In this project, which is now in its second year, a group of American
university students (SUNY-Purchase) studying Film, New Media and
Anthropology are collaborating with a group of students in Minsk, Belarus
(European Humanities University) studying Design, Culturology and
Philosophy to produce videos that reflect their cultures and aesthetics.
There are no scripts for the videos which are being produced - only an
agreement between each pair of students to consider a theme, motif or
structure that they will develop together. One student begins the process
by producing a five minute video on the chosen theme and this video is
compressed and sent by Internet to their partner abroad. A few weeks later
a video is made in response and is sent back via Internet to the student
who produced the first segment. This "Exquisite Corpse" cycle continues
until six videos are produced, creating a 30 minute, cross-cultural
weaving. In some cases these works show understanding and growth between
the partners, while in other cases they show misunderstanding or simply
gyrate wildly - trying to make sense or defend a point of view. In any case
they are interesting anthropological documents of cross-cultural production
using the medium of video.
Within the course their is much discussion of communication, documentation
and collaboration with peoples from different cultures. We explore models
from anthropology and from documentary film practice, which are compared to
surrealist approaches to collaboration and especially to the role of
narration within a cross-cultural exchange model.
I am looking for collaborative partners at other universities and in other
countries with whom to continue this project in future years. A web page
devoted to the project, including streaming videos of the works produced,
will go online in the coming week.
In regard to the April conference I think this project would fit best into
your Track II. The timing is also especially interesting as this year's
collaborative projects are scheduled to be completed the very week the
conference is held. I would hope that I could present some of these videos
and that they would become an example for discussion - but we would have to
figure out how to set this up so it would not be a lecture! Well, actually,
it would be my position that there is a significant need for structural
hierarchy in order to produce a truly free collaboration, and that avoiding
all forms of hierarchical presentation might be counterproductive. I
believe that in all aspects of life the most productive human interactions
involve oscillations in the form and character of the interactions and
therefore that breadth (which must include hierarchy - along with more
level interactions) serves as the most dynamic platform for insight and
growth.
I have attached a one page CV as biographical background, but I could not
tell from your web site exactly when the conference begins and ends. Since
I might drive all the way up from Brooklyn, if there are morning sessions
on Saturday I would have to drive up the night before, and similarly, if
there are evening sessions on Sunday I would need to spend Sunday night,
and both of these would also incur additional costs. Please advise.
Jon Rubin