User:Chuzosho/sandbox: Difference between revisions – Wikipedia

rADz were haiku films conceived in the late 80s by Barry Thomas – consummated with two rADz he made with Red Mole then a further four series were made from 1997 as a public offering for both emerging and experienced NZ film makers. Four collections were purchased by TV4 with the proviso that all rADz were nominally paid to be in the ad breaks (selling nothing) and that all rADz would be played with credits across the TV schedule, including prime time. Another c. 60 were made in the UK – directly with and for smaller communities then with the BBC in London screening on late night BB2.^[2][3]

^[5]As the name suggests rADz were initially modelled on television adverts in New Zealand – for art versus hawking anything – so were exactly 15, 30, 45, 60 or 90 second long.^[6][3] With less televisual constraints in the UK, rADz were more community focused and ranged up to 10 mins duration.^[7]

Conceptually, rADz fit within the genre of intervention art – intervening into advertising breaks with fresh, stimulating and challenging ideas, narratives. Genres are often humourous, sometimes political, alluring, whimsical and many are green. They tend to express youth culture, concerns, aspirations, vision, beliefs and lifestyles. As such rADz align with the notion of culture jamming, artists expressing skepticism about monolithic markets and media, bureaucracy and even democracy… ‘freedom of speech’ where such freedoms have been curtailed or siloed into silence.^{[3][8][9][6][10][4][11][12]}

“rADz interface poetry, art and film with no commercial imperative… using all the tricks and skills of advertising without having to hawk anything” Barry Thomas.^[7]

Commentators have described them as: “standing the whole idea of advertising on its head”… “did I just see that?”( Chris Trotter)^[10] “Art dancing in the devil’s playground.” (Alan Brunton Barry Thomas)^[8] An early version of tik tok “you could just have 30 seconds of someone jumping” (Dame Gaylene Preston),^[6] ” Anti Ads”,^[6] “Searing and brilliant – geniale”,^[13] “You started TikTok” (Richard Moore), “A tiny slice of personal propaganda” (NZ Film Commission)^[11] “getting art in the middle of commercials?” (Barry Thomas),^[12] “… subversive” (Simon Vita),^[12] “Imagine a bubblegum card sized piece of televisual media empire that’s struck just for you. Chewing on the flavourless pap you had to buy just to win the card you see it’s all worth it now. After years of short-lived tasteless sensations on the tube you’ve got an image you can call your own that won’t walk out on you in the morning. TV’s a costly business (and the programmes don’t come cheap either), but now it’s payback time because there’s a new breed riding on the coattails of this behemoth who won’t be told anymore that the price of talking TV is beyond them. Enough generations have learned the jingles, glimpsed the personalities, goggled at the visual short-hand and generally been sold short on reality to realise they’ve already paid their price. The Pay-back is rADz – that bubblegum card is yours. Throw away the shrink-wrapped, toll free, send-no-money-now world’s stick of flavourless, sugar-coated jaw ache away and lay your cards on the table. [make rADz]” (Matt Poff call for entries collection # 2). “If there’s room for advertising to interrupt art and there’s room for art to interrupt advertising” – Barry Thomas.^[14]

They arrived at a time at the very beginning of the internet and digital production era when films had to be brief. The very first digital morphing had just arrived and Yeti Productions wrote its own morphing software,^[15] the world’s first fully capable capture board was powerful enough to import a full 25 frames per second video.

Barry Thomas has a track record of making environmental films,^[16] commercials^[10] and winning awards^[9] so he offered New Zealand’s national TV broadcaster – TVNZ, the idea of making short environmental clips to help New Zealanders improve their environmental footprints via mainstream Television by utilizing what were then called “Community Service slots” that all broadcasters were bound by law to make available to community groups.^[8] Thomas had made many with the Hillary Commission – “Women in Sport”, Kiwisport”, Cancer Society’s “Fit Food”, “Salvation Army”, The Dept. of Conservation (DOC) including Jacques Cousteau.^[3][9]

Thomas hosted national meetings of all the country’s environmental groups – Maruia Society, Doc, Ministry for the Environment, Forest and Bird, Greenpeace, ECO, and following investigation with Len Potts of Colenso the group settled on TVNZ’s Ad Agency – Saatchi and Saatchi to run what became “Earthcare”. TVNZ and Saatchi formed the Earthcare Trust inc. and trustees included Sir Edmund Hillary.

