The Crow: Original Content in Many Forms
In how many different forms can one piece of content exist? I began by writing an improvisational piece titled The Crow. I continued to explore and express that original content through two handcrafted books, a song, and video using techniques such as Processing and slit-scan photography.
Each outcome represents the process of using both predictable and unpredictable elements. It has become important and interesting for me to set up particular structures and rules in my work while at the same time creating and letting unpredictable elements have their own influence in the final piece.
The Crow
the scent of beer in a blissful rage
speckled tiles smile from the inside of the cage
orange pillow stool sits under my tush
sorta wanna stand but i don't like to push
people placing straws one right after another
gotta go grab them all then push them further
weird shaped clouds float along in anger
sign on the beach says, "perigo! danger"!
go (go) go to the end of the wall
go (go) go but try not to fall
go (go) go to the end of the stream
go (go) go just slide on the cream
hey, can someone pass the salt?
heh, how about the pepper?
vinnie put too many onions in the sauce
strings in the teeth so henry's gotta floss
eagle has landed in the state of west vagina
lots of immigrants from communist china
try to hit the crow but it's impossibility
homies all strike the implausibility
float like a butterfly sting like a cactus
monkeys swimming 'round in a tub full of molasses
you can't hit the crow 'cause he don't wanna move
you can't hit the crow it's got nothing to prove
you can't mow the lawn it's got nothing to prove
The Crow: Video
The audio exploration of The Crow was used for this video.
The red footage moments were placed intentionally throughout the video, while the black and white slit-scan video is the original video recording being replayed in reverse throughout the entire timeline.
The Crow: Song
This audio is a digital exploration of The Crow. Improvisational techniques were used with instruments including a vintage Casio VL Tone mini-keyboard and a voice-changing toy megaphone.
The Crow: Book 1
This first book was an exploration of the content via slit-scan photography. Each photo was taken as I read each line of The Crow, and then each word was placed graphically over the photograph where each word was spoken.
The pages of this book were printed on double-sided matte paper. Three custom cut pieces of book board were hand-covered and used for the front and back covers and spine, and it was all bound together using the secret belgian binding technique.
The Crow: Book 2
The whle book was handwritten and then scanned. The content that was to be read on each page was put into the code of the scanned image, resulting in the corrupted-looking handwritten graphics.
The pages of this book were printed on double-sided matte paper. Three custom cut pieces of transparent red acrylic were used for the front and back covers and spine, and it was all bound together using the secret belgian binding technique.
