With each passing year, The Red Bull Word Clash is getting bigger and bolder. Held in Greensboro, NC, and hosted by Monte Smith, the event draws slam poets from across the country to compete in an event some deem incendiary. The poets break boundaries and push buttons as they artfully attack topics like the policies of George Bush, organized religion, racial stereotypes, gender politics, and anything else that gets in their way. Described by the poets themselves as abrasive, revolutionary, violent, healthy, militant, honest, necessary and explosive, their poetry rips at the listener with visceral anger, and, whether or not you agree with their views, their art does what art is meant to do – it elicits strong emotion. Love it or hate it, their art does its job.
To capture the spirit of the event, Charleston-based artist Kevin Harrison filmed the Word Clash this year and created a documentary of the same name. His film was shown in May at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival, where it captured the audience prize for best short documentary. The film can be downloaded via Kevin’s web site, and (as a helpful FYI) it’s not safe for work.
Kevin and I recently had an email conversation, discussing his documentary, his art and his life, and here are a few of the highlights:
Being a South Carolina artist, primarily known for your paintings, photography and graphic design, how did you get involved in the Word Clash project?
I was introduced to Red Bull back in 2002, when John Duckworth and I had our show for Spoleto, The Great Art Caper. Since then, we have collaborated on shows and events. They sponsored my show for Spoleto in 2003 called The 13th Hour, and since then they have been hiring my production team to film and edit some of their high-profile events. We were hired to document the Red Bull Word Clash in 2005, and it went so well that they hired us again to do the same in 2006.
After filming the competition, how long did the editing process take, and can you tell me a little about the process?
It is a layered process. Meaning, there are several stages that I have to go through in order to achieve the end result. Total, it took about three months.
I edited on my system using software called Vegas Video. I am a bit unorthodox in my approach in that I tend to let creative intuition take over when slicing and dicing the video footage. My producer, Mark Duryee, collected gigs of archival public-domain footage for me to weave into what I filmed, and a Charleston-based musician, Chris McLernon, created the majority of the music. He supplies music spots for clients like Victoria's Secret and shows like Fear Factor, The Apprentice, The OC, CSI and many other national spots. It really helps to have quality audio to help emphasize the dramatic swells and dynamics of the poets’ words.
Tell me a little about the New York Independent Film and Video Festival.
Well, it was a great experience seeing what else was out there. We were fortunate to get a great time slot. We got the opening weekend, Saturday night, 8:00pm time slot, which helped I’m sure. The film received a nice ovation, and it seemed to really elicit a strong response from the crowd - during the movie and at the after party as well. We had dinner with the management group who now manages KISS, and they were very supportive and encouraged me to work on a future project with them. I was beside myself. Trust me… it’s paradise. This is where the hungry come to feed. For mine is a generation that circles the globe in search of something we haven’t tried before. So never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite, and never outstay your welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience. You hope and you dream. But you never believe that something is gonna happen for you. Not like it does in the movies. And when it does, you expect it to feel different. More visceral… more real.
I was waiting for it to hit me.
Your artwork spans different genres. What medium came first for you and how did the progression into other mediums occur? How do you feel the different mediums relate to one-another?
They are all related, and the camera is the catalyst. Everything starts and ends with the camera. The paintings start with me shooting multiple images of a scene that catches my eye, usually looking in both directions at the same time. Then I piece the images together and create my blueprint for what I am going to paint. Then I take a digital shot of the canvas before I start, then take one with my first brush strokes, and so on. Eventually by the time the painting is finished, I have about 20 photos of the painting in progress. Then I simply animate those images together and create a short movie with music so that the viewer can watch the painting evolve before their eyes.
I tend to view things (everyday situations) in an overly cinematic way. I can’t help it. It’s a sickness. So it is natural for me to edit images, weather it be video, graphics, interviews, weddings, whatever… and help to convey the emotion of the moment. Music is as much a part of the process as the camera, or brushes are. Music is fuel.
What music do you listen to when you’re painting – what inspires you?
All music. Anything from early Tom Waits and John Coltrane, to more progressive groups like Tortoise, Low Flying Owls, and The Dandy Warhols. It really depends on what stage of the painting I am at. In the beginning I tend to like more aggressive music because it drives me to fill monster chunks of productivity. I like it dim when I paint. I have a bunch of bendable spot lights that I can position where I need them. That way I can step back and be in the dark and look at the painting in the spotlight. Quite often I like some ambient music to help focus me on the stages where I need to have a steady hand and add the tight detail that makes the painting “pop”.
Being a fan of your fish-eyed cityscapes, I'm curious to know if you're still painting as much as you used to.
I am constantly painting. I am painting three commissions right now. Just laid in another layer this morning and while it’s drying, I am up here typing these words on my computer.
On what projects are you currently working, and what's on the horizon?
My wife (Cathy O’Hara) and I adopted our daughter, Maisie, from China in 2004, and we are half way through the process for the second time. We will be going back to China in the fall of 2007 to adopt again (a sister for Maisie).
I’m also working on a feature film about the life of a man named Arthur Cravan. He was a 1920’s era poet-boxer who lived a very colorful life. His wife Mina Loy, went on to spark the feminist movement. He was a fierce artist who even fought the real Jack Johnson in the ring for the heavyweight championship of the world in 1918. I am co-directing this with a screenwriter from Paris named Olivier Girard, and we will shoot the film in 4 countries - France, England, the U.S. and Mexico. We have been in the development stage for several months now and the script has been translated from French to English. Shooting begins February 2007, and we need to be done with the shooting in 6 weeks, so that I will be back in time to go to China.