1 minute of TVNZ airtime per day during the “Holmes show” was dedicated to Earthcare sponsors and dozens of short clips were made advancing conservation and environmental issues. The brand also sold around a million dollars of sponsorship to the NZ Lotteries Commission (Lotto), Fisher and Paykel etc. at a reported $350,000 each. Sponsors received dedicated advertising spots in TVNZ’s off-peak environmental programmes. Revenue was earned from previously unsellable TV dead-time using the good names of the country’s green groups. Thomas made Kevin Smith (CEO of Forest and Bird) aware of these facts in 1992. All sponsors withdrew and Earthcare was dead in two weeks.^[8]

Undaunted, Thomas re-jigged his idea via his art roots and reached out to Red Mole Enterprises to make the first haiku art films (with no commercial imperative). The first two rADz were made under the name “Cheap Spots” in 1992 – a collaboration between Yeti Production Ltd. and Red Mole Enterprizes.^[8][7]

The first two “Book of Life” Cheap Spots aired in November 1991 and even Jenny Holzer was quoted saying “I want the work to look like it belongs on TV, but not to look like a local car ad. The jolt comes from the context”.^[8]

The name came from the notion that the Cheap spots played in affordable off-peak TV airtime which only cost $68 per screening.^[3]

The crew: Barry Thomas – Director/ camera/ edit, Russell Collins Art Director, Alan Brunton, Sally Rodwell scripts and acting, Carlos Wedde acting.^[8]

Z Spots

Thomas re-named Cheap Spots as “Z Spots” – as all TVNZ advertising was rated A-Z depending on audience size, expensive to cheap. He loaned his idea to three film makers including Jonathan Brough and Glenn Standring (Lenny Minute).^[17] This descended into a trademark court case with the two sides agreeing to settle out of court.^[6][12]

rADz New Zealand 1997-2001

Thomas then re-named them ‘rADz’ (trademarking them) and sought to widen access by successfully applying to the NZ Film Commission and Creative New Zealand‘s Screen Innovation Fund for what became the first of four successive collections of about 30 rADz each. Each Collection received c. $NZ30,000.^[9][7]

The first grant was in 1996 and the first collection of 31 rADz was made in 1997. Bettina Hollings (commissioning editor of TV3) bought the first collection (and subsequent following three) for the brand new youth oriented TV4.^[3]

Thomas negotiated contracts between the film makers, YETI Productions and TV3. He secured nominal payments of $500 per collection from the broadcaster so as to secure the history of having been paid to be in the middle of terrestrial TV ad breaks with art films, “selling nothing but Ideas, originality and art”.^[11][3] Secondly Yeti Productions was paid to manage, run competitive tendering throughout the country for film makers and pay them 50% of any sales. rADz received 500 minutes of airtime per collection on TV4 – displayed throughout the schedule including prime time. Each rAD was made in either 15, 30, 45 or 60 seconds duration and every rAD screened with proper film credits (unlike TV ads). Film makers were each given $500 to make their rADz.^[3]

He appointed two fellow adjudicators film historian Lawrence McDonald and film maker Jane Perkins. Each Collection had its own flyer and a large screening was held to celebrate each collection at the Paramount Theatre in Wellington NZ on completion.^[3][12]

In total around 100 film crews, amounting to hundreds of artists were chosen from always well patronized calls for each collection. Some film makers were seasoned like Paul Maunder and Barry Thomas (who donated his own rAD “The End…” to the first collection) but the majority were up and coming directors, actors, etc.^[9]

In Collection # 2, Thomas announced “I don’t care if you shoot it on sellotape, come and make history, make rADz.

