Look Who it Was Random video

HEIDI KHATAMI : LIFE TEXT MESSAGING

2,280 views · Published 12 December 2013 · 2:20 · Indexed 24 October 2026

Channel: ERIC MINH SWENSON ART FILMS · 2013 · Education

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A Film by Eric Minh Swenson. Music by James Lucchesi. 

Heidi Khatami: The genesis of my art is research.  I begin with a series of powerful quotes that impact and influence me and then select a symbol or a blend of symbols representative of each citation.  The symbols are then redesigned using the selected quotations to draw and define the icons, adding layers of meaning to build a powerful statement from carefully chosen raw materials.  The use of symbols and symbolic imagery provide more information than mere words and elicit deeper, more influential meaning.  For example, the piece Ischtar, 2004 uses the quote "Don't ever forget Matriarchalism" to recreate the line of an eight-pointed star symbol -- the ideogram for Ischtar, queen of the heavens -- to bring back the lost era when women ruled the heavens and earth.  At first glance the universal symbols, constructed entirely of compelling citations, strike the viewer as still and quiet.  However, as the viewer's eye is drawn in closer and begins to follow the flow of the words through the structure of the icon, the dynamics and movement of the piece rise to the surface and further engage the viewer.  This movement and vitality reinforces the consciousness that defines it; and, working as one, these diverse elements come together and function almost as a living being to create a life force not possible by the parts alone. 

For more info on Eric Minh Swenson or project inquiries visit his website: www.thuvanarts.com
ART FILM SERIES: www.thuvanarts.com/take1

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