Ad meliora
Digital Video, 4 minutes. 2021
Image: Kate Balsley
Sound: Irina Escalante-Chernova
Ad meliora, or "towards better things" combines hundreds of separate images that create a deep meditation on being, creativity and nature; a mandala of forms that becomes highly symbolic of life, death, yesterday, now, and the next moment. Flowers, plants and textures were photographed in places such as nature conservatories, cultivated gardens, vacant properties and parking lots. The familiar landscape appears molten, luminous and renewed. Ad meliora is suggestive of adaptation, resilience and transformation.
BROOD X
Digital Animation, 30 seconds. 2021
They've hatched.
Created for the 2021 "Exquisite Shorts: Atlanta Halloween Edition."
Cosmos Obscura
Digital Video, 4 minutes. 2018.
Image: Kate Balsley
Sound: Irina Escalante-Chernova
In Cosmos Obscura, the universe is at once known and unknowable. New patterns, rhythms and metaphors are born from old ones, and familiar celestial bodies are refracted into strange and unusual forms.
I <3 Atlanta
Digital Video, 5 minutes. 2017.
A city symphony that provides a renewed sense of discovery, while instilling a love and curiosity for the city of Atlanta.
Microspectrum
Digital Video, 1 minute 30 seconds. 2016.
A surreal journey through the natural world. Leaves, flowers and other organic materials are abstracted and exist as shapes, forms, colors and textures. Nature is at once strange and beautiful. Microspectrum invites the viewer to reflect upon its complexities.
Fantasy Tableau: The Art of Stephen Warde Anderson
Digital Video, 9 minutes. 2015.
Rockford, Illinois native Stephen Warde Anderson has been a self-taught painter, poet, writer and musician for the past 30 years. This documentary explores the life and art of this truly eccentric genius.
The Sonatina
Digital Video, 9 minutes. 2015.
While working a dead-end job at a thrift store, a young man rekindles his passion for music.
The Cucaranchula
Digital Video, 13 minutes. 2013.
A love triangle between a young writer, a pompous critic, and a mysterious little creature known only as...the cucaranchula.
anima mundi
Digital Video, 4 minutes. 2010.
“Anima mundi,” a latin phrase meaning “spirit of the world,” has been a fundamental principle of philosophical thought for centuries, representing the vital life force that animates all matter in the universe. This experimental piece combines thousands of individual images of flowers, both wild and cultivated, to create a unique, fluid aesthetic, celebrating the beauty of the natural world.
Locally Unwanted Land Usage
Digital Video, 8 minutes. 2009.
Locally Unwanted Land Usage is a tale of wastefulness and resourcefulness that promotes environmental stewardship. It was created using low-energy and consumer-grade equipment, and all of the props were made from donated or recycled materials. The result is a "green movie" whose production had little environmental impact, and can be enjoyed by everyone.
Autumn
Digital Video, 3 minutes. 2008.
A portrait of the season of autumn. Individual moments are frozen to express the fleeting beauty and constant flux of nature.
Alice Underwater
16mm film, 2 minutes. 2005.
Original footage of an underwater dancer has been optically printed. The result is a surreal aquatic ballet.
Pretty
Digital Video & 16mm film, 7 minutes. 2002.
Katie is an intelligent, ambitious and hard-working robotics engineer. She is currently working on her newest invention-miniature robots that dispense cosmetics and give beauty advice. Despite her talents, her two male colleagues treat her terribly...simply because they find her unattractive. Pretty is a scathing satire of gender politics, sexual harassment and toxic masculinity.