Collections 1-4 are held at Nga Taonga.  See individual titles for catalogue information.

rADz Collection # 1.  Filmed in 1997 in Aotearoa New Zealand. Nga Taonga reference F33813.^[7]

• “Thirsty” by Tom Doig, F33814
• “The End…” by Barry Thomas, F33815
• “Faux Pas #1” by Robyn Venables, F33816
• “Hen Party” by Mary-Jane O’Reilly,  F33817
• “Reincarnation” by Guy Capper, F33818
• “Old Flame” by Struan Ashby, F33819
• “Clipper” by Gary MacKay, F3 3820
• “Branch on Branch” by Ian Clothier, F33821
• “Pavlov’s Dog #1 – Call Waiting” by Byron Smith, F33822
• “Pavlov’s Dog #2 – Fax and Faxability” by Byron Smith, F33823
• “Pavlov’s Dog #3 – Caller Display” by Byron Smith, F33824
• “The Move” by David Stubbs,  F33825
• “Obscure Death #1” by Paul Swadel, F33826
• “The Creakers” by Peter Salmon, F33827
• “Tidy Your Room” by Simon Raby, F33828
• “The Birth – Day Cake” by Rosaleen Conway, F33829
• “Cancer” by Stefan Wahrlich, F33830
• “Post No Bills” by Simon McKinney, F33831
• “Teddy bundy” by Mary Connolly, F33832
• “Window” by Anthony Johnston, F33833
• “Stop Go” by Sam Broad, F33834
• “Prickle” by Ann Nicolson, F33835
• “Tall Stories – The Heart” by Lala Rolls, F33836
• “Tall Stories – The Eye” by Lala Rolls, F33837
• “Tall Stories – The Mind’s Eye” by Lala Rolls, F33838
• “Tall Stories – Skin” by Lala Rolls, F33839
• “Tall Stories – Feet” by Lala Rolls, F33840
• “Tall Stories – Finger” by Lala Rolls, F33841
• “Night Out” by Greg Page, F33842
• “Signal Test” by Paul Redican, F33843. ^[3][1] rADz Collection 1

rADz Collection # 2.  Filmed in 1998 in Aotearoa New Zealand. Nga Taonga reference; F44470.

• “Mother Tongue” directed by Zoe Roland, F43009
• “Annoying Spot Part 3” directed by Peter Tonks, F44472
• “Par Avion” directed by Nova Paul, F44474
• “Help Me” directed by Brendan Roberts, F44475
• “Woodpecker” directed by Struan Ashby,  F44476
• “Cereal Killer” directed by Steven Whelan-Turnball, F44478
• “Cyber Kicks” directed by Kezia Barnett, F44479
• “Untitled” directed by Morag Brownlie, F44481
• “He Who Laughs Last” directed by Jarrod Holt, F44484
• “Annoying Spot Part 4” directed by Peter Tonks, F44485

• 

  “Note” directed by Michael Pointon, F44486

• “Security” directed by Christobal Araus Lobos, F44487
• “Guignol” directed by Carlos Wedde, F44489
• “BLT” directed by Adam Dransfield, F44490
• “The End” directed by John Martin, F44491
• “Corpus Amorphous” directed by Jane Evans, F44492
• “Errol the Moron Goes Shopping” directed by Jim Flewitt, F44493
• “Anticrime” directed by Michael Salmon, F44494
• “Annoying Spot Part 7” directed by Peter Tonks, F44495
• “Mother Bus” directed by Guy Capper, F44496
• “ANZAC” directed by Lissa Mitchell, F44497
• “Lifestyles” directed by Tom Barrett and Kerry Lennon, F44498
• “Annoying Spot Part 9” directed by Peter Tonks, F44499
• Bus-Pass Not By-Pass” directed by Anon,  F44500
• “Wellington Motorway” directed by Johanna Sanders, F44501
• “Watercolour” directed by Vanessa Alexander, F44502
• “The Walk” directed by Ian Powell, 44503
• “Just Like Your Father” directed by Jeffery Hurrell, F44504
• “Wax” directed by Bill Dyall and Sue Allan, F44505
• “Aotearoa 2019” directed by Rongotai Lomas, F44506.[2] rADz Collection 2

rADz Collection # 3.  Filmed in 1999 in Aotearoa New Zealand. Nga Taonga reference; F52517.

