The Editor’s pick of videos by some awfully talented people.
Local Motion
A bit of remarkable stop-motion animation work by Boise, Idaho, artist Hi-May Rivera. I usually have a bit of bias against semi-pro stop-motion, but Rivera brings to his work a complexity and sophistication that won me over. This video starts haltingly, perhaps. But then the kayak hits water and early stutters fade to distant memory.
An atmospheric electric band called ATTN, also of Boise, supplied the well-crafted, if somewhat repetitive, accompaniment for this piece. Their sounds slide along like the video’s paper river, eddying and swirling, but driving relentlessly forward.
Rivera’s other animations and sculptures capture the simplicities — even banalities — of life in pristine plastic miniature. The casual viewer probably would appreciate a stronger narrative element, but my objections soon fell to fascination at the creative completeness of the scenes. Each draws the audience into a Zen-like contemplation of the common world, rewarding careful observation with subtle detail.
