Nancy Cervenka Film Sculptor - Making Sculptures from Film
These sculptures are
made of movie film. The colors and texture are the actual characteristics of the
various types of film stock, processed and unprocessed, over-exposed and
under-exposed. Some of the footage has been manipulated, bleached, scraped and
drawn on.
Nancy discovered this process while pursuing a masters degree in cinematography
(MFA-Cinematography, U. of S. Fl orida-Tampa, 1981). As a filmmaker, she shot, edited
and manipulated the film for the sole purpose of projecting it on the screen,
yet she was as fascinated with the material itself. She enjoyed handling the
long strands of celluloid, watching the tiny images slide between her fingers,
revealing blends of color, movement, patterns and flashes of light.
Each form is created by spiraling the film. Within each strand of film, time is
represented in linear succession as 24 frames per second. Upon closer
inspection, the patterns contained within each sculpture reveal themselves as
overlapping bands of still images. With the aid of a magnifying lens,
recognizable and abstract images are discovered. This information acts as a
story line of the artist's process as a filmmaker, and the ongoing relationship
between the filmmaker and the footage.
The sculptures have become containers of time, fossil-like forms made from a
disappearing medium -- movie film. The process becomes Nancy's meditation --
documenting her search for center, balance and focus.
Collections: Shirley MacLaine, Peter Fonda, Time
Warner, Robbie Robertson, Todd Soldonz and Ismael Merchant, just to name a few.