• “Paperdoll Girl Writer” producer, director Kezia Barnett
• “Go Wild” by Carlos Wedde
• “Lap it up” by Ian Powell
• “Jeffrey the Pirate” by Phil Symonds
• “Is that you driving your dream… Or is that your loan driving you” – by Darcy Gladwin
• “Detective/Hitman” by Struan Ashby
• “The Apostrophe” by Jonathan King
• “Art in Process” by Helen Schmidt
• “We had been driving . . .” by Nathan Pohio
• “The End of Radicalism” by Paul Maunder
• “Plugins, Drifting…” by Michael Hornblow
• “Loiterer” by Jochen Fitzherbert
• “Titan” by Chris Matthews With Taika Waititi ^[4]
• “[Break Dance]” by Jason Naran
• “Bottled Miracle” by Scott Chambers
• “[Living in a small town in New Zealand can be like living in a vacuum]” by Pyramid Productions
• “Season” by Jan Soinna
• “Carnations” by Kelly Davis
• “[Old Folks Home]” by Susan Trasher
• “If” by Jennifer Goodfellow
• “Cafe Coition” by Guy Capper and Gretchen Mornin
• “[Two Mothers Who Gave me Life One Present One Absent]” by Tessa Levett
• “Space Virus” by Guy Capper
• “Lilly in the House of Lipsticks” by Kathy Dudding

• 

  “Night Groovers” by Tarub Mohanbhai, Rhys Darby and Grant Lobban.[3] rADz Collection 3

rADz Collection # 4.  Filmed in 2001 in Aotearoa New Zealand. Nga Taonga reference; F113828. Compiled 11 Dec 2021.

• “Spang cola” by Conrad Blight F113876
• “Bovines” by Rick Harvie and Marcus Hill, F113933
• “Lotus water” by Nia Robyn, F113935  
• “Dusk to dawn” by Flux, F113937
• “Game” by Candida Keithly, F110136
• “Travel logue” by Anastasia Turnbull and Malcolm Campbell, F113938
• “Miss Western Springs” by David Clark and Mike Haynes, F113939
• “Skin” by Mark Prebble and Nev Garven, F113940
• “Trash” by Catherine Hallinan, F113941
• “Stolen car” by John Sellwood, Cameron Graham and Caleb Stains, F113942
• “Sand” by Allen Cameron, F113943
• “Photosynthesis” by Benedict Reid, F113944
• “Heaven to cry” by Leonie Reynolds, F113946
• “Sleep dreams” by Angela Williams, F113949
• “Fury” by Matt Lambourn, F113952
• “Hangman” by Rebecca Moldenhauer, F113953
• “Black and White” by John White, F113955
• “Milk and honey” by Sandor Lau, F101380
• “Genesis” by Nicola Spencer, F113956
• “Mind Field” – b’art homme[4] rADz Collection 4

Significant contributors to NZ rADz

Lala Rolls, Greg Page, Nova Paul, Taika Waititi (Cohen), Jemaine Clement, Paul Maunder, Barry Thomas, Rhys Darby, Simon Raby, Peter Salmon, Struan Ashby, Phill Simmonds, Guy Capper, Mary Jane O’Reilly, Greg Page, Nova Paul, Paul Swadel.

