Tightly orchestrated sound accompanies lingering shots of abstract figures and pulsating light in Paul Clipson’s impressionistic films. He takes micro and macro views to their logical extremes — his subjects are the minute details and overarching systems that govern the natural world. Textures, figures, and lights take center stage; it’s meditative work that reasserts the sense of wonder and fascination often lost as we grow addicted to the immediate gratification of our smartphones. In a way, Clipson’s work reads as a refutation of our era, documenting the glacial pace of nature using archaic technologies such as Super 8. He collaborates closely with Bay Area musicians including Tarentel, Gregg Kowalsky, and Jefre Cantu-Ledesma to compose music for his films, lending the works a cohesion that parallels the interconnected nature of his subjects. Tonight at “The Elements,” he debuts new films with live musical accompaniment by Cantu-Ledesma and Portraits. A study in the unyielding forces of nature that sustain all life on Earth, Clipson’s work offers unusual insight into the constitutive elements of the world around us, compelling viewers to reconsider their relationship to the laws of nature that govern their lives.
Thu., Sept. 30, 7 p.m., 2010
