This is the first in a series of interviews with some of today’s most exciting artists and filmmakers. Whether they are upcoming talents or established professionals, whether they do fashion films, music videos or art films, in a digital or analogue way, whatever etc. What we’re looking for are just great PASSION & STYLE.
We kick off VISUAL AUTEURS with Jacqueline Castel, a multi-gifted artist from Brooklyn, NY. Her amazing music-videos for subculture heroes like Zola Jesus, Blank Dogs and U.S. Girls revitalized the underground-chic-aesthetics New York is famous for. Right now, she’s working on her full-feature debut. But let’s hear from her…
Jacqueline, you work as a designer, photographer, stylist, filmmaker… Does a modern visual auteur have to master a lot of different crafts?
I wouldn’t say that it’s essential for modern filmmakers or artists to master multiple skill sets – everyone has their own process – but I do see it as an advantage. I view all work that an artist creates, regardless of the format or craft, as an extension of themselves and their creative output, and I’ve always been drawn to artists who cross mediums and skill sets to create their own world and visions. Traversing between crafts and experimenting has always felt intuitive to me, perhaps out of a natural sense of curiosity to create and learn. It also makes the creation of projects easier in many respects, especially on low budgets, and it fits into my own sense of DIY ethos. I think it also makes you a stronger director when you know and understand how things are created; it gives you a better understanding of what is possible.
How do you decide whether to do a particular artistic assignment by yourself or to team up with a fellow artist resp specialist?
Every project is different. I think I default to working alone, but there are some projects, such as the music video for U.S. Girls (directed with Preston Spurlock), and the short Twelve Dark Noons, where I collaborated with other artists in different capacities. I think the desire to collaborate always stems from the recognition of someone who shares a similar attitude or aesthetic who can challenge you to do better work, and can bring their own voice and skill sets to a project that will strengthen it. It’s an interesting balance, and I’d say I’m generally very particular about who I work with, but I’ve had very positive collaborations in both cases.
Are there recurrent themes, visual and plot-wise, which pop up when you work in different visual fields?
Paranoia. And more recently, natural and otherworldly phenomena.
What are the main influences for your work?
I’m visually and conceptually influenced by a variety of things – traveling, Czech cinema, cult fashion brands like Biba, underground music, mythology, Roman Polanski, the apocalypse – I can’t pinpoint a main visual reference beyond the cinema itself, but my influences are by no means limited to that. My work represents me, my obsessions and preoccupations, and the way that I view the world. While that often leans to the surreal and fantastical, it is all sourced from a strain of truth, a personal experience, a nightmare, a migraine hallucination, or a real event.
What are your thoughts on the technical aspects of modern film-making, like DLSR vs film stock, digital vs analogue, etc?
I tend to gravitate towards creating ambiguous worlds that operate on their own sense of time and have an organic quality to them. I’m not so much interested in reconstructing reality as I am in creating a sense of unreality. That being said, I like when you can’t tell how something was shot, when it was shot, or what equipment was used. I like when there’s mystery in an image. I’ve shot 35mm and VHS, PXL 2000 and Super 8mm, and have run HD footage through old analogue TVs to get a certain effect. Basically, I’ll shoot with anything you give me – it’s not a question of digital vs. analogue, it’s a question of what works for your needs, aesthetically and practically, for the project at hand. Any format can be compelling if used effectively.
Where is the main audience for your work right now and what trend do you see for the future, like in the next 3-5 years?
I think the main audience for my work is online at this point. MTV has banished the music video, so the only real outlet at this point for music video work is online. Short films have more of an audience at festivals, and likewise for features, although as bandwidth increases, it will likely turn to a larger online audience as well. Unfortunately, the amount of distributors and independent cinemas that exist has radically decreased in the last 20 years, due in part to dwindling audiences, the introduction of multiplexes, and online distribution and downloading that takes the audiences out of the theaters. Economics drive everything, so my only worry is that in the lack of economic support for industries that have in the past survived through box office and record sales, the new media future will find itself becoming more of a hybrid of commercialism – more product placement and more corporate creative control which looms dangerously close to intellectual censorship.
On a positive note though, I do think that there is a lot of potential for new short form content in events, especially when you create a community-based, social environment that cannot be replicated online, so hopefully the trend starts to veer in that direction.
Are you aware of the fashion film phenomenon? If yes, what are your thoughts on it?
I’m intrigued by fashion films, they’re an interesting cross section between art house films, fashion print ads, and music videos. They’re essentially experimental mood pieces that are more willing to take risks than traditional commercials. My main observation, from the limited amount of experience that I’ve had working on them, is that they seem to have very low budgets, which seems to be something I’m good at being attracted to! But as they gain in popularity and general use, this will probably change.
Can you tell us something about your next projects?
Before the end of the year I have a couple more music videos coming out, a special music documentation project in Italy, and the completion of the short film Twelve Dark Noons. Beyond that, there are more music videos, a couple short film/music collaborations that are kicking around, and I’m working on a feature film script that I will be taking into serious pre-production in 2011.
What have you been reading/watching/listening to this week?
Reading: “Mercury” by Anna Kavan
Watching: Paul Verhoeven’s1973 film “Turkish Delight”
Listening: Phantom Payne Days “Phantom Payne Daze” Reissue LP on De Stijl Records
