Eva Marosy-Weise
Australian videomaker
Interview:10 questions
1. Tell me something about your life and the educational background
I am a photomedia and video artist, currently based in Sydney Australia. I have a PhD in Visual Arts from the University of Sydney (Sydney College of the Arts). My background is in Clinical Psychology, and I worked as a psychologist for many years before taking up my art practice full time. Psychology and an interest in research informs all aspects of my visual arts practice.
2. When, how and why started you filming?
My doctoral project needed a medium that had the dynamism and ability to express emotions. As I found photography and installation were limited in this regard – too static. So I learnt how to make videos and edit them and have been making videos over the last four years.
3. What kind of subjects have your films?
My interest is in our relationship to place. All of my video work to date engages with various aspects of how we relate to places of personal significance to us and how physical environment and our memories of it impact on our identity.
4. How do you develop your films, do you follow certain principles, styles etc?
I approach my work as an artist and it develops organically. I shoot material that I am attracted to in the real world and then allow the material to guide me and reveal to me what it is about, as I develop the work. I work intuitively.
5. Tell me something about the technical equipment you use.
I use a small Sony HD broadcast quality video camera and a Canon EOS 5D camera which also shoots video. I have a portable digital sound recorder, and a Sennheiser microphone. My equipment is basic and lightweight so that I can carry it around with me and shoot spontaneously.
6. The field of “art and moving images†(one may call it videoart or also differently) is is manifesting itself as an important position in contemporary art. Tell me more about your personal position and how you see the future of this field ( your personal future and the future of “art and moving imagesâ€)
I regard video as just another medium for an artist to work with. It is attractive because it is so flexible and immediate and dynamic. I think there is a danger in giving it more importance than it is as video is a means of expression, not an expression in itself. Moving images in general are now a meeting place between art and non art and there is a danger that if artists try to compete with filmmakers, then there is a danger in art losing its unique qualities, and becoming irrelevant.
7. How do you finance your films?
I am self financed, I get the occasional grant and I have a small business which helps fund my work.
8. Do you work individually as a video artist/film maker or do you work in a team? if you have experience in both, what is the difference, what do you prefer?
I work independently, but have done collaborative projects in the past with great success. I am always open to collaborative projects. But in terms of my art practice using video – as I work intuitively and spontaneously it would be very difficult to work with a team. Even in the final stages of editing I am still creatively honing the piece. Team work requires a certain forethought and planning – storyboards etc and a clear idea of the final outcome. Having to think about other people would interfere with my creative process. So at this stage and at the small scale of projects I engage with, I prefer to work alone.
9. Who or what has a lasting influence on your film/video making?
I like visual oriented commercial filmmakers such as Wong Kar Wai and Tarkovsky. Artists who use film such as Tacita Dean, Doug Aitken, Bill Viola.
10. What are your plans or dreams as a film/video maker? Can works of yours viewed online besides on CologneOFF or VideoChannel? Where?
To continue making video art and taking it to the next level in terms of complexity and the ability to move people with my work. My aim is to be represented by a supportive and dynamic gallery so that I can have an audience for my work. My work is currently shown in various festivals and galleries.
List some links & resources