Flames are mesmerizing. There is an ancient familiarity deep within
me that is awakened as I sit by a fire. In this short video music
work, I have created a miniature that explores this concept within
the course of only one minute. The work portrays both the ambiance
generated by firelight, as well as the deep stirrings I feel as
I stare into the flames. I imagine being consumed by the fire’s
primordial power, as knowledge, reason, and order give way to more
primal thought processes.
Birth-young-old-death, summer-fall-winter-spring, breakfast-lunch-dinner,
wash-rinse-repeat – our lives are filled with cycles. The primordial
serpent Ouroboros continues to gnaw upon its own tail. This work
explores the cyclical nature of the human experience. It is comprised
of three sections. In each, a rhythmic figure is held captive by
its own repetitions. It tries to escape from this form, but each
time it fails. Concurrently, a free and seemingly improvisatory
rhythmic figure is juxtaposed to it. In the middle section, the
roles of these gestures are reversed. The freedom of the one becomes
subjugated by the cyclic nature of the other. By conquering its
rival, the cyclic voice gains some measure of freedom, however this
liberation is both limited and fleeting. In the final section, both
voices merge. In embracing their cyclical spirit, neither voice
dominates the other. For a time, neither tries to break from the
cycle. The stability of consonance and invariable repetitions are
soothing at first, but they soon become tedious. The first cyclic
voice reasserts itself, assuming its original form. The work concludes
as it began. The listener is freed from his or her experience of
this affair, though the piece continues eternally until the death
of the universe, when the cycle begins anew at its rebirth.
This short piece is the last portion of a larger work. It depicts
the trials of a lonely robot who courageously seeks to find companionship
in his solitary world.
