After Visiting Museum of Moving Image

I enjoyed that how MoMI (Museum of the Moving Image) displays the footage of historical and technological advance of moving images. But personally, I liked to have an experience as a time-traveler, when I walked down to the last section of MoMI, where they re-constructed an early times movie theater. While I was seating in the 'Egypt themed' movie theater, I would imagine myself as an audience in 1920s movie theater. And I had a thought that watching movie and going-movie-theater were much more important in the people's life in that time. Because movie theater did not only exhibit movie, but also they offered a place to seat and to have an experience like a tourist in Egypt. In contrast, people in this day, do not go to movie theater as much as people in 30s and 50s, and people in this day wouldn't be excited by how movie theater designed. The role of movie theater in this day is merely projecting film but does have characteristics that old time movie theater had. Ostensibly, the MoMI attempt educates its visitors about the development of filming and technology. However, on the other hand, I felt that people in 21st century mostly rely on moving images; they informed by watching TV and entertained by watching TV and movie, yet they don't see how those are made, it made by many people's elaboration, and it is a conglomeration of human technology of moving image and the outcome from inventors' painstaking works. Thus, I will more appreciate to people whom contributed to make any films and TV programs.

Artist Statement

Of all the many types of visual arts, I have to say that film is my favorite visual art. I absolutely adore making and watching films. Film is the ultimate medium because people communicate their lives through film. This medium is participatory because it requires a human to watch with eyes, to hear with ears, and to think with the brain. Appealing to all possible senses and faculties, film and video offer a vastly opportunity to communicate with people on an everyday basis.

Personally, I want to get important messages across in my video, and to have audiences share my imaginations and my perspectives of our common world. In order to make an outstanding piece of video art, the artist ought to be aware of the varieties of art forms, such as photography, painting, sculpture, music, architecture, etc. Yet, the most important part of videography and filming is all about understanding the scientific dimension of light (color) and the technical field of the camera devices; these aspects exist beyond audience's line of sight in front of a screen. The artists should have a solid grasp of these technicalities through filming, directing, and editing.

Although, in this day, we have advanced computer technology that allows us to retouch and re-edit artists’ films and video arts, the true artist must know how to effectively use a camera. For example, I was inspired by a couple of cinematographers and film directors who had made use of a film camera to its maximum capacity. One example, Tarsem Singh (Director of The Cell, 2000, The Fall, 2006, picture left), uses minimal computer graphics to create exotic and lively colors throughout his films; Singh, only choosing materials (clothing and make-up) that reflect the richness of color that is visible to human eyes through the camera, also uses cinematographic skills that capture what other people haven’t seen before from other films.