Associations
John Smith
Good4you! An excellent introduction to John Smith’s work: from image to sound to word to meaning and back.
D
Film Archive
- All
Associations
Documentary Film
UK
1975
7 minutes
Subtitles:
_without dialogue / subtitles
Credits
Producer
John Smith
Director
John Smith
Music
John Smith
Cinematographer
John Smith
Editor
John Smith
Script
John Smith
Sound
John Smith
Good4you! An excellent introduction to John Smith’s work: from image to sound to word to meaning and back. We see a 2 and know that it means two, but [tuː:] could also stand for “to” … Accompanying a scholarly linguistic text by Herbert H. Clark we see a sequence of images accelerating in overkill mode that illustrate and mock the theory at the same time. Linguistics for dummies.
Grit Lemke
Grit Lemke
B & B (Hotel Diaries #4)
John Smith
The “Hotel Diaries” chart the “War on Terror” era of Bush and Blair through a series of video recordings that relate personal experiences to the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel/Palestine.
B & B (Hotel Diaries #4)
Credits
Producer
John Smith
Director
John Smith
Music
John Smith
Cinematographer
John Smith
Editor
John Smith
Script
John Smith
Sound
John Smith
Made over six years in the hotels of six different countries, the “Hotel Diaries” chart the “War on Terror” era of Bush and Blair through a series of video recordings that relate personal experiences to the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel/Palestine. In these works, which play upon chance and coincidence, the hotel room is employed as a “found” film set, where the architecture, furnishing and decoration become the means by which my own small adventures are metaphorically linked to major world events.
John Smith
John Smith
Blight
John Smith
The demolition of a neighbourhood and the resistance of the locals, condensed in a furious collage. The spider is a symbol both of life as lived and London’s network of streets which crushes that life. Kill the spider! (Golden Dove 1997)
Credits
Producer
John Smith
Director
John Smith
Music
Jocelyn Pook
Cinematographer
John Smith
Editor
John Smith
Script
John Smith
Sound
John Smith
The demolition of a neighbourhood and the resistance of the locals, condensed in a furious collage. The spider is a symbol both of life as lived and London’s network of streets which crushes that life. Kill the spider! (Golden Dove 1997)
Grit Lemke
Grit Lemke
Dad's Stick
John Smith
A large-scale image of stripes and stories about a father who was a painter. Once again, things are not as they seem and gradually turn into a reflection (completely in the mind of the beholder) on art, memory and what will be left of us.
Credits
Producer
John Smith
Director
John Smith
Music
John Smith
Cinematographer
Patrick Duval
Editor
John Smith
Script
John Smith
Sound
John Smith
A large-scale image of stripes and stories about a father who was a painter. Once again, things are not as they seem and gradually turn into a reflection (completely in the mind of the beholder) on art, memory and what will be left of us.
Grit Lemke
Grit Lemke
Dirty Pictures (Hotel Diaries #7)
John Smith
The “Hotel Diaries” chart the “War on Terror” era of Bush and Blair through a series of video recordings that relate personal experiences to the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel/Palestine.
Dirty Pictures (Hotel Diaries #7)
Documentary Film
Palestinian territories
2007
14 minutes
Subtitles:
No
Credits
Producer
John Smith
Director
John Smith
Music
John Smith
Cinematographer
John Smith
Editor
John Smith
Script
John Smith
Sound
John Smith
Made over six years in the hotels of six different countries, the “Hotel Diaries” chart the “War on Terror” era of Bush and Blair through a series of video recordings that relate personal experiences to the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel/Palestine. In these works, which play upon chance and coincidence, the hotel room is employed as a “found” film set, where the architecture, furnishing and decoration become the means by which my own small adventures are metaphorically linked to major world events.
John Smith
John Smith
Frozen War (Hotel Diaries #1)
John Smith
The “Hotel Diaries” chart the “War on Terror” era of Bush and Blair through a series of video recordings that relate personal experiences to the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel/Palestine.
Frozen War (Hotel Diaries #1)
Credits
Producer
John Smith
Director
John Smith
Music
John Smith
Cinematographer
John Smith
Editor
John Smith
Script
John Smith
Sound
John Smith
Made over six years in the hotels of six different countries, the “Hotel Diaries” chart the “War on Terror” era of Bush and Blair through a series of video recordings that relate personal experiences to the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel/Palestine. In these works, which play upon chance and coincidence, the hotel room is employed as a “found” film set, where the architecture, furnishing and decoration become the means by which my own small adventures are metaphorically linked to major world events.
John Smith
John Smith
Gargantuan
John Smith
My uncle Willy always said: “Three hairs in the soup are relatively many. Three hairs on my head are relatively few.” That goes for what we perceive as big or small, cute or scary, too – including lizards.
Credits
Producer
John Smith
Director
John Smith
Music
John Smith
Cinematographer
Patrick Duval
Editor
John Smith
Script
John Smith
Sound
John Smith
My uncle Willy always said: “Three hairs in the soup are relatively many. Three hairs on my head are relatively few.” That goes for what we perceive as big or small, cute or scary, too – including lizards.
Grit Lemke
Grit Lemke
Museum Piece (Hotel Diaries #2)
John Smith
The “Hotel Diaries” chart the “War on Terror” era of Bush and Blair through a series of video recordings that relate personal experiences to the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel/Palestine.
