"WHY THE CANARY SINGS NO MORE"
The Young Man/Paul Tarrago
The Father/Stefan Szczelkun
The Bartender/Paul Motel
The Marguerites/Jane Tarrago,
Jennet Thomas, Jan Whalley
Maldoror's Lap/Thomas Zagrosek
Crew Camera/Paul Tarrago, Jennet Thomas
Dog on wheels supplied by kind permission of
Professor Alan Thomas
A hearty thanks to Duncan for asking me
to be involved in the first
place.
Directed, Edited, Sound Recorded etc by Paul Tarrago
A young destitute fellow has sat down upon a bench in the grounds of the Palais-Royal, not far from the ornamental lake. And so begins his daily ritual. He has dug a hole in the ground with a piece of pointed wood, and then filled the hollow of his hand with earth. He has run about - then - rushing headlong towards the bench, thrust his legs into the air. But as this funambulistic posture is beyond the laws of weight that govern the centre of gravity, he has fallen back heavily on to the planks, legs flailing.
Filmography
Last Night Meant Nothing(Super 8, 20.5 mins, 1998/9) Experimental narrative journeying through the good and bad dreams of an otherwise indifferent night.
Eratosthenes at Home
(Super 8/performance, 5.5 mins, 1998) Time-lapse film and live performance piece - fake biography and illustrated lecture on how the Earth's circumference was calculated.
Signs of Life
(Super8, 5.5 mins, 1997) Found footage, offcuts and extraneous sequences reassemblage - a gesture to the pleasures of images that move.
Human Error in the Mechanical Age
(Super 8, 11.5 mins, 1997) More live action and animation, described in the Whitechapel Open screening notes by Andrew Kotting as: "Glorious dreamscape and a dog connection, reminiscent of a bygone era at the dawning of the age of the answer machine".
Volcano Meets the Press
(Super 8, 5 mins, 1996) The film of the Press action - kinetic reworking of a publicity ploy for the Volcano Film Festival.
Stay in a Friendly Country
(Super/Single 8, 14 mins, 1995) Formally eclectic but heartfelt tribute to the holiday home movie heritage of low gauge formats.
Paint Sale
(Super 8, 3.5 mins, 1994) A documentary - of sorts - retinted, toned, sped up, slowed down.
Their Time Had Come
(Super8, 5.5 mins, 1993) A documentary on animal mortality - live action and hand treated footage (bleach + inks).
Notebook
(Super 8, 13.5mins, 1993) A tribute to Marie MenkenÕs film of the same name - literally a notebook spanning several tomes worth of self-devised techniques - narrative, formal and attacking and sticking things to the film-wise.
Requiem for an Ice Baby
(Super 8, 6.5 mins, 1992) The fleeting memories of a melting infant - live action, animation and rephotography (through ice).
Home Town Reel
(Standard 8, 5.5 mins, 1992) Multiply exposed passage through local urban and domestic spaces.
Life And How To
(16mm, 11 mins, 1990) Experimental narrative exploring a therapist's relationship with her kleptomaniac patient.