Summer in Alfred

There are only so many things to do in this town during the summer. One of them is to work, another is to blog, and the third (and most obvious) is to go to the bar (Yes, THE bar. Technically there are two but in the summer we all only go to one).
Yesterday, Terese and I were working. We decided that we both needed a beer, but she stopped by my space as I finished up some applications for festivals. [I have been sending work out to festivals like CRAZY! As long as there are no submission fees - and my work fits - I have sent something off. Since I have 62 videos from my thesis show, I am bound to have something applicable, right?!] I sent her to visit my artistic managers' site. From there she found Video Art World, and who knows how she found this video (click on the image to see the excerpt from VAW). I guess since she is super interested in identity that this video fits right into that category.
The video is amazing and wonderful. There is a very quiet understanding, even for those of us who dislike and refuse to try to understand the hedonistic tendencies of the American Fraternity. Each participant is portrayed in an unapologetic manner that gives them a depth, that allows the viewer an empathy of their desire to be there in this shouting match.
Of course, seeing the excerpt of this video led me to google the artist, where I came upon his website. Richard Mosse. Born in Ireland in 1980, recently completed his MFA in photography from Yale. His photos are, needless to say, stunning, but what I find interesting is his impeccable ability to organize the videos in a such a fashion where you try to guess what is coming next, but are always surprised. I am especially impressed by his most recent video: Untitled. In his video works up until this recent one, he seems to be searching for a story outside of himself. As a viewer, you don't feel the connection. The videos are beautiful, but there is a certain lack by the maker. In Untitled, you don't feel that. Of course I am assuming the man present in the video is him, and additionally I know that he is Irish and the story (the tragedy, if you will) is set in Ireland. I feel his metaphors rather than seeing them as I did in the earlier pieces. Anyway, check him out. With all of my down-on-video-art-thoughts that I had last week, it is uplifting to see something I can relate to.