Collection # 1 screened an astounding 1,530 minutes in one year amounting to more than 15 feature films.^[12] Speaking of the difference between TV adverts and rADz Simon Vita said that Johanna Sanders’ rAD “Healthy Living” about the proposed destruction of inner city Wellington communities from the new urban motorway extension – “That makes worrying about whether your shampoo is going to do the biz kinda irrelevant”.^[12][18]

Clermont Ferrand Jan. 2001 and Jan 2002.

Following the screening of Collection # 2 at the Paramount theatre, The NZ Film Commission‘s Kathleen Drumm approached Thomas to represent rADz at the next Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France, January 2000. After receiving no support and taking the advice from fellow film maker John Reid “It might be time to sell the motorbike” Thomas joined the party and managed to sell rADz to In-Movies ltd. in London and Sundance TV.^[12]

UK rADz

Thomas initially attempted but failed to attract televisual outcomes in the UK. All rADz made in the UK followed the same modus operandi. Yeti Productions worked with local groups, funders and each film was workshopped within a short period, co-scripted and film crews were selected depending on the will and passions of the mainly young participants – acting to co-directing. Thomas tended to film most rADz on his Cannon DV camera (for efficiency) and edit all the rADz into a collection that was then screened back to the community in large gatherings.^[19][20][21]

Thomas was invited to make 30 rADz in London with In-Movies Ltd. in 2000, co-producing with In-Movies Ltd. and the youthful What-ever films.

John Wojowski of Manchester’s Kino Film Festival engaged Thomas and Yeti Productions to make a total of seven collections in mainly poorer suburbs and their youth. The series was largely funded by the European (Community) Social Fund through the Manchester Youth College. And in a Kino Press release 16 April 200 “rADz have been a hit all over Europe… and here in Manchester adapted to provide disenfranchised youth with vocational opportunities”.^[19][20]

• Red Tape – Matt Poole and Tommy Richardson
• The Peace Maker – Alex Davies
• Just goes to show – Chris Mather and Sam Tom
• Solitude – Judd Cullen
• It’s my party – Sophie Mulliner (with Salford University student actors)
• In a minute – Claire Dempsey

14 young people aged between 13-25 took part who were involved in every aspect of film making from script writing to storyboarding, acting to filming (other than the editing). Local community artists Franz and his partner helped and a local house on Barmby street became “MGM HQ”. Gorton Fire Brigade came to the party in “Heat of the Moment” faking smoke bombs to burn down a house. The Stratatone Porche Centre in Wilmslow generously loaned a red Porche for “Fairy God Mugger”. “The project was a triumph” and “a large screening was held at Northmoor Methodist Church.”^[20]

• Fairy God mugger
• Heat of the moment
• Day Dream Jenny
• Seriously Contageous
• All that for just one minute

• Desired Congeniality
• Zoetrope
• Backflash and Ace
• Untitled

Crossroads

• Zoetrope
• Nightmare on Edge Lane
• The Terry Springer Show
• John, Ed and the Bear,
• Malk

• Darrel Bin Larden Darrel Crawford and Adam Billingham
• Paper Swans (Claymation)
• Witches of Ardwick

Manchester Youth film makers employed Thomas to run a two weekend long rADz making workshop. November 2003.

• Desert Kiss Will Kemp, Pete McAlea (script from a true story), Darren Monks, Jimmy Bhatty, Rowan Morris-Lancashire, Heather Jones, Mark Knowles, Barry Thomas, Barry JezzardSarah McMahon (Makeup), Thanks to Moe and Jess Parker.

• Sho 1 – Wot eese arght? 12 mins.^[22]

Up and coming film artists led by Yeti

• 3d video
• clever mapping
• drumming on paper with pencil

Thomas made a one off rAD with hiphop group CBD – “CBD are touchin’ down, takin ova, causin bare drama…” with kino Films. Filmed at Old Trafford, Manchester Canal.

June 2002 North London with Groundwork London Waterways, The Pirate Castle, Featuring 2003 Tokyo Video Festival winner “Masters of our Canal” made with locals led by Barry Thomas and Sue Crockford.

