nick harvey
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Selling the Howl (2009)
This movie (7mins, 47s) examines masculinity, sexuality, and spectacle through documentation of amateur professional wrestling and autograph signings by famous American Gladiators. The audience engages in a narrative experience pushed into the realms of comedy, dark fantasy, and horror. Viewers are placed in the middle of the spectacle while the camera becomes an active participant.
Artificial Flowers (2008)
This is a short experimental documentary (8mins, 27 seconds) dealing with activism and non-activism that questions the state of the world by examining various spectacles and transitory events. War protest reenactments and activist groups in Chicago are juxtaposed with images from the Thanksgiving day parade and spring break nightclubs. I have implicated myself in this project by both participating in and filming all of the events presented. The viewer is left to analyze their own metaphysical value judgments.
A Study of Reality and the Mundane in American Home Life (2007)
This is a series I created using my family as subjects. Colored lighting is used to capture and elicit moods present in the common household. The lighting has been crafted while the inner environments have been left untouched. Elements of clutter and the mundane provide points of interest while aspects of domestic living are highlighted.
All images were captured using a Mamiya RB67 medium format film camera, scanned, and printed digitally.
Street Jesus: The Story of Willie York (2007)
This is a short documentary (17mins) about a well-known homeless man named Willie York from Peoria, Illinois. He's best known for barbequing rats and throwing stones through windows during the colder months to get jail time but I got to know his more philosophical side. I have called him "Street Jesus" not only because he has a lot of good things to say, but also because like Jesus, and other prophets, Willie is misunderstood in our society. It is hard to conceptualize why one would live on the streets.
© 2009 Nick Harvey