Moving on to our third Fluid Culture art installation (see others), we're veering a little off course, though we're still sticking with the waterfront theme. I spent some quality time at Elevator Alley last week watching the Herbert C. Jackson freighter (photo) from the rooftop of the American Mill. There are few places in Buffalo that can evoke such strong emotional ties with our industrial heritage. To watch a freighter unload its cargo in this day and age, surrounded by a landscape that has been relatively unscathed, is truly a sight to behold. The grain mills and elevators still stand tall and are thankfully capturing the imaginations of an entire new generation of Buffalonians. That's why I'm so impressed with this next video instillation - turn the volume up, sit back and get ready to be blown away by a deconstruction mapping sequence of magnanimous proportions...
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Seth Amman: "Cargill Grain Animator" (text from Fluid Culture)
Acquainting yourself to a defunct grain elevator may rouse your curiosity about its surreal architecture, the distinct sense of material, a place of eerie noises and a relic of industrial history. Or it may not! Although many are aware of the omnipresent grain elevators, we hope this animation will instill a heightened awareness of their history and potential - ultimately, reintegrating their presence in our daily lives more constructively.
Cargill Grain Animator from seth amman on Vimeo.
The Cargill Superior Grain Elevator located at 874 Ohio Street, Buffalo, New York, consists of three grain elevators, constructed in 1915, 1923, and 1925 respectively. Joined together in a massive complex nearly 1,000 feet in cumulative length, with a maximum storage capacity of over 3,700,000 bushels, the elevator looms over the adjacent river. In creating stop-frame animations of the Cargill Superior Grain Elevator this film interprets several modalities of historical records, digital reproductions and material reuse. By moving the body rather than the object, as is common in stop-frame animation, we created an original interpretation of a precarious exploration into this heavily reinforced monolithic machine.
Mid October.
CEPA Gallery.
Seth Amman (1982) completed his graduate degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo and Billy Erhard (1985) completed his undergraduate degree at Cornell University; both in the field of architecture. Seth lives in Buffalo and works as an architect advancing his professional goals while cultivating the often overlooked sensory composition of the surrounding architecture. Billy is currently back in the United States after spending a year working in an architecture firm in Rome, Italy. By experimenting with forms of media and representation, film has allowed Billy to express his thoughts on architecture in new visually provocative ways.
*All italicized text from Fluid Culture
WOW!!! Excellent!!! Thanks!!!