• Fooling about
• Throwing rocks

Thomas was the BBC’s only supplier of Blast TV’s first screening of youth TV on late-night BBC 2.

He donated 26 of the ‘One Minute Wonder’ – rADz in 2003 to Blast TV. The following year Thomas became an advisor to Blast TV. BBC commissioned Thomas to make “Meadows Comin Thru’ ” which was transmitted on 18 October 2003. Each participant was awarded a Broadcast Certificate that testified their film was included and broadcast – usually in the middle of the night. Exec Producer – Jane Quinn; Project Manager-Laia Gasch; Producer-Cathy Sheehan. (BBC CBBC Blast TV).

Thomas was employed by the Pirate Castle London(inc.) part time in 2002 and full time in 2003 as resident film maker and activities co-ordinator. He lived on his own narrow boat ‘Spirit’ at the Pirate Castle and edited in its turret. He initiated several projects including Junior Captains, film making and the purchase of a wide beamed accessible community narrow boat.^[23]

• “Never say maybe baby” with Semaj D’nob and James Bond
• “headless goalkeeper” (Claymation).
• “Lashes and the Goodgeeza’s canal war”
• “fixing the sunk James Bond boat doco”

He made several regular and one-off series of rADz – some with Sue Crockford, Charlie Bleakley and all with local Club members and others.

• This 2002 project was described by Caroline Ryder as depicting the real difficulties faced by youth growing up on estates.^[21] Funded by Youth Plus Neighbourhood Renewal Unit and co managed between Yeti Productions and Groundwork London. It was one of two London rADz projects that Adrian Cooper collaborated on.
• Market Estate Skills
• Got It
• Lisa’s story
• The price
• Guiseppe’s story
• “Scary” rAD was seen and described by Dr. Marcus Moore as “brilliant”^[4]
• Rumble in da Jungle (Claymation)
• Lloyd’s tour (of the estate) also described by Dr. Moore where Lloyd plays an Ali Gee character giving the audience a “tragic”, deeply ironic tour guide of Market Estate ending by visiting the site where a child was killed by a dilapidated steel door falling on him “due to a substandard maintenance programme”.^[4] “Tragic a girl who loves soccer – the boys on the team believe girls can’t play soccer – and she scores the match-winning goal while wearing a monster disguise (a deft touch)”^[4]
• Monster fash
• Life – Da Essence (Video clip shot at Pirate Caste, Market Estate, Islington and Brixton. – Ace, Roach and Flamma – video clip directed, filmed BT – Music Da essence, Edit – Jamie Reid.

Ladbroke Grove/ Lancaster Youth Centre – Yeti with Barefoot films (Adrian Cooper). Thomas exec produced, directed, filmed and edited the sequences called 20/20 – a youth dance troupe he worked with at the Lancaster Youth centre. Hayden Anayasi did credit graphics, In the first sequence Thomas devised the idea of what was coined a year later in NYC as “Flashmob” A street beggar with a getto blaster who is approached by Monica offers the beggar a CD. Once the music starts dancers appear out of nowhere in front of Ladbroke Grove train station. A real audience appears to watch the dancing and the filming. Samir Mamod captured 2nd unit cam. Flashmobs are another form of culture jamming.

• Lyrical Rebels (Hiphop)
• MANZ
• Mysterious Birthday
• Jake of the Water
• Law of the water

Thomas Returned to New Zealand in late 2004 and made more rADz in Coromandel.

• “Paki and the Mangroves” – “A Maori youth who interviews the local MP over why the mangrove trees were ripped out in his town: the youth makes a clay representation of his subject and distends her facial features pending his (dis)trust of her answers (the interview is a voice over to animation)”^[4] [The youth has not long returned to his town from which he’s been sent away for two years due to the breaking of a law and he asks MP Sandra Goudie why she can help rip the mangroves out and break the law but when he did he is castigated] (Claymation).
• Thames South school series – made with the Thames School of Minerals and Mines Museum and local heritage group.

