In the mid-1980s,
with the completion of
his comic surrealist animated film SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES, Jim's work caught the attention of some of the era's most adventurous artists working in popular music. During this time the studio created high profile music videos for Talking Heads, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Peter Gabriel, Michael Jackson, Tears for Fears and others-- expanding awareness of Blashfield's work internationally.
TWO SHORT FILMS ON DVD In Blashfield's THE TASSELED LOAFERS, composer Hector Berlioz' "Dream of a Witch's Sabbath" gets a funny and unexpected reinterpretation when an overly obedient handyman attempts to repair a leaky water pipe. The film is included with Blashfield's surreal comedy SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES, a film about Herbert, Lenore and a flock of flying hands and dancing duck heads bent on mischief and destruction. You can find out more about both films or order the DVD online here. BUNNYHEADS Left, images from Jim Blashfield's short , BUNNYHEADS. The 5
minute 35mm stop-motion animated film takes viewers on a visit to a
hive of strange archetypal beings who inhabit a netherworld
reminiscent of both Fritz Lang's Metropolis and some mysterious place under someone's basement stairs. The film is based upon the sculpture and drawings of Christine Bourdette. Director of Photography is Mark Eifert.
BUNNYHEADS is currently infesting film festivals internationally under the guidance of Pamela Richardson. More info about BUNNYHEADS here. Jim Blashfield
FILMMAKER / MEDIA ARTIST
J I M B L A S H F I E L D
I N F O
A long-time
member of the vital Pacific Northwest film community, Blashfield's
work has been broadcast internationally and screened at numerous festivals throughout the world. He has presented shows of his work at the Chicago Art
Institute, Walker Art Center, Art Futura in Barcelona,
and elsewhere.
Jim Blashfield's work covers a wide range--
from genre challenging experimental films and videos, through live-action and animated narratives and multiple-screen video and sound installations.
A previous recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Oregon Arts Commission, Blashfield's work was recognized during this period with a Grammy, a Cannes Golden Lion, and several MTV awards and nominations. More recently Blashfield was the recipient of the first RACC Media Arts Fellowship.
Contemporary
projects include a variety of short films and video installations,
including SUCTIONMASTER, THE LONE RANGER , THE RESURRECTORY (with the Liminal
Performance Group), BRIGHTWATER and THE EQUILIBRIUM CHAMBER (works in progress), the compilation
film MARGARINE OF AIR, the recently completed BUNNYHEADS and ASLEEP IN THE RAILYARD: MORE EVIDENCE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF AN ARCHETYPAL GOAT KING
SOUL MATES Alice and
Bob fall in love, then out of love, then back into love in Jim Blashfield's animated 50's style slide and video show for BRAIN CHEMISTRY FOR LOVERS, a combination live music concert and science lecture featuring vocalist/writer Valerie Day, jazz pianist Darrell Grant, brain scientist Dr. Larry Sherman and the Portland Chamber Orchestra.
From THE EQUILIBRIUM CHAMBER
From MARGARINE OF AIR
From BRAIN CHEMISTRY FOR LOVERS
Blashfield and crew have completed the image and audio production phase of BRIGHTWATER, a seven screen public art installation near Seattle. The permanent sound and image installation will greet visitors to a new environmental learning center at Brightwater, a state-of-the-art water treatment facility northeast of Lake Washington. The installation is a metaphorical exploration of the nature of water and the ecosystem and provides an opportunity to further the potentials of moving images and sound outside the standard single rectangle format. More about other installations here.
NEW INSTALLATION Described
as "an aquarium of ideas" and a "garden of natural forces", the 5
screen EQUILIBRIUM CHAMBER explores ideas of transference and
transformation in a metaphorical investigation that roams far and wide,
from images of ships on vast seas, to explorations of mysterious
systems of reciprocating energies. The permanent multiple screen video installation,
designed and fabricated by Blashfield Studio for the new Port of Portland Headquarters is scheduled to open in March of 2010.