[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.52,0:00:03.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[DUMBO, Brooklyn]
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.10,0:00:34.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Daniel Gordon, Artist]
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.52,0:00:46.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Daniel Gordon Gets Physical]
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.65,0:01:03.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I was in college, I did a couple of things
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.62,0:01:06.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to try to understand the mechanics of a photograph.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.34,0:01:11.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then, pretty early on, I hit on this thing.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.17,0:01:16.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I realized that I could make myself fly, through photography.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.17,0:01:21.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That was one very specific idea,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.90,0:01:25.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that you set up a camera,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.42,0:01:27.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you're photographing an event
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.20,0:01:30.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where the camera kind of transforms
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.57,0:01:31.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what's in front of the lens.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.37,0:01:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And something happens,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.00,0:01:37.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that thing that was there didn't happen,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.62,0:01:41.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or didn't look like what it is in the picture.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.08,0:01:47.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a fiction and a truth at the same time,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.72,0:01:50.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I think it was that transformation
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.07,0:01:53.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that really drew me to photography.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.33,0:02:04.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I did not set out to have a studio-based photographic practice.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.56,0:02:10.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I developed, over many years, a process that enabled me
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.20,0:02:15.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to attempt to do that transformation in my own way.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.08,0:02:22.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was shooting with continuous lights, 8-by-10 slide film,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:22.11,0:02:23.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they stopped making the film.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.29,0:02:26.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I had to switch to strobe lights,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.74,0:02:29.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is just the flash and you can't see what the shadow is doing.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.94,0:02:32.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so I had to kind of paint the shadows in myself.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.02,0:02:35.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then I started tweaking the colors
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.88,0:02:37.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and kind of them more of a part of the composition,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.85,0:02:39.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and just getting wild.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.62,0:02:48.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[shutter clicking]
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.71,0:03:00.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, the first picture that I made using found images
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.78,0:03:03.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was of a picture of a toe transplant operation.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.84,0:03:07.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I was a kid, my dad who was a hand surgeon
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.68,0:03:10.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,made lots of photographs of his cases.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.24,0:03:14.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They were just like totally gory and crazy looking,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.87,0:03:16.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but fascinating.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.11,0:03:18.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yeah, I really like this picture.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.98,0:03:22.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't know if this is a toe transplant operation,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.45,0:03:24.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I don't know if my dad is this guy,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.64,0:03:26.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or the guy taking the picture.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.14,0:03:32.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it kind of came full circle,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.81,0:03:35.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,transplanting a toe into a thumb
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.14,0:03:39.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and transplanting images from online into physical space.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.71,0:03:43.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I thought, what if I could kind of
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.08,0:03:49.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,transport these images that probably had no other life
Dialogue: 0,0:03:49.34,0:03:52.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,other than the life that they've had online,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.04,0:03:53.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and give them a body--
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.64,0:03:55.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,give them a form in real life.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.94,0:04:09.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is my wife Ruby's silhouette,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.02,0:04:11.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,taken two weeks ago
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.93,0:04:14.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by me.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.00,0:04:19.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's been a lot of talk about appropriation,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.66,0:04:22.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a critical sense.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.50,0:04:25.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I like to think about what I'm doing as, like,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.20,0:04:27.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an optimistic version of appropriation
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.86,0:04:30.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where I'm kind of naive.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:30.66,0:04:34.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The images are all ground up and blended together in a way that
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.37,0:04:36.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the history of them is not important.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:38.14,0:04:43.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What I do want somebody to think about is just the picture.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.23,0:04:50.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not that one can't have a really compelling conversation about art
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.34,0:04:53.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the world via appropriation,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.20,0:04:57.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I do think that as I continue to make pictures
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.90,0:05:00.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've been allowing things to be more beautiful--
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.57,0:05:03.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,allowing those relationships
Dialogue: 0,0:05:04.72,0:05:07.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,between physical things within a photograph
Dialogue: 0,0:05:07.69,0:05:10.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to kind of make meaning.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:10.49,0:05:11.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[shutter clicks]
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.90,0:05:35.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I never really know what I'm going to get,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.68,0:05:38.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even though I spend so much time with it
Dialogue: 0,0:05:38.16,0:05:40.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the process of making it.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.92,0:05:46.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I kind of like not knowing,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.18,0:05:48.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then getting the film back and being surprised
Dialogue: 0,0:05:48.49,0:05:50.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by how it morphs from, kind of,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.69,0:05:54.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,jumble of pretty shoddily-made stuff
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.64,0:05:57.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into something that does have depth
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.05,0:05:58.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and substance
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.19,0:06:00.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and kind of turns into something real.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.88,0:06:09.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's really transformed through making the photograph.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:09.64,0:06:11.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, I'm happy about this
Dialogue: 0,0:06:11.68,0:06:13.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,black kind of blend in
Dialogue: 0,0:06:13.28,0:06:14.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the foreground and the background,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.57,0:06:16.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and have the white blend in
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.20,0:06:17.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the foreground and the background.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:18.48,0:06:19.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I like it.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:20.57,0:06:23.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm really interested in those points
Dialogue: 0,0:06:23.08,0:06:27.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where one extreme meets another extreme,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:28.23,0:06:30.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you're not quite sure what you're looking at.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:42.94,0:06:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The transparency will be drum scanned,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.00,0:06:48.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is just a very good scan.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:50.11,0:06:52.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I work with Anthony from Green Rhino.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.03,0:06:56.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We'll do, like, four or five meetings,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.04,0:06:58.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,starting with small prints,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:58.31,0:06:59.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just to work on the color.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.08,0:07:02.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We can color correct for specific parts.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:04.38,0:07:07.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, say the reds aren't quite the right red,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:07.91,0:07:10.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we can select that part
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.43,0:07:11.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and make it correct.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:12.11,0:07:14.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, more or less what we're doing is just
Dialogue: 0,0:07:14.03,0:07:16.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,correcting it to make it look like
Dialogue: 0,0:07:16.44,0:07:17.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what it looked like.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:26.60,0:07:27.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Looks good.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:32.80,0:07:34.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It is interesting
Dialogue: 0,0:07:34.03,0:07:39.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how I spend ninety-nine percent of my time in process--
Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.88,0:07:40.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,finding images,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:42.04,0:07:42.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,printing them out,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:43.20,0:07:45.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,constructing them into a three-dimensional thing,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:46.11,0:07:47.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,photographing that,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:48.43,0:07:49.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,processing that film,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:50.80,0:07:52.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,scanning it on my little scanner,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:52.94,0:07:53.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,making a print,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:53.94,0:07:55.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,looking at it on the wall--
Dialogue: 0,0:07:55.88,0:07:56.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how little time
Dialogue: 0,0:07:58.31,0:08:00.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I get with the actual work.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:01.57,0:08:04.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If I'm lucky, it's in a show,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:04.60,0:08:06.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I get to look at it
Dialogue: 0,0:08:07.03,0:08:08.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while I install it,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:09.23,0:08:10.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and spend a little time with it.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:11.51,0:08:14.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the final thing does really matter,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:15.37,0:08:17.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's important that it resolves,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:17.31,0:08:18.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the end,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.20,0:08:19.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a print.