Trailer for the Crossing Europe Filmfestival 2007, Linz/A
The themes are inspired by intercuts in Movies, athmospherical filling-scenes without action, for example glances towards horizons, sunsets, water. Moving indoors, you see video pictures of artificial light situations popping up as screensavers on computer monitors . This film deals with the meaning of pictures between artistic aims and decoration.
"Szmit‘s animation film intercut starts with a bird‘s-eye view of the airport. Later the outward view to the sea is contrasted with the inward view to monitors displaying different images. In the end the camera glides into a movement reflecting the beginning across an extension cord with multiple sockets lying on the floor with various electrical cords attached. Electrical power network and the international flight route network now seem to be connected in a mysterious, fractal way." (Crossing Europe catalogue)
Animation Clemens Kogler & Karo Szmit 2006 sound: Aphex Twin narrator: André Tschinder
Le Grand Content examines the omnipresent Powerpoint-culture in search for its philosophical potential. Intersections and diagrams are assembled to form a grand 'association-chain-massacre'. which challenges itself to answer all questions of the universe and some more. Of course, it totally fails this assignment, but in its failure it still manages to produce some magical nuance and shades between the great topics death, cable tv, emotions and hamsters.
expressions of failure during data processing on the computer. this short film deals with the topic of unexistence in general and within the virtual space.
As samples for the pictures I used photos from the internet, collected in view of in- and outdoors, which are defined by perseverative details and thus convey contents like work, privacy or romantic desire.
My interest is based on finding ways to illustrate static scenes lacking active performers. references to reality sneak into the drawings like the drafts presentiment of its future execution.
"Portrayed (image) search in the Internet, strolling in the form of an associatively steered keyword entry, implied possibility of interactive participation. The view into the void, intimated by a minimum of perspective and detail. "
(description from a festival)
"(...) We get an insight in rigidly fixed ways of thinking, far beyond any political actualization. In this way, Kasztany/Chestnuts does not only differ formally, but also in its argumentation, pleasantly different from the usual reporting in Austrian broadcasting. While the ostensible claim to objectivity covers up consensual national reporting on Austrian broadcasting, Kasztany/Chestnuts presents without assuming a conclusion: an offensive statement against the creation of national myths." (W. Widerhofer in the catalogue “Grenzziehungen ...was nicht zusammengehört”)
"As tourists with artistic ambitions we explore the image world of the town of Reinsberg, wandering through the paintings of the region that we find in the houses we visit during our stay there. Instead of creating conventional souvenir pictures by freezing moments, we thaw frozen snapshots by re-introducing the space-time axis."
Animation, Installation Barbara Musil & Karo Szmit 2002
"Alltägliche Abläufe in unserer Welt, die mit freiem Auge nicht sichtbar sind, spielen sich gleichzeitig mit unserem makroskopischen Leben zwischen winzigen Protagonisten in mikroskopischen Surroundings ab."
Visual artist, born 1978 in Warsaw. 1998-2007 study at the university of art in Linz/ Austria at the experimental design class. Main focus on drawing, animated filmmaking, multimedia installation, performance.
