance asks, "Who?") aura thing now and I realize that no essay can ever truly explain it. Geez, I wonder how Benjamin would have felt about Gravity as a whole?! Maybe I should channel my former scholarly self for this one and write up a proper essay of sorts, "Art in the Age of Digital Film" perhaps...? Or not...(jumps in pool)! Arizona or bust!

Exhibitionist

I look like I was attacked by a wild animal. Why, you ask? Because I spent the last few days mostly dragging broken shingles from the yard to a dumpster which has resulted in some gnarly cuts pretty much everywhere on my body! Who knew art was this hard? The heat isn't helping either. Or the swarms of bees. I have no idea if these diagrams I am making of what we are taking down will even help...hopefully they will! I thought it was a good idea after I remembered the first annual Art Handler Olympics that took place at Ramiken Crucible (an art space in NY that a friend of mine is a big part of) and included an event where teams of art handlers were given a pile of junk and told to realize the artists vision with it! I figure the least I can do is provide a little guidance on how to rebuild our town? Now to tend to my swelling, post art handling finger...hmm.

Domain

Film related (wait for it) side rant: Eminent domain is a pretty horrible thing, a thing that has displaced many people pushing them out of their homes, lives and communities usually just to build a false sense of progress over their bulldozed histories. Someone recommended a documentary, which I haven't seen but hopefully will  get a chance, called Greetings From Asbury Park that chronicles the realities of eminent domain in a town similar to my own hometown that suffers from this affliction. 

The house that Gravity chronicles, as Brent says in the film, was torn down because it was "the only house on the block that didn't look like every other house on the block." This sense of uniformity in the name of progress is really spooky to me- that people have decided to knock down things that don't quite meet standards(?) of what should(?) be there. Not to say that it is always bad, sometimes things like parks and schools can come out of eminent domain or construction in general, but the idea that something unique or challenging (something other than a chain) is teetering on the brink of extinction is a frightening reality.

In an odd way I hope the rebuilding of Leonard's house in different places, and even the film itself (and even the films production for that matter!) will act as a reminder that not everything can be the same and the value of all things is different to everyone. I realize that someone may see the new house built over Leonard's actual Lousiville home as valuable but this constant tearing down of things we don't understand or necessarily agree with or that don't fit into a particular mold of being is nothing to call progress. Carlin, posted here, is an older short by Brent shot in the house that he grew up in, a house that after a fire fell into decay, and that we hope to make livable one day soon even if the neighbors want to tear it down because they think it is an eyesore bringing down their property values. End rant. (How'd I do? Eh?)

Specimens

I think one of my favorite things since we've been taking down the set in the yard is discovering what things have started residing in our yard town (pop. 20+?).  In Leonard's house we found a lot of mice nests (including the single most disgusting water preserved mouse complete with slimy nest-so, so putrid!), a few mole burrowing routes and of course many, many spiders, wasps and bees. 

In the house facades, which we have started taking down today in anticipation of truck loading next week, we have found dozens of yellow jackets & wasp hives, bird nests and a few bat dwellings in the darkest of corners. There are also snakes loving the wiring tunnels we've created for them and a gigantic gopher I have seen scaling the piles of walls. I hope they aren't too sad that their little town is being eminent domained (when writing this post I started going off an an eminent domain rant which I soon realized deserves it's own post- check back soon for my rant!). In the spirit of this great museum I visited in L.A. I decided to take specimen-esque pics of today's found habitats! Welcome to my creepy museum of yard town dwellings (and one unfortunate former inhabitant)!