Thomas made a series of rADz at Aotea College to highlight the role of alcohol in their lives.^[24]

In 2007 Thomas came to live Wellington (where he still resides) and ran a short film making course at the Aro Valley Community Centre where also made rADz with young locals.^[25]

• From here on in (Claymation)
• Happy too

Festivals

Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2000 and 2001. At the 2000 Festival Thomas met John Wojowski and Lawrence Penn from the UK who then employed him through the four years he lived in the UK. In 2001 at Clermont-Ferrand Thomas met Sita Banerjee of the Capalbio International Film Festival.

The Festival of Brevity (Rome) Sita Banerjee was employed to run Rome’s Ministry of Culture to create the film components of the Festival of Brevity to which she invited Thomas to show and talk about rADz – This was very well covered in Il Messagero by Venice Film Festival’s critics week judge Fabio Ferrzetti^[13]

BTV (Bastard TV) Sheffield – National Centre for Popular Music 30 November – 1 December 2001.

Exhibitions

Old and new Hauraki House 2006 Coromandel

Divested Interest 2007 – Hauraki House and The Depot, Devonport.^[10]

Old New borrow Blues 2009 – Thistle Hall Wellington^[26][27][14]

Archives

MOE OIA info archives – of the Earthcare Trust inc.

rADz collections are held at Nga Taonga Sound and Vision, TV3.

• 48 hour film project (2001 Washington, 2003 NZ)
• YouTube (2005)
• TikTok (2017)

Further reading/viewing

“Fabio Ferzetti Il Messaggero News Paper Rome Translated by Giovanni Tiso 2021 Wellington New Zealand.

ELIAS CANETTI, who as always was ahead of his time, once said: “Everything became faster so we could have more time. There is always less time.” That’s right: not a day goes by without new means of speeding up travel, communication, our own thinking. And every day, the feeling of suffocation grows.

A fine paradox, no doubt about it. And it is in order to delve into this paradox that Capalbio Cinema, a festival of short films, organised a one-day conference-cum-festival yesterday in Rome entitled ‘Brevity as a value: small lessons on brevity in the arts’. Under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture, which seems to be very interested in the subject, and of some thematic TV channels (Raisat, Cult Network Italia, Studio Universal) which, between short films, micro-videos and ‘scratch-movies’ (the visual equivalent of the scratching practised by DJs), inhabit brevity with the intelligence of pioneers.

“I would like to put in a good word in favour of the richness of short forms with what they imply in terms of style and density of content,” said Italo Calvino, whose thinking in the American Lectures was an inspiration of sorts for the event. And further: “I dream of immense cosmologies, sagas and epics enclosed in the dimensions of an epigram”. Except at the time of Calvino, advertising had not yet invaded all real and virtual spaces, and the computer boom was just beginning. Today, there can be a few more doubts.

Teachers complain that pupils’ memory and ability to concentrate have been affected by the bombardment of ephemeral and pressing messages. Advertising, which is increasingly popular, especially among young people, is in the firing line, just as cinema and TV used to be (the suspension of Fiorello’s ad and the request to stop the Telecom ad with the girl who sends mocking text messages from her home phone have just been announced). And even an advertising guru like Emanuele Pirella confesses to being perplexed.

“Brevity is an extraordinary weapon. For thirty years I have been selecting copywriters by asking them to memorise Campanile, Longanesi, Flaiano and all the writers of one-liners and aphorisms. But beware: brevity often hides simplification. Berlusconi’s slogans today or Mussolini’s during the Fascist Ventennio are the perfect example of how speech, by simplifying itself, can become authoritarian, childishly imperious. So long live the long speeches, at least every now and then”. Like the legendary one that Aldo Moro gave at the 7th congress of the Christian Democrats in Naples: Six, seven, maybe nine hours’s long. Filippo Ceccarelli, a great observer and archivist of Italian political life, recalled: “At the time it seemed completely natural”.

