WASHINGTON DC: FILM STUDIES
In 2015 I was commissioned by the Washington Project for the Arts to participate in their ongoing LOBBY PROJECT to bring art to various corporate sites across the city. For my installation, I photographed the emerging commercial district in the Northeast part of the city, called NoMa (North of Massachusetts Ave) and applied my cinema edit style to the film compositions. I was given access to all the rooftops of the buildings in the area and photographed the city from this vantage point (as well as street level) on medium format film cameras.
Installed view of David Bellard’s “CITY PORTRAITS/MASSING” pieces in WPA’s Lobby Project in Washington DC, September 2015.
I shot over 30 rolls of 120 transparency film from which I created approximately 17 film compositions for the WPA, and ultimately printed and acrylic mounted eight of the pieces. There were two series that came from these compositions, the series below titled “CITY PORTRAITS” and the “MASSING” series. The installation was on view in NoMa from September to December 2015.
WASHINGTON DC: FILM STUDY 1, ACRYLIC MOUNTED PRINT FROM TRANSPARENCY FILM COMPOSITION - 24”x 66” - 2015
WASHINGTON DC: FILM STUDY 2, ACRYLIC MOUNTED PRINT FROM TRANSPARENCY FILM COMPOSITION - 24”x 66” - 2015
“Bellard likes to rearrange reality through film photography, specifically the immediate visibility of transparent film, whether taking still photos or motion pictures. He learned the language of storytelling by cutting and splicing motion picture film, and now applies that same language to his still photographs, which he cuts and edits to construct new narratives.”
BELLARD WITH CAMERA, WASHINGTON DC, 2015
WASHINGTON DC: FILM STUDY 5, ACRYLIC MOUNTED PRINT FROM TRANSPARENCY FILM COMPOSITION - 24”x 66” - 2015
WASHINGTON DC: FILM STUDY 6, ACRYLIC MOUNTED PRINT FROM TRANSPARENCY FILM CONTRAST - 24”x 63” - 2015
WASHINGTON DC: FILM STUDY 8, ACRYLIC MOUNTED PRINT FROM TRANSPARENCY FILM COMPOSITION - 24”x 68” - 2015
WASHINGTON DC: FILM STUDY 9, ACRYLIC MOUNTED PRINT FROM TRANSPARENCY FILM COMPOSITION - 24”x 70” - 2015
WASHINGTON DC: FILM STUDY 3, ACRYLIC MOUNTED PRINT FROM TRANSPARENCY FILM COMPOSITION - 24”x 73” - 2015
“I wanted to capture the vibrancy, diversity and color of the emerging neighborhood from all vantages, and I attempted to construct a new visual narrative that gives voice to a city in transition. ”
WASHINGTON DC: FILM STUDY 4 ACRYLIC MOUNTED PRINT FROM TRANSPARENCY FILM COMPOSITION - 24”x 66” - 2015
WASHINGTON DC: FILM STUDY 10, ACRYLIC MOUNTED PRINT FROM TRANSPARENCY FILM COMPOSITION - 24”x 66” - 2015
WASHINGTON DC: FILM STUDY 7, ACRYLIC MOUNTED PRINT FROM TRANSPARENCY FILM COMPOSITION - 24”x 63” - 2015