WOMEN IN ART

Digital Video by Philip Scott Johnson

Five hundred years of female portraits in Western Art.
Music: Bach's Sarabande from Suite for Solo Cello No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 performed by Yo-Yo Ma.

In the old days before the availability of computer-generated imaging techniques, a sequence of still photos would be called a “montage,” and the choice of continuity would be the “lap dissolve.” Following a shooting script similar in concept to traditional cell-animation, 2-dimensional artwork would be photographed on a rostrum camera having compound X, Y and rotational movements.

Although similar in concept, digital techniques add an extra dimension … the ability to interpolate colors and forms, also called “morphing,” between still subjects. Early morphing techniques often resulted in bizarre effects ... in-between frames appearing misshapen and grotesque. In this example, Johnson avoids these pitfalls. Subjects merge smoothly, and the effect is pleasing. The execution is a worthy tribute to women in art.