Recently a collaboration took place between two Absurdist Video Artists, Kelly Broich the ringleader of COLLLAPSE productions, and Eli Elliott who’s been traveling around via greyhound bus . He recently made his second visit to Collapse Studios in Boise, Idaho. The last time, a few years ago, a number of shorts were shot, and a feature film was rumored to have been completed (yet never released).
This time around a series of improvisational pieces were performed, filmed and edited.
The “Eli E and Kelly B Sessions” proved to maintain, if not improve upon, the oddity, absurdity, and bizarro visual imagery of their cinematic collaboration history.
Here are the completed sessions:
“You Can’t But We Can” is a sequel of sorts to an earlier performance between Eli E and Kelly B called INCHWORM . This time around “the band” expands a bit while the sounds improve.
Kelly B brings back his character JIMMY for this brief trigger piece. Eli plays Jimmy’s pink colored seizure.
The two turn to brutally subjecting the viewer with an 11 minute aurora of audio “sound healing”. Theta Brain Wave Therapy.
Kelly B. performs a shop-vac solo:
Apparently, Eli E. underwent a “screen test” for an upcoming production slated for 2013.
Some avant garde penis enlargement commercials were also filmed, but were quickly banned from YouTube and 5 other video sharing websites.
Here are some updates for some of our video artists:
COLLAPSE / (AMERICAN FILMS)
This outfit has, oddly, been dead quiet lately with no new work having been sent in or posted anywhere online.
But it looks as if that’s going to change, very soon.
Stills are now surfacing from a recent short which are part of a series of works dealing with women, and blood. These will be the first in a number of short experimental absurdist works which are to be filmed and edited throughout the summer, and there’s hints of a feature film for the fall.
Apparently these will be a major departure from the satirical, corporate-political angle Collapse has penetrated forth in the past. Perhaps recognizing the limits of satire in an already over saturated doomed to likely fail situation, the guys, and new crew of gals, have risen above with a fresh focus on art for arts sake. From here on out it looks as if the gloves are off and now it’s all about fucking shit up for the sake of creative fun; adding COLOR to Collapse, rather than whimpering over the same old song and dance.
(Coincidentally, well known peak oil and Collapse activist and author Michael Ruppert, recently hung up his own doom/gloom pursuits, coming to similar conclusions, and opting for more art and spiritual based outlets.)
MATTHEW TOPARTZER
We got a release copy months back, and now CELWERY is available on Amazon for download or purchase, at least for now. Go HERE.
As he states in the description, CELWERY is an unfinished film, and likely more of an installation work better suited for screening in a multimedia fashion. Matt writes:
i’m still gonna do a multimedia film. it’ll probably be done in powerpoint and ported into the flash media format. and i’m gonna continue on divergent paths regarding both linear and non-linear film production.
So the amazon release is likely temporary, and will be taken down soon, as CELWERY will get reworked into something larger. He’s amassed a lot of other footage as well, and there are also 2 more potential films from Topartzer coming this year. Likely we’ll have one completed film this summer to share.
In the meantime we’ve learned Matt’s a prolific author and also heavy into experimental music. Here are links for his books as well as music downloads:
Things are beginning to emerge as well for Eli Elliott, and it appears his latest location has him in a position to get a bit more messy with “textural” based vid works; little dialogue or speaking and instead more visual, and physical, exploring. He has at least a half dozen pieces set to film, and has already warmed up with a jar of petroleum jelly.
If he can harness himself away from his riding in circle routine (see video piece below) there is a longer work he says he’d like to shoot based around one of the weirdest states of the nation currently. Besides the recent real life Zombie attack, the state offers a regular mix of oddity and stagnant nature which resonates perfect with the Absurdity of the times.
still from “RE: Reply To zenarcher’s “Challenge Met” Video” by Zed Archie
This is how the Absurdist B Sides end up being created. They are works that have spilled over the sides and onto new surfaces, where a new audience resides. An audience which wouldn’t have been reached otherwise. This new “audience” is forced, and sometimes fooled, into experiencing Absurdism in a different way or a different medium, usually more “accessible”. This exposure would have never been accomplished if the work remained inside the familiar glass. And in some cases the real satire is revealed as such, not in the work itself but in the reaction and comments about the work. (original post about “B-SIDES” here)
ELIENATION and ZED ARCHIE
A few years back Eli Elliott ventured into the satirical video response world of YouTube where his compulsion to respond creatively spilled him over onto a new surface: the audiences of two very popular YouTube personalities. He mocked a video vlogging war which was occurring during the time, involving a self inferring ZEN master of sorts who was hawking for money to write a book, and a rational thinking YouTube personality who called out the Zen masters fraudulent antics, eventually declaring “CHECKMATE” to his opponent as thousands of viewers eagerly watched the back and forth YouTubian drama unfold. Elliott then stepped in, satirically mocking the situation, and the comments that resulted from his new audience ranged from “best YouTube spoof EVER” to further riled up reaction regarding the heated vlogger war taking place.
You of course needed an insider understanding in order to comprehend Eli’s mocking, which proved that a new surface had, in fact, been breached; for the first time it was an actual mainstream crowd which was forced to view Elliott’s work, but in a setting or theme which was familiar and easy for them to digest.
When emailed about this Eli responded that it sort of scared him, as suddenly people were messaging him saying how he should definitely do more of these: “basically they were urging me to become a popular “thing” on YouTube…where you create the funny-ha-ha effect type videos..thinking of that pressure to please masses in that way made me stop after a few of these..”
Your videos are brilliant. What a pity that you’ve not made a video in over a year.
Truly one of the greatest videos to ever hit YT..lfmao…lol…lol….great
lol even zen liked it.. mad work man.. u seemed to express urself like nicholas cage a bit in that.. was cool.
ABSURDIST VIDEO ART 