A Resonant Undercurrent is an experiment in rhythmic transformation. Now, I realize an argument can be made that each and every animation on Illumination Gallery is an experiment in rhythmic transformation. To a certain extent that is true. One of my primary aims as an animator is to visually riff off pre-existent imagery. Yet I have never really expressed my thoughts on why this so drives me. The process involved fascinates me, and mystery is at the heart of that process. Yes, mystery because I really have no idea where the process is leading. I just know something draws me to an image. Here it was the simple beauty of Linda Gulinson’s painting, Prayer on the Plains, which not only captures the loving relationship between a man and a horse, but also conveys a romantic aesthetic with a resonant undercurrent. On the surface this image seems innocent, but a profound darkness/sadness lies beneath, which I could play with artistically. A Resonant Undercurrent is most brief, a tick under twenty seconds, before repeating. Perhaps more than any of my previous animations, this one best illustrates the difference between my animations and traditional cinematic/video animations, specifically in terms of editing technique. I eschew traditional cinematic/video editing, which is largely all about generating smooth transitions between images. My animations are as much about offsetting image against image as they are about visual flow.
Peter Schmideg