Downloads:
Kevin Harrison | Word Clash [100mb WAV - NSFW]
Chris McLernon | Black Ice [MP3]
To capture the spirit of the event, Charleston-based artist Kevin Harrison filmed the Word Clash this year and created a documentary of the same name. His film was shown in May at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival, where it captured the audience prize for best short documentary. The film can be downloaded via Kevin’s web site, and (as a helpful FYI) it’s not safe for work.
Kevin and I recently had an email conversation, discussing his documentary, his art and his life, and here are a few of the highlights:
Being a South Carolina artist, primarily known for your paintings, photography and graphic design, how did you get involved in the Word Clash project?
I was introduced to Red Bull back in 2002, when John Duckworth and I had our show for Spoleto, The Great Art Caper. Since then, we have collaborated on shows and events. They sponsored my show for Spoleto in 2003 called The 13th Hour, and since then they have been hiring my production team to film and edit some of their high-profile events. We were hired to document the Red Bull Word Clash in 2005, and it went so well that they hired us again to do the same in 2006.
After filming the competition, how long did the editing process take, and can you tell me a little about the process?
It is a layered process. Meaning, there are several stages that I have to go through in order to achieve the end result. Total, it took about three months.
I edited on my system using software called Vegas Video. I am a bit unorthodox in my approach in that I tend to let creative intuition take over when slicing and dicing the video footage. My producer, Mark Duryee, collected gigs of archival public-domain footage for me to weave into what I filmed, and a Charleston-based musician, Chris McLernon, created the majority of the music. He supplies music spots for clients like Victoria's Secret and shows like Fear Factor, The Apprentice, The OC, CSI and many other national spots. It really helps to have quality audio to help emphasize the dramatic swells and dynamics of the poets’ words.
Tell me a little about the New York Independent Film and Video Festival.
Well, it was a great experience seeing what else was out there. We were fortunate to get a great time slot. We got the opening weekend, Saturday night, 8:00pm time slot, which helped I’m sure. The film received a nice ovation, and it seemed to really elicit a strong response from the crowd - during the movie and at the after party as well. We had dinner with the management group who now manages KISS, and they were very supportive and encouraged me to work on a future project with them. I was beside myself. Trust me… it’s paradise. This is where the hungry come to feed. For mine is a generation that circles the globe in search of something we haven’t tried before. So never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite, and never outstay your welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience. You hope and you dream. But you never believe that something is gonna happen for you. Not like it does in the movies. And when it does, you expect it to feel different. More visceral… more real.
I was waiting for it to hit me.
Your artwork spans different genres. What medium came first for you and how did the progression into other mediums occur? How do you feel the different mediums relate to one-another?
They are all related, and the camera is the catalyst. Everything starts and ends with the camera. The paintings start with me shooting multiple images of a scene that catches my eye, usually looking in both directions at the same time. Then I piece the images together and create my blueprint for what I am going to paint. Then I take a digital shot of the canvas before I start, then take one with my first brush strokes, and so on. Eventually by the time the painting is finished, I have about 20 photos of the painting in progress. Then I simply animate those images together and create a short movie with music so that the viewer can watch the painting evolve before their eyes.
I tend to view things (everyday situations) in an overly cinematic way. I can’t help it. It’s a sickness. So it is natural for me to edit images, weather it be video, graphics, interviews, weddings, whatever… and help to convey the emotion of the moment. Music is as much a part of the process as the camera, or brushes are. Music is fuel.
What music do you listen to when you’re painting – what inspires you?
All music. Anything from early Tom Waits and John Coltrane, to more progressive groups like Tortoise, Low Flying Owls, and The Dandy Warhols. It really depends on what stage of the painting I am at. In the beginning I tend to like more aggressive music because it drives me to fill monster chunks of productivity. I like it dim when I paint. I have a bunch of bendable spot lights that I can position where I need them. That way I can step back and be in the dark and look at the painting in the spotlight. Quite often I like some ambient music to help focus me on the stages where I need to have a steady hand and add the tight detail that makes the painting “pop”.
Being a fan of your fish-eyed cityscapes, I'm curious to know if you're still painting as much as you used to.
I am constantly painting. I am painting three commissions right now. Just laid in another layer this morning and while it’s drying, I am up here typing these words on my computer.
On what projects are you currently working, and what's on the horizon?
My wife (Cathy O’Hara) and I adopted our daughter, Maisie, from China in 2004, and we are half way through the process for the second time. We will be going back to China in the fall of 2007 to adopt again (a sister for Maisie).
I’m also working on a feature film about the life of a man named Arthur Cravan. He was a 1920’s era poet-boxer who lived a very colorful life. His wife Mina Loy, went on to spark the feminist movement. He was a fierce artist who even fought the real Jack Johnson in the ring for the heavyweight championship of the world in 1918. I am co-directing this with a screenwriter from Paris named Olivier Girard, and we will shoot the film in 4 countries - France, England, the U.S. and Mexico. We have been in the development stage for several months now and the script has been translated from French to English. Shooting begins February 2007, and we need to be done with the shooting in 6 weeks, so that I will be back in time to go to China.
Downloads:
Kevin Harrison | Word Clash [100mb WAV - NSFW]
Chris McLernon | Black Ice [MP3]
