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Mikey Peterson
Mikey Peterson An artist's statement Environments are digitally distorted in much of my work in order to give the viewer a sense of displacement, ultimately revealing other truths about the original imagery.
In Slip Away and Unrest, shot on Lake Michigan’s shoreline in Chicago, nature distorts of its own accord. It is the combination of water, earth, wind and sun that creates layers of abstract spaces. The scenes are organic, but direction, contrast, speed and sound are manipulated. Through this
A still from Slip Away, 2 min 34 sec, 2014
process, technology and nature work together in these one-shot videos. € Buildings hide behind an impressionistic haze, as conflicting symbols of industry and nature seamlessly layer. We see the buildings erase and reform differently, just as memories diverge from the experiences they intend to mirror. Memories emerge as an alternate reality we create and revise over time. These visions skew, as our minds focus on fragments of the original experiences - sometimes these visions warp the event to the point where
they no longer represent the event but create an alternative version, a dream-like new reality that can influence our present selves. Maybe our selves and our lives are built upon this process of useful mis-remembering. € € The imagery is familiar, but it is always at a distance, as movement, light, and sound reinforces its surrealism. What we see is in constant flux, and the same can be said of what we view as Truth and Self.
An interview with
Mikey Peterson We have been impressed with the your stunning surreal imagery: in your films familiar scenes are pervaded by an unheimlich feeling, to quote Freud. How did you come up with the idea for Slip Away? I live close to Lake Michigan in Chicago and spend a lot of time walking its beaches, which is where “Slip Away” and “Unrest” were shot. I search for abstractions that naturally occur in nature and became intrigued with how the lake reflects the skyline. Just as man-made architecture mirrors nature, the lake is literally mirroring the buildings through reflection. But the water’s constant flux relays its own interpretation of what man has built, as its ripples and waves distort and erase the imagery. Through these videos we are looking at nature’s interpre-tation of man’s interpretation of nature. It’s a multi-layered cycle, which I find quite beautiful. In your works the concept of space is continuously reshaped: could you introduce our readers to this fundamental concept of your filmmaking? I relay subtle organic moments in dramatic ways
A still from Slip Away, 2 min 34 sec, 2014
by distorting space and sound in order to displace the viewer. I want you to see natural scenes differently, as there are many perspectives that we don't see in our world. Several of the scenes that I shoot naturally exist, but by changing the perspective, motion, and sound while emphasizing different aspects of the image, we can see our world in new ways. In “Slip Away” and “Unrest”, nature is initially creating the abstractions, and my job is to showcase these by taking them out of context and manipulating the imagery and audio.
Mikey Peterson
By removing the scene from its larger environment we lose the reference of scale. Reshaping the sound, speed, and color changes the mood
and tone. On the screen, what was small is now large, and what was subtle is now a dramatic event. Where do your materials come from, and how do you go about putting them together?
the process of collecting moments and scenes with hopes of finding the spark of an idea. I usually know when I’ve captured something interesting, but sometimes when I import my footage, I’ll discover imagery that I didn’t fully comprehend when I shot it.
I rarely have a definitive plan or storyboard before I shoot. Living in Chicago, I walk and take public transportation a lot, which gives me much more freedom to observe my surroundings. I usually have my camera in my bag and shoot whatever catches my eye, though I’m drawn to the relationship between motion and light. There’s an intuition and fluidity when I shoot, which easily integrates into my daily life. I enjoy
It is a lot like the illustrated puzzle books you would look at when you were a child - where you search for hidden images in a larger landscape drawing, such as an old man’s face within the contour of a mountain or a cloud in the shape of a whale. In a way I’m still trying to find these secrets in real life - to reveal what’s hidden, and also tell us something larger about the way the world interacts with itself.