Can there really be no middle ground? “There’s no going back,” warns Pirella. “Politics has discovered the power of advertising and will not willingly abandon it. With some harm to transparency and perhaps to voters, because advertising does not speak to reason but to the unconscious. “The language of advertising is like that of dreams: rapid, allusive, overloaded with meanings. Each element means several things at once, and deciphering requires the viewer’s cooperation. For this reason, as well as for its repetitiveness, it creates such a strong emotional bond”.

Is it also addictive? “In those who practice it, certainly,” Pirella responds with irony. “In 1973 I wrote a novel, today I don’t think I would be able to. Everything I do – articles, advertising, satire – is marked by extreme synthesis. If they ask me to write six pages, I die inside. That’s why I say OK, let’s give equal dignity to short forms, but without exaggerating. After all,’ he jokes, ‘Proust’s “ronron” is worth Achille Campanile”.

So: short form, long thought, to say it – here we go again – with a slogan. But perhaps Giacomo Marramao was right, quoting Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, La Bruyère and Valéry (“A philosophy must be portable”), weaving the praise of the aphorism as an anti-systematic form of thought, but above all capable of reconciling East and West. Waiting for the most characterful of the conference, New Zealand producer Barry Thomas – creator of searing and brilliant one-minute “shorts”[rADz] that in his distant country he programmed in the TV intervals – to land in Europe with his latest project: a series of filmed proverbs, made drawing on the traditions of each country of the Old Continent. Ancient and modern. Piercing and brilliant [Geniale].”^[13]

“Barry Thomas… a bit

Planting cabbages as an intervention in a disused block of land in the central city (January 1978), or using a long length of rope threaded through a neighborhood block of houses in Clairemont Grove (1979) are social sculptures. Photographic portraits of the Cuba Street precinct also concern the artist outside the gallery. Interfacing with people, making and recording social document: Barry Thomas works with people not about them.

Through the 1990’s Thomas’s experiences within and outside of the mainstream film and television industries trained in him collaborative skills toward the end-game, humility. The innovative RADZ^® series was art as time-based projects intervened within advertising space on TV – placing art into that most widespread of public mediums – first thought of by Thomas in the late 1980s, what Alan Brunton later called ‘art dancing in the devil’s playground’ (Illusions, Issue 17, Spring 1991).

His collaborative skills extend beyond industry. When working with underprivileged community groups in New Zealand, and between 2000 and 2004 with community groups in Manchester and London, narratives are mutually work-shopped, then are acted out – or made into ‘clay’ animations – and filmed by Thomas. These are matter of fact films to disclose the contestations faced by the subjects in and of their everyday life.

Thomas’s narratives tell life scenario: an account told by an 18 year old about a kid who was killed when a steel door collapsed off its hinges crushing him, this incident in a Manchester housing project occurs due to a sub-standard maintenance programme; a girl who loves soccer – the boys on the team believe girls can’t play soccer – and she scores the match-winning goal while wearing a monster disguise (a deft touch). Or a Māori youth who interviews the local MP over why the Mangrove trees were ripped-out in his town: the youth makes a clay representation of his subject and distends her facial features pending his (dis)trust of her answers (the interview is a voice-over to animation). So Barry Thomas does not ever overstate, or lead either his subject or the viewer to moments of grandeur. He guides response, does not manipulate in this current moment.^[26]

Dr. Marcus Moore (MA), September 2009

Massey University

OIAD-292 Documents for release Part4 (2) letter from Cronin.pdf

OIAD-292 Documents for release Part4 Earthcare.pdf

OIAD-292 Documents for release Part3 Earthcare.pdf

OIAD-292 Documents for release Part2 Earthcare.pdf

OIAD-292 Response Barry Thomas (1) Earthcare.pdf

OIAD-292 Documents for release Part1 (1) Earthcare.pdf

OIAD-292 Documents for release Part1 Earthcare.pdf