alferjewo

Thomas Steiner’s moving picture works refer to a cinematic axiom—that of the optical deception of the brain. The initial material for the video work ALFERJEWO—the perplexing title identifies a place that the filmmaker visited in Russia—are innumerable snapshots of ticket counters, train platforms, people in train compartments, and passing landscapes, some of which are analogue, and some digitally manipulated.
Lined up sequentially, these photographic stills, although not offering the illusion of a fluid movement process, taken as a whole are nonetheless still in movement: The abstract graphic qualities of the electronically manipulated images—real things are reinterpreted as black surfaces and empty spaces—function as restless masks in front of restless backgrounds.
Additionally, there is a second aspect of movement, that of overcoming a distance, which seems to deal with travel: While one hears the suggestive sound of the train running over cross ties, the snapshots become faster and faster, ever more thickly layered over one another, creating an acoustic and visual crescendo. The poetic finale (including fade-outs) contrasts this progression: a strange, pulsating view overlooking a broad stretch of dry grass with clouds passing overhead.
(Georg Wasner) Translation: Lisa Rosenblatt

Orig. Title
alferjewo
Year
2004
Country
Austria
Duration
5 min 40 sec
Director
Thomas Steiner
Category
Avantgarde/Arts
Orig. Language
No Dialogue
Downloads
ALFERJEWO (Image)
ALFERJEWO (Image)
ALFERJEWO (Image)
Credits
Director
Thomas Steiner
Cinematography
Thomas Steiner
Sound
Thomas Steiner
Production
Thomas Steiner
Supported by
Land Oberösterreich, Stadt Linz, BKA. Kunst
Available Formats
Digital File (prores, h264) (Distribution Copy)
Aspect Ratio
4:3
Sound Format
stereo
Frame Rate
25 fps
Festivals (Selection)
2005
Linz - Crossing Europe Film Festival
Graz - Diagonale, Festival des österreichischen Films
Karlsruhe - Int. Medienkunstpreis
Wroclaw - WRO-International Media Art Biennale
Basel - VIPER Festival für Medienkunst
Jihlava Documentary Film Festival
2006
Zagreb – Animafest, Festival on Animated Films