A still from Unrest, 7 min 3 sec, 2014
"Memories emerge as an alternate reality we create and revise over time" this statement, reminding us of Robbe Grillet and Alain Resnais' films, reveals a deep introspection: the hidden nature of memory has been explored by psychiatrists (just think of Oliver Sacks' essays) as well as by corageous filmmakers like Guy Maddin. Could you introduce our readers to this fascinating concept of your cinema? My first memory is from when I was about 2 years old. I was on my back in my crib and my
mother removed a mobile that hung from the ceiling above. The hole that the hook left in the ceiling created an impression in the drywall that looked like a human eye staring down at me. I wasn't frightened of this eye, but remember feeling safe - as if someone was looking over me. I knew then that it was just a tiny hole in the ceiling, but I presently remember this scene with the strange staring eye. Our imaginations can influence and distort the imagery of the memory, but the initial emotion from the event remains intact and enhanced.
was more surreal than anything I had experienced. The world is massive, kinetic and chaotic through a child’s eyes, and I still carry an overwhelming sense of mortality and wonder when I think of this memory. I was completely consumed by this new world, and I want others to experience these types of feelings through my work. We have previously quoted Alain RobbeGrillet and Resnais. We find that your art is rich of references. Can you tell us your biggest influences in art and how they have affected your work? Early on, music was my main focus, and artists such as David Bowie, Brian Eno, Bob Dylan, Patti Smith and Nick Cave were influential. When I discovered that these artists not only created music, but also film, painting, writing, and new media arts, my perspective changed on what you could explore artistically. I didn’t have to limit myself to one form of communication. I could focus and different mediums, and video was perfect because I could combine several of the disciplines that I loved. As far as who has been influential in my video work, David Lynch, Stan Brakhage, Gerhard Richter, Tony Oursler and Douglas Trumbull are artists that come to mind. They all create surreal spaces, and their work shifts our perspectives on what is real and what is a dream, while telling us something much larger about ourselves. I think a lot about Richter's photo paintings "Mrs. Wolleh With Children" and "Woman Descending The Staircase,"
Creating familiar scenes that are slightly abstracted in my video work remind me of specific childhood memories that I’ve misremembered. Over time, I’ve mentally distorted them due to how I first reacted to their visual intensity. The imagery of these memories make less sense in reality, but I’ve attached real emotions to them. When I shot and edited the “Slip Away” footage I was immediately transported to the first memory of seeing the Chicago skyline when I was 3 or 4 years old. My parents and I lived in a quiet tree-lined suburb at the time and the experience of walking in the city
A still from Unrest, 7 min 3 sec, 2014
A still from Unrest, 7 min 3 sec, 2014
and I’m sure they subconsciously influenced "Slip Away" and "Unrest." They both possess a dream-like haze and feel like fading memories as if a part of your life is slowly slipping away. My videos expand on these thoughts. My imagery also has a painterly aesthetic, which is the antithesis of Richter's style, as his paintings look like blurred photographs. Though the technique is opposite, our mediums look like another in order to further displace the viewer. In these last years we have seen that the frontier between Video Art and Cinema is growing more and more vague: do you think that this "frontier" will exists longer? We now all have access to cheaper technology, and it’s much easier to distribute, exhibit work, and have a presence online. Video art started as an inexpensive, grassroots way to experiment with the moving image without spending a lot of money on film and without working with large film companies. But now that the majority of filmmakers and video artists are shooting in digital, the aesthetic and quality are similar. With video art and cinema now distributed and exhibited online, we are rethinking about where and how both of these types of work can be shown. Although due to size, looking at these mediums on computer screens and phones are not necessarily ideal. Due to this shift in how we get our information, we have instant access to any genre or work of art online. Artists are influencing each other and mediums are merging at a quicker rate. GIF art, which at its core are short experimentations within similar time restraints that the Lumiere Brothers and Thomas Edison worked with, has merged several
A still from Unrest, 7 min 3 sec, 2014
mediums together including video, photography and animation. This work is created and exhibited online for anyone to see. You are not limited to gallery or theatre viewings, so we are easily exposed to more work and therefore more ideas. I think there will always be a frontier between cinema and video, but it may shift and splinter off into other sub-genres within these mediums.
Thanks for sharing your time and thoughts, Mikey. What's next for Mikey Peterson? Are there any projects on the horizon? Thanks for your time as well. It’s been a real pleasure sharing my work with you. Currently, I am completing two new videos. One is entitled, “Born Again,” which is another one-shot video that has a similar aesthetic and concept to “Slip Away” and “Unrest.” I also just finished one
called “Light Cycle,” which focuses heavily on light movement, sound manipulation and science fiction. These will be released at the beginning of 2015.