Museum Piece (Hotel Diaries #2)
Credits
Producer
John Smith
Director
John Smith
Music
John Smith
Cinematographer
John Smith
Editor
John Smith
Script
John Smith
Sound
John Smith
Made over six years in the hotels of six different countries, the “Hotel Diaries” chart the “War on Terror” era of Bush and Blair through a series of video recordings that relate personal experiences to the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel/Palestine. In these works, which play upon chance and coincidence, the hotel room is employed as a “found” film set, where the architecture, furnishing and decoration become the means by which my own small adventures are metaphorically linked to major world events.
John Smith
John Smith
Om
John Smith
How do we know what we see? A film about images, meanings and stereotypes.
Om
Documentary Film
UK
1986
4 minutes
Subtitles:
_without dialogue / subtitles
Credits
Producer
John Smith
Director
John Smith
Music
John Smith
Cinematographer
John Smith
Editor
John Smith
Script
John Smith
Sound
John Smith
How do we know what we see? A film about images, meanings and stereotypes.
Grit Lemke
Grit Lemke
Pyramids / Skunk (Hotel Diaries #5/6)
John Smith
The “Hotel Diaries” chart the “War on Terror” era of Bush and Blair through a series of video recordings that relate personal experiences to the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel/Palestine.
Pyramids / Skunk (Hotel Diaries #5/6)
Credits
Producer
John Smith
Director
John Smith
Music
John Smith
Cinematographer
John Smith
Editor
John Smith
Script
John Smith
Sound
John Smith
Made over six years in the hotels of six different countries, the “Hotel Diaries” chart the “War on Terror” era of Bush and Blair through a series of video recordings that relate personal experiences to the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel/Palestine. In these works, which play upon chance and coincidence, the hotel room is employed as a “found” film set, where the architecture, furnishing and decoration become the means by which my own small adventures are metaphorically linked to major world events.
John Smith
John Smith
Six Years Later (Hotel Diaries #8)
John Smith
The “Hotel Diaries” chart the “War on Terror” era of Bush and Blair through a series of video recordings that relate personal experiences to the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel/Palestine.
Six Years Later (Hotel Diaries #8)
Credits
Producer
John Smith
Director
John Smith
Music
John Smith
Cinematographer
John Smith
Editor
John Smith
Script
John Smith
Sound
John Smith
Made over six years in the hotels of six different countries, the “Hotel Diaries” chart the “War on Terror” era of Bush and Blair through a series of video recordings that relate personal experiences to the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel/Palestine. In these works, which play upon chance and coincidence, the hotel room is employed as a “found” film set, where the architecture, furnishing and decoration become the means by which my own small adventures are metaphorically linked to major world events.
John Smith
John Smith
Slow Glass
John Smith
A guy in the pub who talks your ear off – though he only wanted to explain how glass is made.
Credits
Producer
John Smith
Director
John Smith
Music
John Smith
Cinematographer
John Smith, Patrick Duval
Editor
John Smith
Script
John Smith
Sound
John Smith
A guy in the pub who talks your ear off – though he only wanted to explain how glass is made. And while the narrator’s authority is dwindling, the images of glass in all its shapes and forms tell a story of their own about creation and decay, about loss, the transformation of our cities and memories.
Grit Lemke
Grit Lemke
The Black Tower
John Smith
The tragic story of a man haunted by a black tower. Wherever he goes, the tower is already there …
Credits
Producer
John Smith
Director
John Smith
Music
John Smith
Cinematographer
John Smith
Editor
John Smith
Script
John Smith
Sound
John Smith
The tragic story of a man haunted by a black tower. Wherever he goes, the tower is already there … The (exclusively documentary) images of the same building filmed from various angles are charged with a completely different meaning by a narrative that recalls one of Edgar Allan Poe’s dark stories.
Grit Lemke
Grit Lemke
The Girl Chewing Gum
John Smith
A classic film about the power of words over images and the question of how autonomous our perception is.
The Girl Chewing Gum
Credits
Producer
John Smith
Director
John Smith
Music
John Smith
Cinematographer
John Smith
Editor
John Smith
Script
John Smith
Sound
John Smith
A busy intersection and an off screen commentary. No, it’s a director telling the passers-by what to do. While his voice changes from factual to imperious to mad his directions become more and more absurd, while the scene simply continues … A classic film about the power of words over images and the question of how autonomous our perception is.
Grit Lemke
Grit Lemke
Throwing Stones (Hotel Diaries #3)
John Smith
The “Hotel Diaries” chart the “War on Terror” era of Bush and Blair through a series of video recordings that relate personal experiences to the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel/Palestine.
Throwing Stones (Hotel Diaries #3)
Credits
Producer
John Smith
Director
John Smith
Music
John Smith
Cinematographer
John Smith
Editor
John Smith
Script
John Smith
Sound
John Smith
Made over six years in the hotels of six different countries, the “Hotel Diaries” chart the “War on Terror” era of Bush and Blair through a series of video recordings that relate personal experiences to the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel/Palestine. In these works, which play upon chance and coincidence, the hotel room is employed as a “found” film set, where the architecture, furnishing and decoration become the means by which my own small adventures are metaphorically linked to major world events.
John Smith
John Smith
unusual Red cardigan
John Smith
The “unusual red cardigan” is an unusually ugly piece of clothing John Smith bought on eBay, along with a VHS tape of his films and other strange stuff.
unusual Red cardigan
Credits
Producer
John Smith
Director
John Smith
Music
John Smith
Cinematographer
John Smith
Editor
John Smith
Script
John Smith
Sound
John Smith
The “unusual red cardigan” is an unusually ugly piece of clothing John Smith bought on eBay, along with a VHS tape of his films and other strange stuff. What does it say about the mysterious seller “Serenporfor”? What does it say about John Smith and about the thing we call identity?
Grit Lemke
Grit Lemke
