Stop Motion Studies (International)
http://www.stopmotionstudies.net
The "Stop Motion Studies" are a series of experimental documentaries that chronicle my interaction with subway passengers in cities around the world. The aim of the project is to create an international character study based on the aspects of identity that emerge.
It is said that 90% of human communication is non-verbal. In these photographs, the body language of the subjects becomes the basic syntax for a series of Web-based animations exploring movement, gesture, and algorithmic montage. Many sequences document a person’s reaction to being photographed by a stranger. Some smile, others snarl, still others perform. Some pretend not to notice. Underneath all of this are assumptions and unknowns unique to each situation.
The "Stop Motion Studies" (www.stopmotionstudies.net) extend my long standing interest in narrative and, in particular, look at the subway as a stage upon which social dynamics and individual behavior are increasingly mediated by digital technology. As one of the most vibrant and egalitarian networks in our cities, subways bring people from a wide range of social and cultural backgrounds into close contact with each other. This process plays a significant role in shaping both the character of a city as well as our individual identities.
By celebrating both public transportation and the internet, the Stop Motion Studies draw a parallel between the two and posit them as inclusive technologies in opposition to more exclusive forms of transportation (automobiles) and media (television). In doing so, the project brings real life and the internet together in as far as it models each system -- the subway and the internet -- in relation to the other and celebrates the inclusive spirit of both networks. By tapping into and representing the information superhighway of the subway, the project arrests time and allows users to analyze events which are often otherwise only experienced subliminally. Ultimately, everything is such that it invites prolonged reflection.
While the animated sequences that comprise the project paint portraits and tell stories by documenting the interaction between passengers themselves, the most powerful moments are those in which a passenger enters into an exchange with me as a photographer, an exchange based solely on visual cues and body language and one which reveals something about each other’s identity and character. In doing so, the project probes the "scripts" that we live by in our day-to-day interactions with strangers.
Stop Motion Studies is a project by David Crawford [US/SE].
"SMS-Tokyo" is a 2003 commission of New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc., for its Turbulence website. It was made possible by a grant from the LEF foundation. www.turbulence.org/Works/sms