John Smith The Girl Chewing Gum

Sorry not updated in a while, but i feel after listening to this very inspiration Gentleman i should share: not many artist can inspire with their talk... But John Smith did just that to me at least,

Very inspirational speaker. Full of Passion and humour.

i have dabbled in film in the past as you can tell if you are a regular reader, but i am now converted to the medium. 

Whitworth Gallery

19 February
John Smith
Described by Michael O'Pray in Art Monthly as 'One of the most talented filmmakers of the postwar generation, he [John Smith] has attracted admirers from way beyond the narrow confines of the Avant Garde. His reputation rests on a quite unique sensibility which has successfully married three traits - humour, documentary and formal ingenuity - into an indissoluble whole.' Drawing upon the raw material of everyday life, Smith's meticulously crafted films rework and transform reality, playfully exploring and exposing the language of cinema. John Smith studied film at the Royal College of Art, and since 1972 has made over fifty film, video and installation works that have been shown in cinemas, art galleries and on television around the world.

John Smith was born in Walthamstow, East London in 1952 and studied film at the Royal College of Art. Inspired by conceptual art and the structural materialist ideas that dominated British artists’ filmmaking during his formative years, but also fascinated by the immersive power of narrative and the spoken word, he has developed a body of work which deftly subverts the perceived boundaries between documentary and fiction, representation and abstraction. Drawing upon the raw material of everyday life, Smith's meticulously crafted films rework and transform reality, playfully exploring and exposing the language of cinema.

Since 1972 John Smith has made over fifty film, video and installation works that have been shown in cinemas, art galleries and on television around the world and awarded major prizes at many international film festivals.

 http://www.johnsmithfilms.com/texts/biography.html

The Girl Chewing Gum  
(1976)  12 mins. B/W. Sound. 16mm.
 
"In The Girl Chewing Gum a commanding voice over appears to direct the action in a busy London street.  As the instructions become more absurd and fantasised, we realise that the supposed director (not the shot) is fictional; he only describes - not prescribes - the events that take place before him,

 Watch with an open mind, take in the humour, the beauty and the cleverness