Alison Williams
South African visual artist
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Interview : 10 questions
1. Tell me something about your life and the
educational background
Although I work as a contemporary artist, producing
oil paintings that are predominantly contemporary
abstract, I am also trained in other fields and I find
that this tends to influence my stance as an artist. I
hold a degree in clinical psychology and
philosophy(RSA) and am also operating as a
hypnotherapist(USA)working mainly with stress
disorders. Trained in information technology and pc
engineering within a Unix and Novell background, I
found that I could begin to combine both my passion
for art and technology by moving into other spheres of
art that were less traditional and not just “paint”
based or purely two-dimensional imagery. In art and in
life I am obsessed with the inherent truth that lies
beneath the surface of things, and being the curious
hunter that I am – art becomes an exploratory tool and
i try to use it as a passage into the human psyche and
a way tohear, feel and “see” the heartbeat of the
earth.
2. When, how and why started you filming?
sony 805E handycam = is basically my first decent
purchase and venture in the world of video making
although it is hardly sufficient and time will allow
further progression in the field. for now – this is
the exploratory curve – my yearning to leave “flat”
art and combine sound with image, movement instead of
static paint as a medium. yes i am new at this, but
the feeling is ancient as if I was doing this with my
eyes closed.
3.What kind of subjects have your films?
As I have said – my art is fairly obsessed with the
human psyche in all its aspects. I am concerned with
contemporary life, with human feelings and obsessions,
with reflections and horrors, nightmares both real and
imagined. There is a thin line between reality and
unreality or the dreamworld we inhabit as artists. I
seek this line. I search for the hole in the ground
and I can only imagine what will come out of it. I am
currently filming paranoid landscapes – what the eye
sees and what the mind sees are often not in sync. I
seek the extra-ordinary in the mundane.
4. How do you develop your films, do you follow
certain principles, styles etc?
at this stage all is a learning curve i play with the
raw imagery until i am please with the aestehetic
result.
5. Tell me something about the technical equipment
you use.
sony handycam 805e – adequate for now,(water casing
for underwater footage) and windows based media for
editing. sony software for editing, but it is not
adequate for audio editing. then i use adobe.
6. What are the chances of new media for the genre
film/video in general and you personally?
I don’t quite follow this question. maybe i am
sometimes very stupid.
7. How do you finance your films?
i sell my art.or i hypnotise people hahaha i cant
believe I am saying this! self. funding.
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 prefer working alone, it is often difficult to share
an inner vision without it being “tainted” by
anothers’ experience. but it really depends on the
scenario/ the subject matter – perhaps if i am filming
specific people and have a vision that involves them –
then a collaborative effort is better, and when it
comes to the combination of sound art and video- i do
collaborate with people that are excellent in that
field, then it is to my advantage to work as a team.
9. Who or what has a lasting influence on your
film/video making?
I am not able to quote specific masters within this
field – note, i do a load of internet research and view
endless clips online – so i guess the net is my source
of inspiration but this is like the chicken and the
egg thing – life inspires me first… the heartbeat of
the earth, the vision trapped behind my eyeballs. even
death inspires me.
10. What are your future plans or dreams as a
film/video maker?
to learn to grow to bust out of this self imposed
shell. to buy a bloody excellent camera one day!!!